October. The Angels.
Both in the Old and in the New Testaments the Holy Scriptures teach us that the angels exist and protect us: many examples are cited and facts related, from which we may conclude that this is so. True, we do not see the angels, and rare are the actual manifestations of their power, or their existence; hence some people deny that order of spirits.
But by a merciful dispensation of divine Providence, we know that the angels are active among us, that they shield us from evil, and draw heavenly favors upon us. They are ever ready to serve God; there are also spirits who care for each individual on earth—guardian angels.
Suarez is of opinion that Our Lord, in His adorable humanity, had a number of angels to wait on Him. Our guardian angel does his work not less effectively, for Our Lord tells us to be in dread of scandalizing a child, because of his angel who is always at his side.
At the time of the birth of Our Lord a multitude of the heavenly choir sang, “Glory to God on high, and peace to men of good-will.” During this month we celebrate the feast of the angel guardian; it has been considered so important that the whole month is set aside to the devotion of the angels. The Church encourages us in this devotion, for in the breviary she has authorized a votive office in honor of these heavenly spirits, on every Monday when there is no special festival to be celebrated, so that we may be continually reminded of the great truth that our guardian angel is always at our side.
Considerations and Prayers for Every Day.
First Day.
The name angel means a messenger; this name is given to these spirits because they have been [pg 405] used by almighty God for that duty; they have been sent by God to disclose His will to man. God could, of course, do His will by His own power. He needs no angel, but for that matter He needs no creature. Still, in His infinite kindness, He called rational creatures into existence, and has given them a most honorable employment. Their ordinary work is like what our own will be, or like that of the saints now in heaven: “to see, love, bless, and enjoy God forever by a blessed immortality.” Penetrate, then, in your mind, the eternity of time, when God in His love created pure rational creatures, who had a spirit like His own, intelligence unencumbered with a body, and having no necessities. He placed them near His throne in heaven, and now they announce in their celestial adornments the omnipotence, love, and wisdom of their almighty Creator. They sing perpetually of the sanctity of God, and render Him glory. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of armies.” Hence the Council of Lateran teaches authoritatively, “God created together, at the beginning of time, out of nothing, both classes of creatures, spiritual and corporal, the angelic and material, and then the human.”
Prayer.
Second Day.
God, says the great preacher Bossuet, wished to create spirits like Himself, pure and immaterial, [pg 406] living by intelligence and love. Spirits that would know and love Him as He knows Himself and loves Himself, and who would be happy in simply knowing and loving this first great Being. For that very reason they bear on their natures a divine character, after God's image and likeness. O God, who can doubt that Thou could create spirits without a body? or is there need of a body that one might understand, love and be happy? Thou, O God, Who art Thyself a pure spirit, art Thou not incorporal and immaterial? Are not intelligence and love spiritual and immaterial operations, which can be exercised without a body? The creation of the angels, then, was a manifestation of God's omnipotence, as it is also omnipotence to call human individuals into existence, and to give them knowledge, so that they can serve and glorify God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Third Day.
The angels are part of the universal creation outside of God, and were created in the beginning of time. St. Thomas, the great theologian, says “The angels are a part of the universal creation, and form a regular grade in that creation.” Now no part can be perfect when separated from its belongings, and we are sure God's works are perfect; but the angelic world would have stood by itself, separated and isolated from the rest of creation, if it had been made before the sensible world. The number of angels is very great. God did not [pg 407] stint Himself in giving lavishly of His benefits. These pure spirits inhabit space, and move about in choirs of immense numbers. “Thousands upon thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him.”—Dan. vii. 10. These figures certainly point to an almost infinite number. Count if you can the sands on the seashore, the stars in the firmament, and when you think you have reached a definite calculation, you are far below the real existing number. God pours out lavishly the abundance of His omnipotence and love. Prodigality is a characteristic of all the divine works. We cannot meditate on the countless multitude of the angels without astonishment.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Fourth Day.
