|
The term guardian angels
refers to the belief that each soul has an angel who is available to
shepherd the soul through life, and help bring them to God.
Belief in the reality of angels, their mission as messengers of God, and
man's interaction with them, goes back to the earliest times. Cherubim
kept Adam and Eve from slipping back into Eden; angels saved Lot and
helped destroy the cities of the plains; in Exodus Moses follows an angel,
and at one point an angel is appointed leader of Israel. Michael is
mentioned at several points, Raphael figures large in the story of Tobit,
and Gabriel delivered the Annunciation of the coming of Christ.
The concept of each soul having a personal guardian angel, is also an
ancient one, and long accepted by the Church:
See that you despise not one of
these little ones [children]: for I say to you, that their angels in
heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. - Jesus, Matthew
18:10
How great the dignity of the soul, since each one has from his birth an
angel commissioned to guard it. - Saint Jerome in his commentary on
Matthew
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall
receive the inheritance of salvation? - Hebrews 1:14
The feast, celebrating the
angels who helped bring us to God, began in many local calendars centuries
ago, and was widely known by the 16th century. Pope Paul V placed a feast
venerating the angels on the general calendar on 27 September 1608.
Ferdinand of Austria requested that it be extended to all areas in the
Holy Roman Empire. Initially placed after the feast of Michael the
Archangel, it was seen as a kind of supplement to that date. Pope Clement
X elevated the feast, celebrated 2 October, to an obligatory double for
the whole Church. On 5 April 1883, Pope Leo XIII raised the feast to the
rank of a double major.
Patronage
Spanish police officers
Readings
Since thou the power receivest my soul to guard, cease never to cover it
with thy wings.
- John the Monk
source:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintgak.htm
|
