THE
HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS
The Liturgical Year
Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
Although
the solemnity of September 29 celebrates the praises of all the nine glorious
choirs, yet the piety of the faithful, in the latter ages, desired to have a
special day consecrated to the Guardian Angels. Several churches having taken
the initiative, and kept the feast under various rites and on different days,
Paul V (1608) authorized its celebration ad libitum.
Clement X (1670) established it by precept as a feast of double rite on October
2, the first free day after Michaelmas, on which it thus remains in some
way dependent.
It is of faith, on the testimony of the
Scriptures and of unanimous tradition, that God commits to His angels the
guardianship of men, who are called to contemplate Him together with these blessed
spirits in their common fatherland. Catholic theology teaches that this protection
is extended to every member of the human race, without any distinction of just
and sinners, infidels and baptized.
To ward off dangers; to uphold man in his
struggle against the demons; to awaken in him holy thoughts; to prevent him
from sinning, and even, at times, to chastise him; to pray for him, and present
his prayers to God: such is the office of the Guardian Angel.
So special is his
mission, that one angel does not undertake the guardianship of several persons
simultaneously; so diligent is his care, that he follows his ward from the first
day to the last of his mortal existence, receiving the soul as it quits this
life, and bearing it from the feet of the sovereign Judge to the place it has merited
in heaven, or to its temporary sojourn in the place of expiation and purification.
It is from the lowest of the nine choirs,
the nearest to ourselves, that the Guardian Angels are for the most art
selected. God reserves to the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones the honour of
forming His own immediate court. The Dominations, from the steps
of His throne, preside over the government of the universe; the Virtues watch
over the course of nature’s laws, the preservation of species, and the movements
of the heavens; the Powers hold the spirits of wickedness in subjection. The
human race in its entirety, as also its great social bodies, the nations and
the churches, are confided to the Principalities; while the Archangels, who
preside over smaller communities, seem also to have the office of transmitting
to the Angels the commands of God, together with the love and light which come
down even to us from the first and highest hierarchy.
O the
depths of the wisdom of God! Thus, then, the
admirable distribution of offices
among the choirs of heavenly spirits terminates in the function committed to
the lowest rank, the guardianship of man, for whom the universe subsists. Such
is the teaching of the School; and the apostle, in like manner, says: ‘Are they
not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the
inheritance of salvation.
But God, magnificent as He is towards the
whole human race, honours in a special manner the princes of His people, those
who are most favoured by His grace, or who rule the earth in His name; the
saints testify, that a supereminent perfection, or a higher mission
in Church or State, ensures to the individual the assistance of a superior
spirit, without the angel that was first deputed being necessarily removed from
his charge. Moreover, with regard to the work of salvation, the Guardian Angel
has no fear of being
left alone at his post; at his request, and at God’s command, the troops of his
blessed companions, who fill heaven and earth, are ever ready to lend him their
aid. These noble spirits, acting under the eye of God whose love they desire to
second by all
possible
means, have secret alliances between them, which sometimes induce between their
clients, even on earth, unions the mystery whereof will be revealed
in
the light of eternity.
‘How profound a mystery,’ says Origen, ‘is
the apportioning of souls to the angels destined for their guardians!centred in the Man-God. It is a
divine secret, part of the universal economy Nor is it
without ineffable order that the ministries of earth, the many departments of
nature, are allotted to the heavenly Virtues; fountains and rivers, winds and
forests, plants, living creatures of land and sea, whose various functions
harmonize together by the angels directing them all to a common end.’
Again, on these words of Jeremias: How
long shall the land mourn? Origen, supported by the authority of his translator
St. Jerome, continues: ‘It is through each one of us that the earth
rejoices or mourns; and not only the earth, but water, fire, air, all the elements;
by which name we must here understand not insensible matter, but the angels who
are set over all things on earth.
There is an angel of the land, who, with
his companions, mourns over our crimes. There is an angel of the waters to whom
are applied the words of the psalm: The waters saw Thee, and they were afraid, and
the depths were troubled; great was the noise of the waters; the clouds sent
out a sound, for Thy arrows pass.’
How grand is nature viewed in this light!
It is thus the ancients, more truthful as well as more poetical than our generation,
always considered the universe. Their error lay in adoring these mysterious
powers, to the detriment of the only God, under whom they stoop that bear up
the world.
Air and earth and ocean, everything is
full of angels,’ says St. Ambrose. ‘Eliseus, besieged by a whole army, felt no
fear; for he beheld invisible cohorts assisting him. May the prophet open thine
eyes also; may the enemy, be he legion, not terrify thee;
thou thinkest thyself hemmed in, and thou art free: there are more with us than
with them.’
But let us return to our own
specially-deputed 'angel, and meditate on this other testimony: ‘The noble
guardian of each one of us sleeps not, nor can he be deceived. Close thy door,
and make the darkness of night; but remember, thou art never alone;
he has no need of daylight in order to see thy
actions.’ And who is it that speaks thus? Not a father of the Church, but a
pagan, the slave philosopher Epictetus.