God has not made all the angels alike. We know from the Scriptures that there are distinctions which we do not exactly understand. Some are angels, others archangels, others dominations, virtues, etc. St. Jerome writes, “Among the invisible creatures there is a manifold and an indefinite diversity.” It is natural to suppose that not only did God exert His omnipotence in the production of myriads of beautiful spirits, not only did He make them the most perfect of their kind for the purpose for which they were intended, but that He also diversified them. God almighty not only gave these intellectual beings existence, but He also gave them a knowledge by which, with their own intelligence, [pg 408] they could rise to a most exalted contemplation of His infinity. What glory do not these intelligent beings bring to God's throne! What beautiful homage do they not pour forth in His presence! What exultation there must be in their study of God, constantly discovering something new and unnoticed, going deeper and deeper into the depths of the wonders of God! Let us also rejoice with the angels, and love to study the adorable perfections of God: let us be fond of reading of and hearing about God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Fifth Day.
The angels speak to one another, and their conversation is concerning holy things. The Scriptures tell us that the seraphim cry “one to another, Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts.”—Isa. vi. 3. The angels also speak to God in prayer and adoration; they praise His power, they extol His majesty, they beseech His clemency, they consult His wisdom. And they can also speak to men, as the archangel Gabriel did to Mary. Faber tells us, in wonderful words, what he thought of the power of the angels: “Cast your eye over that outspread ocean, whose shores lie so faintly and far off in the almost infinite distance. It gleams like restless silver, quivering with life, and yet such multitudinous life! It flashes the light with intolerable magnificence. Its unity is numberless, its life is purest light. Into the bosom of its vastness the glory of God shines down, and the universe is illuminated with its refulgence. [pg 409] It is an ocean of life. Who can count the sum of being that is there? Who but God can fathom its unsearchable caverns? What created eye but is dazzled with the blazing splendor of its capacious surface? Grand storms of voiceless praise hang over it forever, whose very silence thrills the soul of the human saints.”
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Sixth Day.
The power of the angels is immense. The Scriptures tell us that they destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, by raining fire and brimstone upon them. They destroyed the army of Sennacherib, when every soldier felt the keen edge of the angel's sword; they strangled the first-born of the Egyptian people in one night. The devil, by permission from God, raised storms that tore down the houses in which Job's sons and daughters were feasting, burying all in the ruins. He afflicted Job with a most filthy disease, and robbed him of all his possessions to try to make him revolt against God. When Our Lord freed those who were possessed by the devil, the evil spirit asked to be permitted to enter a herd of swine, and when it had received the permission the swine rushed headlong down the hill into the sea and were destroyed. If then, the power of these spirits is so great for evil, the angels are more powerful for good. We will be friends with our good angels whom God has sent to perform favors for us—favors both temporal and spiritual; we will hate the devil, and with the help of God's grace resist his power.
[pg 410]Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Seventh Day.
The angelic world is most beautiful. St. Augustine says in his “City of God,” “The angelic world in its natural dignity surpasses all other things the Lord has made. Consider this intelligence by which they know so many things so perfectly, the great power by which they can do good to their fellow-creatures, the brightness of those wonderful spirits shining like the glorious luminaries of our universe, the wonderful gifts which almighty God furnished them, and we have a picture of such harmonious glory that all the beauty of the world, all the magnificent actions of the human kind, dwindle into insignificance before this great creation of angelic spirits.” In Ezechiel we read of the admirable beauty of the devil that had fallen: “Thou wast the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God: every precious stone was thy covering ... gold the work of thy beauty: ... Thou wast a cherub stretching out thy wings and covering, and I set thee in the holy mountain of God, thou hast walked in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day of thy creation, until iniquity was found in thee.”—Ezech. 12-15. And Isaias the prophet exclaimed with regret at the fall of Lucifer, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst arise as the morning.”
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Eighth Day.
Faber speaks in the following terms of the rational creatures of God, including men and angels: “God became a King by becoming a Creator. Thus He gained an empire over which His insatiable love might rule.” Nature is very beautiful, whether we think of angelic or human nature. Created nature is a shadow of the uncreated nature, so real and so bright that we cannot think of it without exceeding reverence. Yet God created neither men nor angels in a state of nature. This is, to my mind, the most wonderful and most suggestive thing which we know about God. He would have no reasonable nature, even from the very first, which should not be partaker of His divine nature. This is the very meaning of the state of grace. He would not have it to breathe for one instant in a merely natural way. The very act of creation was full of fondness, of paternal jealousy. O that majesty of God, which seems clothed with such wonderful tranquillity in the eternity before the creation!
