Devotion to our guardian angels

WE need to be more familiar with this devotion. It’s

actually a very helpful one in our daily affairs, since our guardian

angels are our direct link to God. They see and attend to God face to

face, and serve as his agents and messengers to us. They can give us a

lot of help.

   

            Even in our material needs, we can ask them to facilitate

things. It may just be a matter of looking for a parking space in a

crowded place, or of asking for safety and security when we travel. We

should not hesitate to ask them for help. It’s their pleasure to be of

help.

  

            Many saints have attested to the great service they give.

Opus Dei founder, St. Josemaria Escriva, for example, had a deep

devotion to his guardian angel, and said that one time he was

attacked by someone while walking on a road. Suddenly another person,

a complete stranger to him, came to defend him.

  

            When this person put St. Josemaria back to his feet and

before leaving him, he told St. Josemaria something that St. Josemaria

kept only to himself. No one else knew it, except his confessor.

  

            The person addressed St. Josemaria as “mangy donkey,” an

appellation the saint sometimes called himself, I suppose, to poke

some fun on himself. The saint was convinced it was his guardian angel

who helped him in that episode. For how else would that person know

that expression?

  

            One time, I had this classmate of mine, a much older lady

who used to work as the personal secretary of a former First Lady. She

told me a very interesting anecdote about her guardian angel.

  

            She said that one time she took a boat trip to Hong Kong.

When she arrived there, there was a heavy rain such that it was

difficult for her to get a taxi. There were just too many passengers

competing for a taxi.

  

            While waiting long for a taxi, she remembered that St.

Josemaria Escriva would ask his guardian angel to help him out in some

difficult situations. And so she prayed to her guardian angel for a

taxi. Immediately, according to her, an empty taxi stopped right in

front of her. She could not believe her eyes!

   

            But our guardian angels are even more helpful to us as in

our task of navigating the most tricky spiritual and supernatural

realities. When there are strong temptations, or when some unknown

evil spirits seem to bother us, or when we are undertaking a spiritual

and supernatural project like coming up with an apostolic initiative,

our guardian angels make themselves available to help us in any way.

  

            Moreover, it is said that our final state in heaven will

be like that of angels, where our bodily condition will be fully

integrated to the spirit. Again many saints have attested to the

veracity of this phenomenon.

  

            We should try our best to have a closer relationship with

our guardian angels. We can give them a name, and call them for any

need we have. We should also greet the guardian angels of the persons

we meet everywhere, so our dealings with them would be facilitated.

  

            We have to spread this devotion more widely, and enable

many people to avail of the many precious services our guardian angels

give us. Things will be a lot different, will be lot better, to be

sure, when this devotion is lived.