Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

Today's Mass Readings

I am responsible for my own life and the decisions I make. It is also true that I am not solely responsible for sustaining my life. Our belief in guardian angels is that God wishes to protect us and provide all that we need for a life of flourishing.

Part of flourishing is giving us enough time. God will not force us to love Him or choose the good against our free will, but He will do everything He can to give us the time to do that. What gets us out of a scrape or scares us enough to take new stock of the direction in which we are headed, may in fact be Providence.

I’ve been in my fair share of scrapes, and I am thankful to my guardian angel. Frankly, sometimes I feel bad for the poor spiritual being that was tasked with keeping me out of harm’s way. Still, it is marvelous to consider God’s plan for creation – so enormous and yet so intimately cared for – that you and I have a guardian angel. It is a part of who God revealed Himself to be: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB