Our Angels

We all have guardian angels, but we often forget that they are always beside us each day. I know I have. But after being challenged in my high school small group to reflect on and remember the presence of my guardian angel, I have made a more conscious effort to do so. This has brought much consolation and helped me to grow closer to the Lord in prayer.

I love adoration. I love adoring the Lord quietly in a small chapel, but I also love praising Him with thousands of other young people singing songs of adoration from the depths of their hearts. In such an environment, the power of the Holy Spirit can become almost overwhelming. God is really with us. His love and presence draw us out from the depths of our souls. 

During these moments, I watch as, one-by-one, each person’s guardian angel rises, and forms a protective shield around the group of young people adoring the Lord. They form a dome above us with their wings interlocking. They protect us. Their wings block the arrows of the evil one as he tries to disrupt our time with the Lord. The more we call out to the Lord, the more the evil one tries to break in. But the Lord sends His armies of angels to fortify the shield. Their shield keeps us safe. They allow us to worship in peace with the intercession of the saints. I watch the saints circle around the young people, lining the edge of the dome, all praying and interceding for us as we adore the Lord. And at the front of the dome, the Lord sits there, watching over all of us in a ball of brilliance so bright that it almost hurts to look at. He sits there and smiles. He sits there loving us as we sit there and learn to love Him back. I love these moments when the power of the Holy Spirit overwhelms my senses and transforms a simple auditorium into a glimpse of Heaven on Earth.

But not all prayers can be like this. I cannot always be in adoration, and I surely cannot always be in adoration with thousands of other people sitting under the protection of a heavenly shield. But in personal prayer, too, our guardian angels watch over us and protect us so that we can spend time with the Lord. No matter where I pause to pray, my guardian angel wraps its wings around me in a comforting embrace. Its wings protect me from the arrows of the evil one. Its wings drape over my shoulders and the shoulders of Mother Mary and St. Gianna, my confirmation saint, as they stand beside me and worship the Lord. Under the protective embrace of my guardian angel, the three of us are able to sit there and be with the Lord. They intercede on my behalf and show me how to love our Heavenly Father. These quiet times of prayer are just as powerful and important as prayer under the heavenly dome.

Our guardian angels are with us always, even when we are not directly in prayer. When I am running, my guardian angel runs alongside me. When I am driving down a dark road late at night, I know my guardian angel is sitting on top of my car with its wings outstretched watching over me. When I am working on a paper on the first floor of Clem, my guardian angel is sitting beside me, offering encouragement, and guiding my efforts. Our guardian angels are always with us and are guiding us to a closer relationship with the Father. They are a gift from God, a constant reminder of His steadfast love for us.

I encourage you all to remember your guardian angel. Ask them to help you, to protect you, and to guide you to the Father. They cannot wait for you to join all the choirs of angels, the saints, and our Father one day in Heaven.