20181002
ANGELS ARE OUR
COMPANIONS ALONG THE WAY
02 OCTOBER,
2018, Tuesday, The Holy Guardian Angels
Exodus 23:20-23
20 “Behold, I send an angel before you, to
guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. 21 Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do
not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name
is in him.
22 “But if you hearken attentively to his
voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an
adversary to your adversaries.
23 “When my angel goes before you, and brings
you in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the
Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,
Matthew
18:1-5,10
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to
him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Truly,
I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles
himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “Whoever receives one such
child in my name receives me;
10 “See that you do not
despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels
always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.*
ANGELS ARE OUR COMPANIONS ALONG THE WAY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EXODUS 23:20-23; MATTHEW 18:1-5,10 ]
Today, we celebrate the
feast of guardian angels.
On 29th September, we celebrate the feast of the Archangels, St
Michael, St Raphael and St Gabriel. They are called archangels because
they played a more critical role in the plan of God’s salvation for
humanity. Like all angels, they are messengers at the service of God to
reveal His plan to humanity, to protect and to guide. It is within this
perspective that we also celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels. As
this feast suggests, the angels are assigned to us to protect us from harm and
from all dangers. This is what the Lord said, “See that you never despise
any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually
in the presence of my Father in heaven.”
Traditionally, the
Church invites us to pray to the angels for protection and guidance. The prayer that was taught to us
when we were children is still useful for us as adults to pray in faith. “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.” In this
prayer, we are given a theological interpretation of the work of guardian
angels as guiding us and guarding us in our every day life. This is what
the first reading from the book of Exodus suggests to us. God told the
Israelites that He would send “an angel to guide them and guard
them. “I myself will send an angel before you to guard you as you go
and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. My angel will go before you
and lead you to where the Amorites are and the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Canaanites, the Hivites, the Jebusites; I shall exterminate these.”
Indeed, the psalmist
assures us that those who trust and rely on God will be protected by His holy
angels. “He who dwells in
the shelter of the Most High and abides in the shade of the Almighty says to
the Lord: ‘My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’ It is he
who will free you from the snare of the fowler who seeks to destroy you; he
will conceal you with his pinions and under his wings you will find
refuge. You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that
flies by day, nor the plaque that prowls in the darkness nor the scourge that
lays waste at noon. Upon you no evil shall fall no plaque approach where
you dwell. For you has he commanded his angels, to keep you in all your
ways.” With the angels protecting us, we can live our lives without fear
because he will be at our side.
Besides praying to the
angels, we are called to listen to them because they are the voice of God
prompting us to do good and to avoid evil. Again, the Lord said to the Israelites,
“Give him reverence and listen to all that he says. Offer him no defiance; he
would not pardon such a fault, for my name is in him. If you listen carefully
to his voice and do all that I say, I shall be enemy to your enemies, foe to
your foes.” We must be alert to his voice in our lives, often coming in
ways that we least expect, sometimes through a voice inside or outside of us,
sometimes through strange events that are mysterious to us; and sometimes the
angels work through us as well, prompting us to reach out and to do good.
This is why we must listen to the angels and obey their voices. To listen
to the angels is to listen to the voice of God because God chooses to use His
intermediaries to communicate with us as He did with Abraham when three angels
appeared before him (cf Gn 18); and to Gideon as
well, ordering him to go and save his people. (cf Jdg 6:11-23) The angel also forbade the ass of
Balaam to move ahead to collude with the pagan king to curse
Israel. He was then asked to bless Israel instead. (cf Num 22) Like St Peter, we
are called to listen and obey the angel when he told them to leave the prison
and proclaim Christ crucified to the people. (Acts 12:1-11) Obedience to the
angels is the way we serve God in truth and in love.
For this reason, we
should become more aware of the angels in our lives. We must thank God
for our Guardian angels. The
problem with the world today is the emphasis on sensuality, which has made it
difficult for us to be in contact with the spiritual world. Because of
science and human pride, we tend to dismiss the angels that we cannot
see. This is dangerous because it will lead us to distrust and disbelief
in the spiritual world. When we are no longer aware of the spiritual
beings, good or bad in our lives, we become indifferent to them. To be
ignorant of the presence of the angels is at the same time to be unaware of how
the evil spirits work in our world and in our lives. The Church is clear
that just as there is an order in the material world, there is also an order in
the spiritual world. St Paul speaks of the different hierarchy of
spiritual beings. (cf Eph 6:10-12) The spirits are therefore
real. We are called to be alert and fight against Satan and his angels
who are prowling round to devour us. (cf 1 Pt 5:8) For this reason, we need to
intercede with our Guardian Angels to pray for divine assistance in our
lives. The letter of Hebrews tells us that angels are ministering spirits
to help us. (cf Heb 1:14)
So instead of behaving
in an arrogant manner, dismissing the reality of the spiritual world, we must,
as the Lord advised us, be humble as a child learning to accept things beyond
his understanding. “‘Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to
him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly,
unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this child is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'” With the psalmist we pray,
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do
not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have
calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is
like the weaned child that is with me.” (Ps 131:1f)
At the same time, we are
called to imitate the Holy Angels in praising and thanking God in our lives. Angels, although pure spirits, are
creatures of God. Their whole life is to give praise and thanksgiving to
God. We are told in the book of Revelation that the angels unceasingly praise
God in worship, singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord!” But they not only
praise God in prayer, they praise God in their lives by offering themselves to
do good for others, reaching out to those in need and leading them to God.
We too must follow the angels in rendering praise and thanksgiving to God in
unceasing prayer, and most of all in our lives. For this is what St Paul
urges us, to pray unceasingly throughout our life. We are called to
be angels to each other and to give support to each other in this journey of
life.
Most of all, we are
called to be angels to the little ones, children and those who are most
vulnerable in life.
In no uncertain terms, the Lord said, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like
this in my name welcomes me. See that you never despise any of these little
ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the
presence of my Father in heaven.” We must be the ones to protect the
little ones under our care. The Lord warns us “If any of you put a
stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be
better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were
drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks!
Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the
stumbling block comes!” So let us protect the faith of our little ones
whom we have a custodian role, whether we are referring to little ones or those
new in their faith. We must seek to protect and guide them, leading them
to Christ.
Indeed, let us not walk
alone in faith.
We have the Guardian Angels to accompany us in this difficult journey to God. We
only need to turn to them for guidance and for divine protection. He is
ever ready to come to our assistance. Indeed, we read that Jesus in His
Temptations in the desert, and especially in His last moments in the agony in
the Garden, was consoled by the angels. (cf Mt 4:11; Lk 22:43) Truly, if the Lord needed the
assistance of angels in His journey of life, so we too must turn to the angels
who can give us the courage to obey His will. Let us pray to our Guardian
angels and ask them to intercede for us.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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