THE GUARDIAN ANGELS

Ordinary Time: Week 26 Readings I - Ex. 23: 20-23 II - Mt. 18: 1-5, 10 THE GUARDIAN ANGELS Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Guardian angels. The feast originated in Spain during the sixteenth century. It was extended to the universal Church and made obligatory in 1670. Angels are messengers from God. They are with us to protect, guard and to lead towards eternal life. This is evinced by today’s Gospel passage where we read, “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”. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life (336)”. The protection of angels continues right from our conception until we reach Heaven. In the first reading, God sends an angel before the Israelites to guard them and to bring them to the place he has prepared for them but all that they should do was to pay careful attention to him and obey him. Our life is a journey on earth till we reach our destination God. And this journey is assisted, guarded and guided by our guardian angels. All we have to do is to pay attention to him and to obey him in our journey towards the eternal life with God.