Dom Prosper Guéranger:
Although the solemnity of the 27th September 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) authorised its celebration ad libitum. Clement X (1670) established it by precept as a Feast of double rite on the 2nd October, 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 baptised. 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 bas 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 part 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 will receive the inheritance of salvation?” (Hebrews i. 14).
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 super-eminent 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 of which 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! It is a divine secret, part of the universal economy centred in the Man-God. 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 harmonise to gather, by the Angels directing them all to a common end.” Again, on these words of Jeremias: “How long will the lamb mourn? (Jeremias xii. 4) Origen, supported by the authority of his translator Saint 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 you, and they were afraid, and the depths were troubled. Great was the noise of the waters. The clouds sent out a sound, for your arrows pass” (Psalm lxxvi. 17, 18).
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 (Job ix. 3). “Air and earth and ocean, everything is full of Angels,” says Saint Ambrose. “Eliseus, besieged by a whole army felt no fear, for he beheld invisible cohorts assisting him. May the prophet open your eyes also. May the enemy, be he legion, not terrify you. You think yourself hemmed in, and you are 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 your door, and make the darkness of night. But remember, you are never alone. He has no need of daylight in order to see your actions.” And who is it that speaks thus? Not a Father of the Church, but a pagan, the slave philosopher Epiotetus.
In conclusion, let us listen to the Abbot of Clairvaux who here gives free rein to his eloquence: “In every place show respect to your Angel. Let gratitude for his benefits incite you to honour his greatness. Love this your future co-heir, the guardian appointed for you by the Father during your childhood. For though we are sons of God, we are as yet but children, and long and dangerous is our journey. But God ‘has given His Angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you will trample under foot the lion and the dragon’ (Psalm xc. 11‒13). Where the road is smooth enough for a child, they will content themselves with guiding you, and sustaining your footsteps, as one does for children. But, if trials threaten to surpass your strength, they will bear you 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, Saint 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 you 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 you the requests of your 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 pants after the fountains of water, so this soul pants after you, O God.’ Have have pity on her, hear her cries, and visit her in her desolation. And now the faithful paranymph, 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.”
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BLESSED be you, 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 there. Solitude often weighs heavily on 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 praise 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 will be well prepared for eternity.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my guardian, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my prince, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my monitor, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my counsellor, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my defender, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my steward, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my friend, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my negotiator, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my intercessor, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my patron, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my director, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my ruler, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my protector, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my comforter, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my brother, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my teacher, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my shepherd, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my witness, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my helper, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my watcher, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my conductor, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my preserver, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my instructor, pray for us.
Holy Angel, my enlightener, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Pray for us, O holy guardian angel.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who, in the counsel of your ineffable goodness, has appointed to all the faithful, from their mother's womb, a special guardian angel of their body and soul, grant that I may so love and honour him who you have so mercifully given me, that, protected by the bounty of your grace, and by his assistance, I may merit to behold, with him and all the angelic host, the glory of your countenance in the heavenly country. Who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.
Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:
At Nicomedia, St. Eleutherius, soldier and martyr, with numberless others. They were falsely accused of having set fire to the palace of Diocletian and, by order of this most cruel emperor, were barbarously massacred in groups. Some were put to the sword, some consumed by fire, while others were precipitated into the sea. But the principal one, Eleutherius, having endured long tortures, and being found stronger after each one, terminated his victorious martyrdom by fire, as well-tried gold.
In the vicinity of Arras, the martyrdom of blessed Leodegarius, bishop of Autun. After being subjected to various insults and torments for the truth, he was put to death by Ebroin, chief minister of Theodoric.
Also the holy martyr Gerinus, brother of the blessed Leodegarius, who was overwhelmed with stones in the same city.
At Antioch, the holy martyrs Primus, Cyril and Secundarius.
At Constantinople, St. Theophilus, a monk, who was most cruelly scourged by Leo the Isaurian for the defence of holy images, was driven into exile, and went gloriously to heaven.
At Hereford in England, St. Thomas, bishop and confessor.
And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.
Thanks be to God.
At Nicomedia, St. Eleutherius, soldier and martyr, with numberless others. They were falsely accused of having set fire to the palace of Diocletian and, by order of this most cruel emperor, were barbarously massacred in groups. Some were put to the sword, some consumed by fire, while others were precipitated into the sea. But the principal one, Eleutherius, having endured long tortures, and being found stronger after each one, terminated his victorious martyrdom by fire, as well-tried gold.
In the vicinity of Arras, the martyrdom of blessed Leodegarius, bishop of Autun. After being subjected to various insults and torments for the truth, he was put to death by Ebroin, chief minister of Theodoric.
Also the holy martyr Gerinus, brother of the blessed Leodegarius, who was overwhelmed with stones in the same city.
At Antioch, the holy martyrs Primus, Cyril and Secundarius.
At Constantinople, St. Theophilus, a monk, who was most cruelly scourged by Leo the Isaurian for the defence of holy images, was driven into exile, and went gloriously to heaven.
At Hereford in England, St. Thomas, bishop and confessor.
And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.
Thanks be to God.
