They Will Bear You Up
by Pat Gohn in Faith on Monday, November 08, 2010 6:00 AM
Psalm 91 declares: “For [the Lord] will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
A couple things are learned by examining those verses:
Angels actually exist. They are not mythical creatures in a fairy tale.
The Lord has these angels at his command, and he willingly dispatches them to guard you. The common Catholic parlance for these supernatural friends are “guardian angels.”
As stated in our previous article, Christ is the center of the angelic world, and as such, angels are always present to Christ. So, too, angels are always present in the life of the Church. This means that we, the Body of Christ, benefit directly from the ministry of angels, for Christ cannot be separated from the Body.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church in CCC 334 states that “the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.”
This has both personal and corporate dimensions. Let’s take the personal angle first.
Drawing on Scripture, the Church has long taught the existence of guardian angels who personally attend us. In referring to the angels given to each child, Jesus said: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10)”. (See also: Psalm 34:7, Luke 16:22 and Psalm 91:11.)
Just dwell on the second part of that verse, and let’s reflect for a moment … in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father …
Whatever I am doing at this very moment, my guardian angel, who is with me, is beholding the glory of God. The attention of our guardian angel is supernatural, and it takes place simultaneously on earth and in heaven. And while your angel is taking in both views, what do you think it is doing? Interceding for you.
Let’s reflect a bit more.
Imagine if we could grow in grace enough to see our lives from our angel’s vantage point? What if we could focus our spiritual vision to capture how our angel demonstrates God’s nearness to us?
What if I could understand that I can stand in God’s presence, even while I stand in the presence of my family, my workplace, my neighborhood, my church, my little corner of the world?
Would we change our perspectives? Habits? Time management? Fill-in-the-blank?
Our guardian angels announce and reaffirm the Good News that God Loves US. And because He loves us, he brings his presence into the world, not only through the Son, Jesus Christ, but also through his heavenly messengers, the angels … so that one day we might be joined with Him.
On that day, we will behold those angels who mysteriously cared for us in this world. And we’ll see them, just like we might meet a neighbor or friend. What’s more, for them it will be like the homecoming of a much beloved family member. For they already know us through and through.
Finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church also gives us insight as to how the angels assist the church at large.
CCC 335:
In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy’s In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .[“May the angels lead you into Paradise. . .”]).
Here we see the Church recognizing that the angels are present in the glory of God at Mass. We adore the Lord while they are in attendance.
Lastly, there is special mention of the role of angels at the end of life as mentioned in the Mass of Christian Burial.
You can’t escape your angel. God gave them an assignment to carry through until you make your home in heaven.
Want to read more? Check out CCC 336:
From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. [St.Basil]” Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.
—Pat Gohn is a wife & mother celebrating 27 years of Catholic family life. Her Catholic writing, podcasting, and ministry life are found at PatGohn.com.
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