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Ninth day.
Not only do the angels praise almighty God, pray to Him, and converse with Him, but they do it much more effectually than we do because of their greater purity, and because they know God better than we do. Hence the question might be asked, what do the angels know of God, and of religion as [pg 412] it is among us? The answer is that they know what we know, and much more; still there are some things too great because too infinite, even for the intelligence of angels. Can the angels understand God? No, indeed. God is infinite, and no finite mind can comprehend Him. They know that God is one, because even we, in our inferior intelligence, know that there can be but one God; they know too, that there are three divine persons, but it will ever remain a mystery to them as well as to us, because it is a truth of such infinite dimensions; but they understand it much more distinctly than we do. It is probable that the angels knew the mystery of the incarnation by divine revelation, and they believed in it. St. Thomas and other theologians are of opinion that the bad angels fell because they would not submit to the belief in the hypostatic union. It was therefore fitting, for the glory and honor of the Son of God, Who was to be made flesh, that the angels should know this mystery.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Tenth Day.
Father Faber speaks thus of their knowledge of the precious blood during their term of probation: “The angels wonder more than man at the goodness of God in sending us His divine Son to die for us, because they understand it better. From the very first He invited the angels to adore it. He made their adoration a double exercise of humility—of humility towards Himself, and of humility towards us, [pg 413] their fellow-creatures. It was the test to which He put their loyalty. He showed them His beloved Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, in His sacred humanity, united to a nature lower than theirs, and in that lower nature crowned their King and Head, to be worshipped by them with absolute and unconditional adoration. The Son of a human Mother was to be their head, and that daughter of Eve to be herself their Queen. He showed them in that blood the source of all their graces.” The precious blood was as the dew of the whole kingdom of the angels. Well, then, may the angels claim to sing the song of the Lamb: to Whose outpoured human life they also owed so much.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Eleventh Day.
The angels merited the crown of a happy eternity in union with God: “For he also, that striveth for the mastery, is not crowned except he striveth lawfully.”—Tim. ii. 5. Such is the law of God, not only for men but for angels also. Pope Gelasius says, “That the angels were so constituted as to merit an increase of eternal glory, is sufficiently indicated by the fact that they stood in need of nothing more, that none of them could have committed evil.” And St. Prosper says of their trial, “It was the action of the will of the holy angels, that while their companions with their own free will rebelled, they themselves remained faithful in the dignity wherein God had placed them; and hence it [pg 414] came to pass by a divine and most just judgment, that what was only up to that a holy desire of remaining with God, became thereafter a voluntary and a most blessed necessity of remaining with Him forever.” We too should strive continually to merit our crown in heaven; we are placed on trial here on this earth, a place of pilgrimage, and we should remain faithful to the conditions of that trial until our journey is over.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twelfth Day.
Almighty God loved His angels, and made them His friends and favorites. The Blessed Virgin is placed above them all, as the Church on the day of her assumption proclaims: “She is exalted above the choirs of angels in the heavenly kingdom.” Here we have to adore the liberality of almighty God, and the mysterious and adorable way in which He distributes His gifts. He fashions the angels in a natural order, and endows them with greater natural perfections than others. Next He raises them in the first instant of creation to the supernatural order by the gift of sanctifying grace. Then comes the time of probation, and He confirms the good forever in glory, bestows on them the beatific vision, happiness, enlightenment, and splendor according to their acts, but still more in proportion to the natural powers, dignity, and excellence of His own divine hand. Here indeed is the potter and the potter's clay spoken of by St. Paul. To man God acts differently: “But the foolish things of the world [pg 415] hath God chosen that He may confound the wise: and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong ... that no flesh should glory in His sight.”—2 Cor. i. 27-29.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Thirteenth Day.
