This week we begin the month of October. October is the time when leaves fall and darkness begins to be felt, nature produces beautiful colours this time of year. The month of October begins with the celebration of the Guardian Angel. Angels are very popular with most people. Their core essence is the source of protection and guidance. The following very lucky escape is attributed to a guardian Angel.
Steve Montgomery was headed home from a painting job when something crazy happened. As he drove down the interstate, he noticed what looked like a pipe rolling around in the road. A tow truck drove over the pipe, sending it flying straight through the windshield of Steve’s truck. It should have hit him in the face, but somehow missed him. He then couldn’t see where he was driving, but somehow still managed to pull over to the side safely. “I think an angel was driving the truck,” Steve said. “When I was down and I couldn’t see the highway to keep it in the road, somebody else was driving that truck.”
Steve was even more sure of the angelic presence when he snapped some photos following the accident. In one, a “V” shaped cloud formation represents angel wings to Steve.
Our guardian angels are around us, ready to help out in any way that they can. They are here; sent from God, ready to help us when things are looking bleak. When we choose to trust in them and God, we allow them into our lives so that they can help us. Thank your guardian angel for all the help they have given you throughout your life.
Here is a riddle for you: I am always with you, but you never see me. I am not God, but I was created by God. I protect and guide you. Who am I? Wednesday October 2nd is the feast of our Guardian Angels.
God gave us guardian angels to protect and guide us. Saint Jerome wrote that the human soul is so valuable in heaven that every human person has a guardian angel from the moment the person comes into being. These pure spirits, which we can neither see nor feel, play an important role in our lives. Jesus refers to them when he says, “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10).
Angels are messengers from God. The word angel comes from the Greek word for “messenger.” In a very real way, these powerful spirits point out to us the ways of God. Guardian angels assist us in work or study. In times of temptation, these spiritual beings direct us to do good. Thomas Aquinas said that angels are the most excellent of creatures because they have the greatest intelligence next to God.
Perhaps the guardian angels are best known for protecting us from physical danger, but their main role is to care for the salvation of our souls. It is wonderful to know that God has promised to love, protect, and be with us always. One way he does this is through the care of the angels.
Whenever you meet with danger or discouragement, your guardian angel is your personal, heavenly bodyguard. The angels also offer prayers to God for us. Because angels always see and hear God, they can intercede for us. We should love our guardian angels, respect them, and pray to them.
In early Christianity there was no feast for the guardian angels, just one for the archangels. But in the 15th and 16th centuries, the feast of the Guardian Angels was unofficially celebrated in Austria, Spain, and Portugal. In 1608 Pope Paul V made it a universal feast. In doing so, he helped to make us aware of the guardian angels, not just one day in October, but every day of our lives.
Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Angels
You might see an angel anytime and anywhere. Of course, you have to open your eyes to a kind of second level, but it’s not really hard. The whole business of what’s reality and what isn’t has never been solved and probably never will be. So I don’t care to be too definite about anything. I have a lot of edges called Perhaps and almost nothing you can call Certainty. For myself, but not for other people. That’s a place you just can’t get into, not entirely anyway, other people’s heads. I’ll just leave you with this. I don’t care how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It’s enough to know that for some people they exist, and that they dance. Mary Oliver (1935 – 2019)