The great St. Thomas tells us that the moment a child is born God calls one of His glorious Spirits and gives the newborn babe into his special care. It is not when the soul is created and united to our bodies—which takes place before our birth, for then the child is still one with its mother and protected by the mother’s angel—but it is when we are born into the world that our angel begins his care of us, even before Baptism.
Every man, whether pagan, heretic, or Catholic has a Guardian Angel. Though one angel would be powerful enough to take perfect care of a thousand souls, yet God in His infinite goodness has given to each one of us a special angel, an angel who is all our own, whose great duty henceforth will be to watch over us day and night, asleep or awake, alone or in the midst of company, in our homes, in the street, working or resting, everywhere, every moment of our lives, in joys and in troubles. He never abandons us for a single instant; he sees our every movement; he is ever at our sides.
It seems at first sight incredible that God gives each of us poor mortals a glorious Prince of Heaven to guide and guard us all the days of our life, who is with us night and day, who devotes all his time, all his care, all his unceasing vigilance to secure our happiness.
But in pure truth, it is only one of the many immense proofs of love which our dear Lord has given us.
What personal favors has not God Himself already done us. Did He not create us with His own hands, making us to His own image and likeness? Did He not raise us up to the highest possible destiny that He could give us, namely, to be with Him as His dear children forever in Heaven, seated on thrones in His presence, enjoying infinite joys, the most perfect happiness for all eternity? Is He not our Father?
Did He not suffer and die for each one of us? Does He not come into our souls, uniting Himself to us most intimately, countless times in Holy Communion? Does He not watch over us every moment so that not a single hair falls from our heads without His permission?
True, indeed, it is a wonderful proof of His love to give us a special angel all to ourselves, to be our friend and protector, but it is only in keeping with what He has already done for us and it is to prepare us for what He still wishes to do for us. But what is really amazing is that we do not appreciate, do not understand as we ought this divine favor; that we do not prize and love and seek to know better this glorious angel who is so good to us. Our neglect of our dear angel is appalling. When an angel takes charge of a soul, he devotes all his glorious intelligence and knowledge, all his power and vigilance to protect, defend and help in every possible way the person whom God has given into his charge. He does this, firstly, because God gives him the command to do so, and the angels most earnestly desire to do what God wishes; secondly, because he has himself an immense, personal, affectionate love for us.
This article is taken from a chapter in All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, O.P., which is available from TAN Books.