Oh, what a glory, what a happiness and consolation, were granted to the angels when they had done the will of God! God received His faithful followers with goodness and love, and introduced them into His place of glory, and there He manifested Himself to them and will do so for all eternity. And so the beautiful life of the angels in heaven may furnish us with ample materials for meditation. Our Lord calls our attention to them when He bids us pray that we may do His will on earth, as do the angels in heaven. Faber says, “Grace is a better portion than nature for loving God; by grace God can communicate Himself to us supernaturally, by it He gets more love from us, and makes us more able to love Him. O that we had the hearts to know the meaning of this! Surely His love of us should be our measure of love for Him. Well might St. Francis run about the woods crying out, ‘Oh, God is not known! God is not loved!’ ” The angels will ever remain in heaven, loving and honoring God, in supreme happiness, in the infinite light of God Himself. Let us also, as some saints have done, offer to God the love of the first choir of seraphim in reparation for all the outrages going on in the world.
[pg 416]Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Fourteenth Day.
We have seen the great reward the good angels received for remaining faithful to God. What did the bad angels lose by their infidelity? It was to them a final impenitence, which means the loss of the power of ever turning to God; which will in its turn be an eternal regret at the loss of God. Listen to the sentence of the reprobate: “Depart from Me, ye accursed, into everlasting flames, which was prepared for Satan and his angels.” In Holy Scripture we often read of the worm that gnaws and dies not; by this is meant the continual anguish and grief of a soul which has lost God—a passionate regret that will seize on it, and never leave it, because the loss is an everlasting one. God spoke, and the depths of hell sprang into existence. Bossuet says that the curse of God against the reprobate contains within itself an imprecation against the unhappy soul, which tears out from the minutest fibres of its being all the capacity it once had to receive enjoyment from bliss, as well as the power to perform the least good action capable of meriting any mercy. This example of the fall of the angels should strike terror into our hearts, and should incite us to pray to the good angels, especially to our guardian angel, so that we may ever remain faithful to the service of God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Fifteenth Day.
It is an inexhaustible subject, the marvels which theology teaches of the holy angels; who can properly describe the power of these pure spirits, the greatness of their intelligence, the fire of their holy love? Their graces, their powers, their gifts, their operations, their works, are so diversified that it is with difficulty the mind of man can conceive them and intelligibly speak of them. In several places in the Scriptures we read of the choirs of angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominations, thrones, cherubim, seraphim. Dionysius teaches that there are three orders of angels—three superior, three inferior and three middle: the superior, cherubim, seraphim, and thrones; the middle, dominations, principalities, and powers; the inferior, virtues, archangels and angels. These names are given to them, not for their own sake but for ours; and the individual orders are called from the gifts of grace which they possess. O that we realized that our future eternity is to be with the angels in heaven; that our glory depends on our life here; greater glory for greater work! We should strive to deserve a great place in heaven for the glory of God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Sixteenth Day.
The angels are engaged in praising and loving God; what this really includes who can tell?—or it means a variety of occupation and the greatest [pg 418] liberty of using their free will for the glory of God. The angels occupy themselves according to the meaning of their names. God, in His relations to Himself, is represented by seraphim, cherubim and thrones—angels that are devoted to His service particularly; who rejoice not so much in doing their own will, as they are happy in the close association with the splendor of God in heaven. A seraph is a great, pure angel, who shines and burns in honor of God. He represents the love of God; that great love for His creatures which is forever active in our behalf. The seraphs are put in the highest place, as created representations of that wonderful attribute, the charity of God for Himself. The cherubim are placed second; they represent knowledge and wisdom: “He was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.” This is Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, represented by the cherubim. The thrones represent God in His majesty, sitting on His throne of glory in heaven.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Seventeenth Day.
Thus we may say that the seraphim represents the Holy Ghost; the cherubim, the Word, the Son of God; the thrones, the Father. These choirs of angels are in the immediate presence of God. They are before His throne, and they see Him day and night in His temple: “and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell over them.” M. Olier says: “The seraphim proceed from God, as flames proceed [pg 419] from a furnace, and their circle surround Him as with a fiery blaze.” The cherubim are the rays of the divine wisdom, and are, so to say, the eyes of God, under which He seems to regard Himself, and all the external world. The thrones are the image of His sanctity. This hierarchy expresses the three great perfections which we adore in God, namely: His love, His knowledge, and His holiness. These typify also those beautiful operations of grace whereby God draws to Himself intelligent beings; by detaching them from creatures and attaching them to Himself, enlightening them interiorly by His heavenly wisdom, so that they freely follow the guidance of God, and making His throne in their hearts, in their affections, abides there forever.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Eighteenth Day.
