Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. -Catechism of the Catholic Church 336
An Old Prayer Made New
For as long as I can remember I prayed the Guardian Angel Prayer every morning. It’s a simple sentence that only takes a few seconds to say:
Guardian angel, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light, to guard, to rule, to guide.
Until recently, I prayed these words out of habit. Yet, after listening to a talk about angels by Dr. Mark Miravalle, a Professor of Theology and Mariology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, I have since prayed this prayer intentionally and lovingly.
One of my daily goals is to foster a relationship—a friendship—with my guardian angel. Since making communication with my guardian angel a priority, the fruits have been beautiful, not only for me personally, but my entire family. I have such peace entrusting my son to his guardian angel each day and night. My heart is filled with joy in asking my guardian angel, and my husband’s, to protect our marriage. Guardian angels bring peace and joy.
What Are Angels Like?
In his book, Time To Meet The Angels, Dr. Miravalle writes that “Angels are created spiritual persons without bodies. They are pure spirits, created by God out of nothing as part of the wonder of divine creation. In the natural order, they are beings created with the closest possible image and likeness to God. Their principal goal is to glorify God and to act as messengers of God to us.”
Guardian Angels: Specifically For You
All nine choirs of angels were created by God to glorify Him. The ninth choir is where most of our guardian angels come from. Something very powerful to meditate on is that our guardian angels aren’t recycled. Meaning, after we die, our guardian angel isn’t assigned to another person. In fact, our guardian angel has been waiting for each one of us since creation! This shows God’s deep, unique, individualized love for us.
A Gift From God
Our guardian angels are a heavenly gift to us from God. Saint Bonaventure preached that they, “guard, comfort, and support humanity.”
It is true that many aspects of our guardian angels remain a mystery to us, yet it is a beautiful opportunity to trust in Christ and the Church’s teachings, and place our confidence in these spirits who are aiding us on our journey to Heaven.
A Holy Love
God has given our guardian angels the knowledge necessary for our holiness. He has also given our guardian angels a love that resembles His love for us, a perfect love. That means that no human here on earth can or will know us or love us like our guardian angel knows and loves us!
It is important for us to call upon our guardian angels each day, throughout the day. Our guardian angels will never leave our side, no matter how deeply we sin. It would be wise of us to ask their intercession in both the joys and sorrows of the day and request them to protect us from evil and keep us safe from harm.
Fostering Friendship
The Opus Angelorum Sanctorum, a spiritual movement within the Catholic Church that encourages devotion to our guardian angels, lists four ways we can foster a friendship with our guardian angels:
- Attend Mass and Adoration.
- Contemplate God, asking our guardian angels to help guide our thoughts and hearts.
- Ask our guardian angel to help us offer our daily sacrifices to God in reparation for sin.
- Ask guidance from our guardian angel within our vocation.
Another way to grow closer to our guardian angels is through consecration. In the Great Jubilee Year 2000, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith officially approved this consecration prayer to our guardian angel.
Whether it’s the simple guardian angel prayer memorized from childhood or a formal prayer of consecration, it is important to communicate to and entrust ourselves to our guardian angels. Turn to them always.
Learn More About Guardian Angels
- Time To Meet The Angels by Mark Miravalle
- Opus Angelorum Sanctorum
- Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Section About Angels (Saint Thomas is known as the “Angelic Doctor” because of his work and teachings about the Angels in the Summa Theologiae.)
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Works of Saint Bonaventure (Saint Bonaventure is referred to as the “Seraphic Doctor.”)
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Claire Couche is a wife, etiquette instructor, blogger, homeschooling mother, and registered nurse. She is passionate about sharing content that helps her community live a beautiful and virtuous life. Using her degrees in theology and history, Claire shares about the Catholic faith often on her IG account @findingphilothea and her website, Finding Philothea. You can often find her reading a good book in a beautiful dress! Learn more about Claire and all things etiquette here.
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