Word to the Wise
Monday, October 2, 2023 - Oct. 2 - The Guardian Angels
[Zechariah 8:1-8 and Matt 18:1-5, 10]"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. 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]
OCTOBER 2 HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS
Unlike those awesome figures, the three archangels whose feast we celebrated last Friday, the Guardian Angels are personal figures! I remember well in the first grade, Sr. Eugenia Clare SDP telling us to move over in our desks so that our Guardian Angel could sit down with each one of us! For me the Guardian Angel is a way of personifying God's ever-present providential care. Books have been written by people who have had encounters that they could only describe as meeting an angel. These were not encounters with a sentimental character in a long robe with big feathered wings sticking out the back of it and a glowing ring over their heads, like those annual Christmas pageants feature. The "angel" seemed like an ordinary person who gave help in an extraordinary way.
Although angels are always subject to human imagination in description, their importance as a matter of faith commands our affectionate attention. God does care. The First Letter of Peter in the New Testament says, Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7]. Maybe they can be seen as our "hotline to God," but however we imagine them, we can be sure, as Jesus says, they communicate with the Almighty on our behalf. It's hard to beat that kind of care. AMEN