We might not see our guardian angels as a handful of saints did, but the Oct. 2 Memorial of the Guardian Angels spurs us on to be close to them and call upon their help.
Our Lord Jesus said: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Matthew 18:10).
And the Catechism (336) reminds us: “From infancy to 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 to God.”
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
Padre Pio counseled, “Develop the beautiful habit of always thinking of him; that near us is a celestial spirit, who, from the cradle to the tomb, does not leave us for an instant, guides us, protects us as a friend, a brother; will always be a consolation to us especially in our saddest moments.” Padre Pio was also one of the rare saints who also saw his guardian angel.
When a young friar, Padre Pio was tested by his confessor who sent him letters in languages he did not know — Greek, for one. Yet Padre Pio knew exactly what the letter said. Shortly after, Padre Pio revealed, “And while the mission of our guardian angels, is a great one, my own angel’s mission is certainly greater, since he has the additional task of teaching me these languages.” With his guardian angel’s help, he was even able to write in different languages.
Sometimes the help came late, for a purpose. Once being beaten by devils, Padre Pio called for his guardian angel to help but the saint later explained, “There he was, hovering close to me, singing hymns to the Divine Majesty in his angelic voice.”
He first complained to his angel, but later wrote to his friar friend that his angel told him, “Thank Jesus who is treating you as one chosen to follow him up the steep ascent of Calvary; soul confided by Jesus to my care, I behold with joy and deep emotion this behavior of Jesus toward you …”
St. Gemma Galgani
“Gemma saw her guardian angel with her own eyes, touched him with her hand, as if he were a being of this world, and would talk to him as would one friend to another,” writes her spiritual director and biographer, Venerable Father Germanus Ruoppolo, in The Life of St. Gemma Galgani. She said, “Jesus has not left me alone; he makes my guardian angel stay with me always.”
Her angel inspired her during her meditations on the Passion of Our Lord. He would tell her, “Look at what Jesus suffered for men. Consider each of these wounds. It is love that has opened them all. See how horrible sin is, since to expiate it, so much pain and so much love have been necessary.”
Once suffering and absorbed in prayer, she saw her angel standing by her bed. He told her, “Jesus loves thee greatly. Love him greatly in return.”
He also said, “Are you fond of Jesus’ mother? Salute her very often, for she values such attention very much, and unfailingly returns the salutations offered to her; and if you do not sense this, know that she makes a proof of your unfailing trust.”
Another time when those in the house were not speaking charitably about a woman, and Gemma wanted to speak too, she later wrote, the angel “gave me a severe rebuke. He taught me to keep my eyes cast down, and one time in Church he reproved me strongly saying to me: ‘Is this the way you conduct yourself in the presence of God?’”
Her angel taught her “many times how to act in the presence of God; that is, to adore him in his infinite goodness, his infinite majesty, his mercy and in all his attributes.”
Like Padre Pio later, Gemma also would send her guardian angel on errands, such as asking Jesus and Mary some permission or assistance. Her guardian angel would bring back a reply.
St. Frances of Rome
What did the guardian angel of St. Frances of Rome look like after she began seeing him constantly as a consolation from God when one of her children died? He was so brilliant and blinding that she could not look straight at him but only at the aura surrounding him. But when she was in deep prayer or being attacked by the devil, or mentioning him to her confessor, her angel let her look directly at him.
She said he looked like a boy around 9 years old. “His eyes twinkled and danced as he looked at her. He had the kindest, most loving expression on his face. His (blond) hair was like fine golden yarn. It reached down his neck and shoulders. The light from his hair enabled Frances to read her Office at night,” wrote Bob and Penny Lord.
“Through the Angel, she could see into men’s hearts, and discern when the devil was in charge of the soul before her, or God. The Angel walked always before her, to the right of her and to the left of her, over her and beneath her, always there to protect her.”
St. Faustina Kowalska
In the 20th century, this apostle of Divine Mercy also saw her guardian angel as well as other angels. Because of her mission, her angel once took her to purgatory and to heaven, where she saw saints. She also received a vision of hell. From these trips that God allowed she was to write of these places to inform people who were more and more losing the faith.
When a young nun, Faustina traveled with her guardian angel “to a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls.” She wrote:
They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My guardian angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.
Once being harassed by devils, she called on her guardian angel for help:
At once the bright and radiant figure of my guardian angel appeared and said to me, ‘Do not fear, spouse of my Lord; without his permission, these spirits will do you no harm.’ Immediately the evil spirits vanished, and the faithful guardian angel accompanied me, in a visible manner, right to the very house.
On a trip from Vilnius to Cracow, Faustina saw her “guardian angel, who accompanied me throughout the journey as far as Warsaw,” she wrote. “When we took our seats on the train from Warsaw to Cracow, I once again saw my guardian angel at my side. He was absorbed in prayer and in contemplating God, and I followed him with my thoughts” (Diary 490).
Sometimes St Faustina’s guardian angel asked her to pray especially for the dying:
My guardian angel told me to pray for a certain soul and in the morning I learned that it was a man whose agony had begun that very moment. The Lord Jesus makes it known to me in a special way when someone is in need of my prayer. I especially know when my prayer is needed by a dying soul.
It’s a good thing to remember when we might be inspired to pray for some known or unknown person.
On one trip Faustina also saw an angel standing on every church they passed and guarding them, indicating that places have guardian angels too.
Angels for Everyone
Padre Pio wrote this excellent insight about our guardian angel to one of his spiritual children:
Oh, if all men could understand this great gift that God, in his excess of love for man, assigned to us; this celestial spirit. Often remember his presence; you must fix on him the eyes of your soul; thank him; pray to him; he is so refined, so sensitive. Respect him; be in constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze. Invoke often this guardian angel, this benevolent angel, and repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day, be at my side, to light and guard, rule and guide. Amen.’