Let us consider to-day the angels of the second choir. They are the dominations, principalities and powers. Again their names are given to them for the virtues they represent, and not from their angelic nature. The three choirs of the first hierarchy were typical of the essential acts of God. The three of the second represent the external acts of God. The dominations represent the power of God. He is the absolute Lord of the universe; He is the Creator, the Maker, and therefore the possessor of all that is. The principalities govern the world, under God, and according to His divine providence. “By Me kings reign, and lawgivers decree just things.” Hence the duty of this choir of angels is [pg 420] to praise God for the wisdom displayed in His ruling and legislating of the external creation. The angels of power put the laws of God into execution. They reward and punish; they are the representatives of executive power. They praise God in the power manifested in the carrying out of the laws impressed on the material and spiritual world. Should we not learn from these angels to praise the Almighty in all He has done?
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Nineteenth Day.
The third choir of the hierarchy of the angels are the virtues, archangels, and angels. The virtues are the first of these, and represent the acts of God towards individuals. Those works of God which surpass the power of man, such as miracles, or inward movements of grace, are performed by the virtues of the Most High; they hold an intermediate station between heaven and earth. Archangels are the great messengers, whom God has sent to His intelligent creation. The name is given because the goodness and kindness of God have distinguished them from the myriads of other angels, and given them an office, that of bearing to men the words of God; they also carry the prayers of the faithful on earth, and lay them before God's throne in heaven; and they are sent to conduct souls to the portals of heavenly bliss. The archangels have the duty of protecting the Church; those who occupy high positions in the Church or State are said to be under the guidance of an archangel. In this manner the higher [pg 421] grade of archangels represents the higher degree of providence shown by God towards individuals. Let us unite ourselves with the choir of the archangels and praise God in them—those glorious spirits, that have so perfectly conveyed God's messages to men.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twentieth Day.
It is a belief which we may prove from the Scriptures, which is corroborated by many facts in the history of the world, and by the belief of ancient people, that God governs the world, even the natural world, through the agency of spirits; to each of whom He was pleased to depute certain offices. He made use of the good angels to maintain order in general, to watch over empires, to protect men, to carry His blessings to them, and to be the executives of His justice. Everywhere Scripture recalls this wonderful ministry of the angels; and there is not an epoch of time in which such a tradition did not exist. We read in the Gospel that Our Lord Himself was tempted by the devil, the fallen angel. Our blessed Lord teaches us that little children are dearer to Him than they are to their own mothers, and He has appointed angels to be their guardians. So great is a human soul in the eyes of God. We have to struggle not alone against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against those who have dominion in this world, and against evil spirits scattered in the air. But in this struggle we shall be assisted by the good spirits, [pg 422] whom God commissions to look after His beloved creatures.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-first Day.
In the book of the Apocalypse, we read of the activity of the angels. We see them coming from heaven to earth; they bring down from almighty God orders for salvation as well as for punishment; hence the angels are called ministering spirits, sent for the ministry of our salvation. Especially may we conceive that in the service of the Church the angels are particularly active—that there are angels who intervene in the oblation, and bear it to the sublime altar of Jesus Christ, angels who are called angels of prayer, and who present before God the petitions of the faithful. St. Michael is the defender of the Church. The ancient Jewish people were protected by St. Michael, also. Other nations had their superior spirits, which are mentioned in the Scriptures as protectors; for the prophet Daniel speaks of the prince of the Greeks, the prince of the Persians, angels who preside spiritually and invisibly over these nations. Are we not also important as a nation, in the designs of God? Whom has God appointed over the affairs of our country? We know there is such a spirit; let us pray to him even without knowing him, for we are sure that our prayers will reach the one appointed by God to protect us.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-second Day.