In conclusion, let us listen to the Abbot
of Clairvaux, who here gives free rein to his eloquence: ‘In every place show
respect to thy angel. Let gratitude for his benefits incite thee to honour his
greatness. Love this thy future coheir, the guardian appointed for thee by the
Father during thy childhood. For though we are sons of God, we are as yet but children,
and long and dangerous is our journey. But God hath given His angels charge
over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the
basilisk; and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. Yes; where
the road is smooth enough for, a child, they will content themselves with
guiding thee, and sustaining thy footsteps, as one does for children. But if
trials threaten to surpass thy strength, they will bear thee up in their hands.
Oh those
hands of angels! Thanks to them, what fearful straits we have passed through,
as it were without thinking, and with no other impression left upon us, than
that of a nightmare suddenly dispelled!
And in his commentary on the Canticle of canticles, St.
Bernard thus describes the triumph of the angel: ‘One of the companions of the
Spouse, sent from heaven to the chosen soul as mediator, on witnessing the
mystery accomplished, how he exults, and says: “I give thee thanks, O God of
majesty, for having granted the desire of her heart!” Now it was he that, as a
persevering friend, had not ceased, on the way, to murmur into the soul’s ear:
“Delight in the Lord,
and He will give thee the requests ”of thy heart; and again: “Expect the Lord,
and keep His way”; and then: “If He make any delay, wait for Him, for He will
surely come and will not tarry.” Meanwhile he represented to our Lord the
soul’s desire, saying: “As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so
this soul panteth after Thee, O God; have pity on her, hear her cries, and
visit her in her desolation.”
And now the faithful para nymph, the confidant of ineffable secrets, is not jealous.
He goes from the Spouse to the bride, offering desires, bringing back gifts; he
incites the one, he appeases the other. Sometimes, even in this world, he
brings them into each other’s presence, either by raising up the bride in
ecstasy, or by bringing down the Bridegroom; for he is one of the household,
and well known in the palace; and he fears no rebuff, for every day he beholds
the face of the Father."
Let us unite with the Church, and offer to our Guardian angels this hymn
of today’s Vespers.
Hymn
We celebrate the angns of men, whom our heavenly Father has given us as companions, lest our weak nature should be overcome by the snares of our enemies.
For because the traitorous angel fell, and was justly cast down from the honours he enjoyed, burning with envy he now endeavours to expel those whom God calls to heaven.
Fly hither, then, O ever watchful guardian; ward off from the land committed to thy care as well diseases of soul, as all that threatens to disturb the peace of the inhabitants.
May loving praise be ever to guardian angel whose eternal power is ruled this triple world, heaven and earth and the abyss; and whose glory is supreme throughout all ages. Amen.
Before the establishment of a special feast in honour of the Guardian
Angels, the following sequence was sung in certain churches on September 29.
SEQUENCE
Let us invoke with our desires the paranymphs of the most high King, the
defenders of Christ’s flock: these are called mountains, encircling the throne
of God by a privilege all theirs.
These form the triple hierarchy
of heaven, flourishing under the one divine Wisdom, and enjoying the threefold light;
they perfect us, cleanse us, enlighten us, that our soul may rise from sin.
They draw ever nearer to God
in contemplation; when sent to do his will, they depart not from him, for their
coming and going is all within God. They keep the enemy at bay, they guide the
just, they assist and protect their loving clients, and console them when
afflicted.
Though themselves already
blessed, yet delegated to us, they carry our prayers to God: they abandon not
the saints on earth, but desire their company, that their own ranks may be
completed.
O happy citizens these! who,
while fulfilling their offices, lose not the joys of heaven: let us pray to them with
confidence, that they may ever assist us before God. Amen.
Blessed be ye, O holy angels, for that
your charity is not wearied out by the crimes of men; among so many other
benefits, we thank you for keeping the earth
habitable, by deigning to dwell always therein. Solitude often weighs heavily
upon the hearts of God’s children, in the great towns, and in the paths of the
world, where one meets only strangers or enemies; but if the number of the just
grows less, yours never diminishes.
In the midst of the excited multitude, as
well as in the desert, not a human being that has not beside him an angel, the
representative of universal Providence over wicked and good alike. O blessed
spirits! you and we have the same fatherland, the same thought, the same love; why
should the confused noises of a frivolous crowd disturb the heavenly life we
may lead even now with you?
Does the tumult of public places hinder you from
holding your choirs there, or prevent the Most High from hearing your harmonies?
We also, beholding by faith the face of our heavenly Father, which you ever
delightedly contemplate, we wish to sing in every place the praises of our Lord
and to unite at all times our adorations with yours. Thus, when our manners
have become altogether angelic, the present life will be full of peace, and we
shall be well prepared for eternity.
