On October 2nd the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Angels. Clinging to this heavenly friend is a way to have many friends in this life.
Newsdesk (04/10/2020 09:17, Gaudium Press) – The world today lacks affection. In fact, the number of the depressed, anxious, and abandoned increases – you could almost say – every day because nobody is interested in the other anymore.
Technology has “sought to make” man a self-sufficient being. In fact, “virtual reality” has made him lord of his own world, in which he is the ruler, judge, and law, and has made it so that there are no more borders for his alleged “omnipotent will”…
On the other hand, humanity has never been so unprotected amidst so many promises of protection: insecurity at work, at school, and in the streets rages in all corners of the globe. And the modern ‘superman’, curiously enough, does not enjoy protection even in his own home?
And all this, with the passage of time, has caused all the “wrappings of omnipotence” offered by technology to fall away before his eyes, and the road to despair and frustration to become the common path.
But where can man find a help, a support?
The Guardian Angel
Among the various divisions existing in the category of Angels, none has as much to do with man as the Guardian Angels.
They are the ones responsible for our custody and salvation throughout our lives. There is no being – in the whole world – more concerned about us than our Guardian Angel.
As the name itself says: Guardian Angel, designates the one who serves as man’s protector wherever he goes, the one who ‘escorts’ his ward everywhere. For this very reason, he is the one responsible for clearing from our path everything that leads us to hell and prevents us from going to heaven.
A Constant War
Without our realizing it, a real and invisible world exists around us, in which there is a constant war for our salvation: between the Guardian Angels and the Devil.
The Guardian Angel, making use of its special influence over man, fights and will fight tirelessly – without truce or quarter – against the devil, the world, and the flesh until the end of our lives, as our best friend and great counselor in the most difficult situations.
Out of Us
However, the proportions of this combat are staggering. If we were to transpose the strength of the clash between angels and demons into our own poor human proportions, no doubt we would be frightened just thinking about it…
Therefore, without our support for the Angels’ cause (and ours), the means of their action become limited and may become almost non-existent if we do not give them a minimum of attention and help. The success of their work is only possible with man’s contribution.
The Great Difficulty of the 21st Century
However, modern man does not want to be in tune with this supernatural reality and lives as if none of this existed.
Because he lives for himself, he increasingly ends up trusting in what satisfies his selfishness, giving his whole heart to the suggestions of demons, the world, and the flesh, whose highest expression is sin.
The craving for a godless and amoral life is what moves a good part of humanity to hell, and causes supernatural reality to be forgotten and to lose much of its action and influence in everyday life.
For modernity, what matters is the pleasure of endless delight that satisfies its passions and preferences.
Frustration, Disillusionment, and Despair
However, the things of this earth are finite, and what man hopes for will not be truly satisfied when he is outside of God.
Thus, many cases of frustration, disillusionment, and despair are derived from this lack of happiness that man feels for not feeling satiated and for being outside of God.
The Interchange Between Heaven and Earth
The Guardian Angel is at our side to guide us to what we should truly want and love.
It is he who makes the union of heaven and earth, and it is through him that man will attain from God the true affection he needs so much.
In this way, man will arrive at eternal happiness by uniting with the Guardian Angel.
This will only happen, however, if we give ourselves to him with devotion and submission, forgetting earthly things and clinging to those of heaven.
For this reason, Pope John XXIII once said that: “Our desire is that devotion to the Angel Custodian increase,” for he knew that one only reaches Heaven, and is faithful to God, through the Angel he entrusted to us.
By Renan Costa
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier
