He has given his angels orders to keep you in your ways. Give thanks to the Lord for his mercy, for the wonders he does with men. Give thanks and say among the Gentiles: "The Lord has been great with them." Lord, what is man so that you give him importance, so that you may take care of him? Because you certainly care about him, you show your concern and your interest in him. You come to send your only Son, you infuse his Spirit, you even promise him the vision of your face. And, lest any of the celestial beings fail to take part in this request for us, you send the blessed spirits to serve us and help us, you constitute our guardians, send them to be our guides.

He has given his angels orders to keep you in your ways. These words should inspire you with great reverence, they should infuse you with great devotion and give you great confidence. Reverence for the presence of the angels, devotion for their benevolence, trust for their custody. Because they are present with you, and they are present for your good. They are present to protect you, they are there for your benefit. And, although they are because God has given them this order, we should not stop being grateful to them, because they fulfill this order with so much love and help us in our needs, which are so great.

Let us be devout and grateful to such excellent guardians; let us respond to his love, honor them as much as we can and as we should. However, let us not forget that all our love and honor must be aimed at the one from whom everything proceeds, both for them and for us, thanks to which we can love and honor, be loved and honored.

In him, brothers, let us love his angels with true affection, thinking that one day we will share with them the same inheritance and that, as this day comes, the Father has placed them together with us, as tutors and administrators. In fact, we are now children of God, although this is not yet visible, since, being still minors, we are under tutors and administrators, as if we were not distinguishable from slaves.

For the rest, although we are minors and although we still have a long and dangerous road to follow, we should not fear anything under the custody of such exemplary guardians. They, those who keep us in our ways, can not be defeated or deceived, and even less can deceive us. They are faithful, they are prudent, they are powerful: why scare us? It is enough that we follow them, with which we are united to them, and we will live like this in the shadow of the Almighty.

PRAYER

Let us pray.
O God, merciful Father, who, in your ineffable providence, has deigned to send, for our care, your holy angels, grant to those who beg you to be always defended by their protection and eternally enjoy their company. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit and is God, for ever and ever. Amen

 

THE FIRST is to rebuke us for our faults. According to the Book of Judges, chapter 2, verse 1: The Angel of the Lord ascends from Galgala to the place of those weeping and says: "I have lead you forth from the land of Egypt . . . And you have not heard my voice."

THE SECOND is to absolve us from the bonds of our sins. According to Book of Acts, chapter 12, verse 7: The Angel stood by . . . and the chains fell from his hands; yet this must be understood as disposing this to happen.

THE THIRD is to take away from us those things impeding our progress in goodness, which is signified in the Book of Exodus, chapter 12, verse 12: where the Angel struck the first born of Egypt.

THE FOURTH is to constrain those demons afflicting us, according the Book of Tobias, chapter 12, verse 3: "He chased the demon from my wife", says Tobias of the Archangel St. Raphael.

THE FIFTH is to teach us, according to the Book of Daniel, chapter 9, verse 22: Now I have entered, to teach you, and so that you might understand.

THE SIXTH is to reveal secrets, for according to the Book of Genesis, chapter 18, verse 17, the three Angels expressed the Mystery of the Trinity and Unity, after which God said: Can I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do?

THE SEVENTH is to console, according to the Book of Tobias, chapter 5, verse 13: Be of a strong spirit, it is nigh, that you are to be cured by God etc.

THE EIGHTH is to comfort us on the way to God, according to Third Book of Kings, chapter 19, verse 7: Rise and eat, for a grand way remains for you.

THE NINTH is to lead us forth on this way and to conduct us back to God, according to the Book of Tobias, chapter 5, verse 15: I shall lead, and I shall lead him back etc.

THE TENTH is to cast down our enemies, according the Book of Isaiah, chapter 37, verse 36: Having entered the Angel of the Lord struck upon the camps of the Assyrians etc.

THE ELEVENTH, to mitigate our temptations; and this is signified in the Book of Genesis, chapter 32, verse 24, where Jacob wrestled with the Angel, and was comforted after the match, having accepted his blessing, the nerve of his femur withered up.

THE TWELFTH is to pray for us and to carry our prayers to God, according the Book of Tobias, chapter 12, verse 12: When you were praying with tears . . . I offered your prayer etc.

All of these are the effects of our guardian Angel's care of us, on account of which we ought to be submissive and grateful both to God and the Holy Angels.