my guardian dear
"For to His angels He has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways." —Psalm 91:11
Angels are powerful creatures. On resurrection morning, a solitary angel overwhelmed the Roman guards placed around the tomb of Jesus (Mt 28:2). Twelve legions of angels would have easily overpowered the Roman soldiers sent to arrest Jesus (Mt 26:53); even one angel was easily able to escort Peter past the legion of Roman guards to escape from his prison cell (Acts 12:6ff).
Guardian Angels are sent by God to guard your person. "Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone" (Ps 91:12). "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them" (Ps 34:8); thus our guardian angel resembles God's encircling wall of protective fire (Zec 2:9).
Our guardian angel not only protects our physical body, but also our spiritual life, since our angel is the custodian of our soul (Bar 6:6). The context of this verse is that God has sent this angel to guard us from falling into sin and idolatry, from succumbing to the fear of man, and giving in to the secular culture (Bar 6:2-5).
Because God commanded the angels to guard us (Ps 91:11), and because the angels obey God perfectly, our guardian angels won't quit on us. How sad that our angels have had to witness our sins, omissions, failings, apathy, etc. Surely the angels would prefer to guard us as we advance in our calling to build the kingdom of God, rather than strike up a defensive position against Satan as we avoid living out our calling from God. Let's bring joy to our guardian angels by living a life of obedient faith (Rm 1:5).
Prayer: "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love entrusts me here, ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen."
Promise: "See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared." —Ex 23:20
Praise: Praise You, Father, for sending us angels ever ready to guard us from evil and guide us to You.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 6, 2010
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