The Watchful Guardian Angels

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Father Joe

Many adults regard prayers to a guardian angel to be the stuff of children only, along with the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. As soon as they grow up, even fervent believers frequently cease beseeching the intercession of their spiritual guardians. Guardian Angels are NOT imaginary friends. We have it in good authority that they are real and are watching. Jesus tells us, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Matthew 18:10). The statement is reassuring and staggering. We are not alone. Not only does God see everything but we have an angel watching us as well. Of course, the angels must be all eyes because the good angels never lose sight of the beatific vision.

Do we detect something of a warning in Christ’s statement? The little ones are often associated with innocent children but in truth they would include all those who are marginalized and brushed aside by the world. While we can take comfort in having spiritual guardians, they will always testify to the truth about what they see. Our guardians may be one-and-the-same as the harvesting angels. Those who have had near-death experiences sometimes report encounters with angels and a looming light. Also experienced but understandably under-reported are when angels seek to draw souls into the fire of perdition. Angels can pray for us and maybe intervene in special situations, but they cannot save us from God’s judgment.

Cynics will point to the famous picture of an angel looming over small children who are on the edge of a dangerous bridge. They ask, if such were real, then why do children fall off bridges or get sick or face abuse? Where is this proposed intervention? We must answer that the Guardian Angels do catch and rescue the innocent children— however, it is often the case that we fail to see the saving act. Bodies might be lost but souls are saved. I suspect that every pregnant woman is being followed by at least two angels, her own and the one appointed to the child in her womb. These angels are not ghosts and they are certainly not demonic. Indeed, I suspect that many blessed homes could avoid demonic disturbances if only we acknowledged the powerful spiritual presence of God’s angels. It is sad that people increasingly get involved with the occult and pursue conversations with ghosts and demons, but never offer a prayer to their personal angel. There is also evidence that gatherings of people as in churches or within nations are granted angelic protection, as with Fatima’s Angel of Portugal.

Angels do not belong to themselves. They are messengers for God but more— they are unique and personal instruments through which God acts. Just as Jesus appoints men as his priests to extend his saving work of mercy; so too are angels the vehicles for God’s intervention and power. The angels of God are always about the Lord’s business. They reflect God’s love for us. They are saints and want us to join their number.

A ghost or human soul outside the body is helpless but not angels. The presence of an angel in one’s home is not a haunting but a blessing. We read in the universal catechism: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.’ Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.”

The Bible attests to these spiritual guardians. Matthew 18:10 was already quoted. We can also look to Psalm 34:7, Psalm 91:11, and Hebrews 1:14.

Psalm 34:8 – “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he saves them.”

Psalm 91:11 – “For he commands his angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go.”

Hebrews 1:14 – “Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

The Church has enshrined her belief in Guardian Angels within her liturgical year with their annual commemoration on October 2.