To each man an angel is appointed for his care: this we can prove from the Scriptures. “Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father Who is in heaven.”—Matt. xviii. 10. St. Paul says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?”—Heb. i. 14. Fallen man needed some help, and almighty God entrusted him to the care of the angels. Even God's power, God's wisdom, and God's mercy demand it. First of all, the power of God demanded that the angels should not only serve Him, but serve His glory in His creatures. God's wisdom demanded that each human being coming into the world should receive a guardian; for the devil has great power over us, and we would not be able to battle against the devil or the flesh without help. God desires to preserve His work: hence God's mercy moves Him in favor of the fallen or those in danger of a fall, like unto a mother full of tenderness for her children. God gave His only Son for the redemption of mankind; precious, indeed, then, is this human soul, if worthy to be purchased by the blood of the Lamb; certainly precious enough, too, to be guarded with care by a superior intelligence.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-third Day.
Not only the just, but also sinners, have guardian angels. Indeed it would appear that sinners [pg 424] and infidels need them more, for the sinner is so wayward, and yet God in His kindness wishes to bring him back to good ways, and so the gentle persuasion of a guiding spirit is necessary. The Scriptures do not limit the attendance of the guardian angels to those only who are in a state of grace; therefore it is likely that even after sin the ministering angel remains. While we are good we hardly need the presence of a good spirit; it is when we have turned to evil that we need that precious guide. The belief that a guardian angel attends us ought to impress itself deeply on our minds; we are never alone, we are taken care of by the ministers of God Our Father, and we have nothing to fear. Even though the world has turned against us, and we are surrounded by trouble on all sides, we are sure that this angel will bring comfort to us. Children should be taught from their early childhood that a guardian angel attends them; it will have a very good effect in shaping their lives.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-fourth Day.
The guardian angels have certain duties to perform, and we can put them down in this wise. First, the angel guardian defends us from all evil. He can put thoughts into our minds which will put us on our guard against sin. Second, the angels oppose the cunning of the devil, who wants to destroy us. The devil argues in a very crafty manner, and unless we are strengthened by the love [pg 425] and the goodness of God we would be led astray by the devil's superior intelligence. But our guardian angel brings light to the mind, and holds the soul in the desire of good. Third, they offer our prayers to almighty God, as we read in the Apocalypse, “There was given to [the angel] much incense, ... and the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God, from the hand of the angel.” Our angel intercedes for us with God with a personal and special interest, and we, on account of our great sinfulness, need an angel to help us to obtain grace and mercy from almighty God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-fifth Day.
We do most assuredly deserve punishment from God, because we do not behave ourselves as we should; like a naughty child, who, notwithstanding good advice and most tender interest, will go wrong, be obstinate and sulky. The good mother chastises the child in the same manner the spirit of God shows his disapprobation, in a gentle manner, for the angel of light would not resort to force, as the demon does in his attacks. We ought to be glad that we have a spirit of wisdom about us that will tell us of our sins; that excites the qualms of conscience, and will give us no rest until we make our peace with God. We often turn a deaf ear to the entreaties of the good spirit; we trample our conscience under foot and abuse it, bring up reasons to combat its correction: we argue with ourselves in [pg 426] obstinacy, and being left alone, who will gain the victory? The devil and our evil inclinations will gain the day assuredly. Docility to the interior voice is a necessary quality for a good life; to listen to God and spiritual influences ought to be, to say the least, the very natural consequence of a rational soul, tending to God with all its power.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-sixth Day.
The influence of the angels in bringing us to heaven should be marvellous for that purpose. They have been assigned to our service, to bring our wandering spirits back to God. What a glorious conquest when an angel can snatch a soul from eternal perdition by his prayers and exertions! If the devil is active to gain us, would it not be against reason that the good angel would stand back and remain inactive? The last hours of a man, his judgment, and entrance into heaven, are the moments of the great and final duties of the guardian spirits; and if the soul be detained in purgatory, then the duty of the angel will be to offer the prayers of friends, relatives and of the Church to almighty God for the good of that soul. And perhaps by the kind possibility of the mercy of God, the angel will descend into the fires of purgatory and will speak consoling, comforting, and encouraging words to the soul whose greatest torment is the separation from God for a time, until its purgation is complete.
Prayer.
O angel of God. etc., etc.
Twenty-seventh Day.
