Our Guardian Angels and Our Holy Imagination

For he commands His Angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go. With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone.  (Ps. 91:11- 12)

The worth of souls is so great that from birth each one has an Angel assigned to him for his protection.  St. Jerome

My early-fall reverie, on a recent drive down our tree-lined street en route to the grocery store, was interrupted by an ordinary sight which suddenly became extraordinary. Two blocks along my way, a Tuesday-morning garbage truck stopped me cold. In a moment of sheer grace, I was struck by the humility of these virile, faithful servants, hoisting huge, smelly containers without fanfare, simply getting on with the job of ridding my neighborhood of its refuse. Out of nowhere, I “saw” their Guardian Angels–each of the three wiry, hardworking men accompanied by one larger than they, assisting them in their task with hearty strength and an ever so attentive beneficence. Equal parts earthy fortification and bridge to heaven. After a timeless moment, I was waved on. I’ll never see a garbage truck the same way again.

A beloved retreat director, Leanne Payne, occupied my mind as I continued on my drive. She ever exhorted her largely Evangelical, Charismatic audiences to exercise the Christian gift of “holy imagination,” our noble faculty which has such efficacy in integrating “head” with “heart.” Nothing new in Catholic tradition, yet fresh vocabulary helps. I thought of St. Ignatius Loyola’s exhortation to “imagine” ourselves at the scene of a Gospel story so that every whiff, every sight, every taste, every sensation, brings the reality home to roost. Father Thomas Dailey describes prayer, in the spirituality of St. Francis DeSales, as “a form of inspired imagining.”  What encouragement to hit the supermarket that morning with my “holy imagination” flaring! The young mama managing two impatient toddlers  was suddenly reassured by her Guardian Angel, so clear in my imagination, just beside her cart. Her babes, too, were in Angelic company. The older gentleman feeling for the just-right avocados was guided by his Angel, so solicitous of his choices. I knew the “clean-up-on-aisle-three” booming on the PA System, would not be a solitary operation, and smiled at the thought. My normal grocering slump eased into happy efficiency, mindful as I was of my own heavenly Companion. Behind the check-out clerk with all the piercings and a long shift ahead of her stood the most gracious heavenly Assistant. The supermarket took on a whole new dimension.

As does the October Feast of the Guardian Angels! Just before Jesus teaches the Parable of the Lost Sheep, He assures us straying “little ones” that our “Angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”  (Matt 18:10). The Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting St. Basil, sums up beautifully the many references in Scripture to our Guardians: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their (the Angels’) watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an Angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of Angels and men united in God.” (CCC336).

Saints over the centuries reinforce this truth. Illuminating St. Thomas Aquinas’ teaching, one prominent Catholic writer makes clear to us that our Guardian Angels “are not only intercessors, they are mediators. This means that God entrusts them with His divine power to act in His name and on His behalf, to deliver His grace, reveal His Truth, direct us down the right path, and protect us from evil. Though God is fully capable of distributing His grace Himself, it is His will that all He bestows upon us come to us through mediators who are instruments, cooperating with His divine plan.”

So fitting, then, Padre Pio’s exhortation, “Invoke your Guardian Angel that he will illuminate you and will guide you. God has given him to you for this reason. Therefore, use him!”  St. John Bosco encourages “using him” this way: When tempted, invoke your Angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped. Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him; he trembles and flees at the sight of your Guardian Angel.” St. Alphonsus Ligouri asserts, “The powers of hell will assail the dying Christian, but His Angel Guardian will come to console him.”  We are cautioned by St. Josemaria Escriva, “If you remembered the presence of your Angel and the Angels of your neighbors, you would avoid many of the foolish things which slip into your conversations.” St. Gemma Galgani relates that when she asked her Angel’s help in preparing for Confession, “he brought ideas to my mind, and even dictated some words to me.”

Scripture makes very clear the role of Angels as messengers, as “connectors.” Pope St. John XXIII relates, in His Journey of a Soul, that, especially when he anticipated a difficult interaction in an upcoming meeting, he would send His Guardian Angel ahead of him to speak to that person’s Guardian Angel. A devotion popular in the 1920s advised those whose illness or other circumstances kept them homebound to send their Guardian Angels to Mass for them; with what joy their Guardians complied, imparting those blessings to their charges. Padre Pio intuited, “A mother cannot always directly influence a son or daughter whose faith or moral conduct is at risk, but at any time of the day or night she can use the invisible communication network of the Guardian Angels. An Angel, mobilized by His mother, can suddenly remind a young man of some resolution or promise. And this reminder can be of decisive importance. Sometimes it takes very little to influence an indecisive will.”  What reassurance! In fact, St. Pio’s life is full of stories of His own and others’ Guardian Angels communicating their charges’ messages, one to another, in this “invisible network.” Dear Guardian Angels, remind us of your power!

And your presence…

My brothers-in-Christ, the garbage collectors, shining in their humble task with their Helpers, sparked my “holy imagination.” Into what high company was I being invited! “Make yourself familiar with the Angels, and behold them frequently in spirit,” directed St. Frances DeSales. St. Paul of the Cross, ascending His pulpit, would pause to scan those assembled and greet their Guardian Angels, asking them to dispose their charges to His words. Pope St. John XXIII, too, looking out over the vast crowd of pilgrims awaiting the Sunday Angelus and Papal Blessing, would picture the crowd doubling with each one’s Guardian gathered there. St. José Maria Escriva’s habit was to greet the Angel of the person, as well as the person he was addressing. St. John Vianney pleaded, “With what humility should we assist at Mass, if we realized that our Guardian Angel was kneeling beside us, prostrate before the Majesty of God! With what eagerness should we not ask him to offer our prayers to Jesus Christ!”

How easy, how sweet, how fruitful these “holy imaginings” are.  How real, yet how quickly I can forget that second half of my profession, “I believe…in all things visible and invisible.”  Dear Angel ever at my side, come to my aid–that I may SEE! Priest-exorcist Father Chad Ripperger, in a recent talk on the Guardian Angels, makes very clear, “The first choice your Guardian Angel made was to love you…so on his side there’s only love and only a desire for your salvation.”  What constant, tender, attentive advocacy, my Guardian Angel, for me. Here. Now. Always. And yet I ignore this faithful Companion whose “always” stretches into eternity. St. Ignatius of Loyola tells us that in Heaven we will enjoy an eternal face-to-face relationship with our Guardians, while St. Thomas Aquinas believed that even in Paradise, they aid us in elucidating God’s ever-expanding truth. Heaven kisses earth right beside us moment-to-moment. How magnificent, those words of the Catechism, “Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of Angels and men united in God.”

Dear Guardian Angels, expand our imaginations. Sanctify and illuminate them. Fill them with pictures of the glorious reel–during Mass, while we watch the news, as our spouse mows the lawn, while our children play, when we see a garbage truck. Open our eyes, our ears, our hearts, to you. Help us say with new fervor:

Angel of God, my Guardian dear,
To whom God’s love commits me, here.
Ever this day, be at my side,
To light, to guard, to rule, to guide… to love me.
Amen.

Bonnie West, Copyright 2024