Readings: Exodus 23:20-023; Psalm 91; Matthew 18:1-5, 10 Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
As a child, I believed in angels and had a deep friendship with my imagined guardian angel. Growing into adolescence and until even later adulthood, my angel was just a childhood memory, until, that is, as a priest called to celebrate funerals. At the end of the Mass of Christian Burial there is the Song of Farewelland we pray:“Come to meet him (her), Angels of the Lord! Receive his (her) soul and present him (her) to God the Most High” – a beautiful song that invites angels to accompany the deceased into the presence of God. The family struggles with loneliness and loss, but there is a deep comfort. We know that the deceased is not alone.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an increase in the sense of loneliness for many. True, people are finding new ways to connect in this age of social distancing, but loneliness continues to increase: it impacts the physical, spiritual, and emotional health of the human person. Could this loneliness be the area where our guardian angels can assist us and advocate for us?
Most world religions believe in angels as messengers from God. Catholicism goes a step further. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels … united in God.”
In the Gospel today, Jesus explains that “their (little children’s) angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.” Our guardian angels have that deep connection to God. Because the word “angel” means “messenger” in Greek, we are invited as people of faith to turn to our angelic messengers who not only care for us but who also deliver our messages/prayers to our God. Their reassuring presence can offer great comfort and solace.
The hymn “On Eagle’s Wings”, often sung at funerals, is today’s psalm: “The angels of the Lord will guard you in all your ways.” On this journey through the pandemic and on this special Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, our faith tradition reminds us that we are never alone. Fr. Brian