St. Bonaventure has written extensively on the holy angels, and has meditated on their ways. It was a useful practice to him and helped to sanctify him. He gives us twelve effects consequent to the duty of taking care of us, which these angel guardians manifest and perform. First, they accuse of sin, as we read in Judges ii. 1. Second, they absolve from the debt of sin by inspiring sorrow in the soul, and a firm purpose of amendment. Third, they remove the obstacles that stand in the way of doing good; for the angels strangled the first-born of the Egyptians, who opposed the going away of the Israelites. Fourth, they drive away demons, as is related in the twelfth chapter, of Tobias. Fifth, they teach us in matters of religion. Sixth, they reveal the secrets of God to us. “Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”—Gen. xviii. 17. Seventh, they console us. Eighth, they strengthen us in the way of God. Ninth, they convey and bring back, as we read in Tobias, “I will conduct him thither and bring him back to thee.” Tenth, they overthrow our enemies.—Is. xxxvii. Eleventh, they mitigate the violence of temptations. Twelfth, they pray for us, and bear our prayers to God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-eighth Day.
During this month we have thought of the nature of the angels, and their work for human kind; [pg 428] now let us reflect on what we ought to do in return for these attentions. Ought we let them pass, accept them as a matter of course, and pay no attention to them? Many do this. Yet we owe them something—how much, is left almost to our own generosity. We certainly owe them friendship; they are our friends, and are solicitous for our welfare. If I have a friend that does a great deal for me, supplies my wants, and satisfies every wish of mine, I am certainly proud of his friendship, and I will seek every opportunity to be in his company. So should we treat our truest friends—our guardian angels. We should also reverence the angels, because they are greater beings than we are; they are the favorites and friends of God. Then we must have a devotion to them. This devotion we are endeavoring to practice during the month of October.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Twenty-ninth Day.
What goodness does not God evince in giving us angels to watch over us! The princes of earth choose the most learned to train the heirs to the crown; and God gives us guides full of wisdom, science, and purity. He has deputed the princes of His court to watch over us. What high ideas we should conceive of our dignity, then, and how we should realize that we are called to great sanctity! Even a mother's love cannot equal the angels', and when we go to heaven we will be astonished on reviewing their services. St. Bernard [pg 429] exclaims, “O excess of goodness and love! O admirable condescension! He has given His angels charge over us.” The great God of heaven and earth has sent those elevated dignitaries of His heavenly court to watch over us, poor miserable sinners. Why does He do this? What can be His object in so caring for us? It is to His goodness alone we owe all. Let us prove ourselves grateful, then, to Him and to His holy angels, and may we one day join them in their songs of praise and gladness!
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Thirtieth Day.
St. Bernard teaches that we ought to honor and respect our angels on account of their excellence; to love them for their care of us, and to have recourse to them in all our necessities. However weak or miserable we may be, or however terrible the dangers that surround us, we should not fear under the protection of such guardians. There is no better way of securing the protection of the angels than by avoiding all sin, but particularly mortal sin; for when we are at enmity with God they are ready to exterminate us at His command. But they will ever prove faithful friends to the servants of God. How can the angels help loving and aiding those whom they know are dear to God? Our guardian angels often ward off accidents that would cut us off unprepared; after interceding for us to prevent God from calling us out of life, they try to make us bring forth worthy fruits of penance. O holy angels, I entreat you to extend your special [pg 430] care to me during the rest of my life, that I may live in God's friendship and die in His love.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Thirty-first Day.
When the figure of this world shall have passed away, the angels will come and call us to judgment; every human being will then rise again, and hasten to the valley of Jehosaphat. The good will go to the right side, the wicked to the left, the separation made by the angels. Then will the Lord appear in the glory of heaven, surrounded by His angels, and the judgment will take place. Happy shall we be if we are judged to be as pure as the angels, and will ascend with them to paradise, ever to be associated with them. Then will come our exceeding great reward; we shall see God face to face for all eternity. We shall form choirs for the praise of the Almighty, alternating with the angels. We shall know God, love Him, rejoice in Him, and praise Him. Then, for the first time, we shall love God above all things, our joy shall be without measure because we shall have a particular joy for everything that is in God. We will praise God with all our heart, with all our strength, with all our power, with all our faculties. “Happy are they that live in Thy house, O Lord, for they will praise Thee forever and ever.” Here youth never grows old; here there is life that knows no end, beauty that never fades, love that never cools, joy that never ceases. Let us then, while on earth, lead the life of angels, be as pure as they, as obedient to God's will as they, and [pg 431] pray to them daily that they help us to this much-desired perfection.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Litany of the Holy Guardian Angel.
(For Private Devotion Only.)
V. Pray for us, O holy guardian angel,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray.
Almighty, everlasting God, Who in the counsel of Thy ineffable goodness hast appointed to all the faithful from their mother's womb, a special guardian angel of their body and soul; grant that I may love and honor him whom Thou hast so mercifully given me, that protected by the bounty of Thy grace, and by his assistance, I may merit to behold, with him and all the angelic host, the glory of Thy countenance in the heavenly country. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Special Prayers.
Prayer To The Guardian Angel.
Angel of God, who art my guardian, enlighten, guard, direct, and govern me, who have been committed to thee by the supernal clemency. Amen.
Prayers To St. Michael, St. Gabriel, And St. Raphael.
Glorious St. Michael! prince of the heavenly host, protector of the universal Church, defend us against all our enemies, visible and invisible. Do not permit that we should ever fall under their tyranny.
St. Gabriel! thou who art justly called the strength of God, since thou hast been chosen to announce to [pg 433] many the mystery of the incarnation, in which the Almighty has displayed the power of His arms, make us know the treasure contained in the person of the Son of God, and be our protector with His august Mother.
St. Raphael! charitable guide of travellers, thou who, by divine virtue, dost effect miraculous cures, deign to guide us in the pilgrimage of this life, and heal the maladies of our souls and bodies. All ye orders of blessed spirits, be our defenders and protectors during our life and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Act Of Consecration To Our Guardian Angel.
Angel of God! prince of heaven, watchful guardian, faithful guide, charitable pastor, I rejoice that God has created thee with so many perfections; that He has sanctified thee by His grace, and crowned thee with glory, after having persevered in His service. May God be praised forever for all He has done for thee! Be thou blessed for all the good thou hast procured me and my companions. I abandon to thee my body, soul, memory, understanding, will, inclination, and senses. Govern all, dispose of all, purify, enlighten, perfect all. Beg Our Lord to shed upon me and my companions His abundant benedictions; that, persevering until death in His grace, we may deserve to possess Him eternally with thee in glory. Amen.
Prayer To The Holy Angels During The Month Of October.
O pure and happy spirits, whom the Almighty selected to become the angels and guardians [pg 434] of men! we most humbly prostrate ourselves before you, to thank you for the charity and zeal with which you execute this commission. Alas! how many pass a long life without ever thanking that invisible friend to whom they a thousand times owe its preservation! O charitable guardians of those souls for whom Christ died! O burning spirits, who cannot but love those whom Jesus eternally loved, permit us to address you in behalf of all those committed to your care, and to implore for them all, in general, a grateful sense of your many favors, and the grace to profit by your charitable assistance. O angels of those happy infants, who are as yet without spot before God, preserve their innocence, we earnestly conjure you. Angels of youth, who are exposed to so many dangers, conduct them in safety to the bosom of God, as Tobias was conducted back to his father. Angels of those who are employed in the instruction of youth, animate them with your zeal and love; teach them to emulate your purity and incessant view of God, that they may worthily and successfully co-operate with the invisible guardians of their young charges. O angels of the clergy, who have the eternal Gospel to preach, present their words, their actions, and their intentions to God, and purify them in that fire of love which consumes you. Angels of infidels, whom the true faith has never enlightened, intercede for them; that, practising what they know, they may at length discover the hidden secrets of the kingdom of God. O angels of all those who, throughout the world, are deprived of religious instruction, open for them some source of salvation; raise up some one to break for them the bread of the Word. And you, O guardian [pg 435] angels of sinners, charitable guides of those unhappy mortals, whose persistence in sin would embitter even your unutterable joys were you not established in the peace of God, oh, join us, we ardently beseech you, in imploring their conversion. Angels of all those who at this moment struggle in the agonies of death, strengthen, encourage and defend them against the attacks of their infernal enemies. O faithful guides, holy spirits, ardent adorers of the Divinity, guardian angels of all creatures! protect us all, teach us to love, to pray, to combat on earth, and rather obtain for us instant death than permit us to commit one mortal sin. Amen.