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Exodus: 23: 20-23
Thus says the LORD:
“See, I am sending an angel before you,
to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.
Be attentive to him and heed his voice.
Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin.
My authority resides in him.
If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you,
I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
“My angel will go before you and bring you to the
Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites,
Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites;
and I will wipe them out.”
The Word of the Lord.
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What are angels? And what role do they play in our lives?
The Catechism states that angels are, “spiritual beings,” who surround God’s throne and worship him. As Jesus says, “the angels look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Some of them also cross over from heaven to earth as God’s messengers, guiding our steps.
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In the Old Testament, for example, an angel appears to Abraham, telling him not to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
In the Gospels, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, announcing that she will conceive a son and name him Jesus.
Another angel appears to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid; Mary’s child is, in fact, the Son of God. So, Joseph welcomes Jesus and Mary into his home.
Thirty years later, an angel appears to Jesus in the desert, comforting him as he’s tempted by Satan for forty days and forty nights.
After Christ’s resurrection, an angel appears to Saint Peter while he’s chained to the ground in prison, freeing his wrists and leading him to freedom.
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This Feast of the Guardian Angels reminds us that the veil between heaven and earth is far thinner than we may believe; angels still act in our lives today.
That still, quiet voice leading us away from temptation and towards virtue; that urge we feel to accept God’s will in both good times and in bad; that sense of peace we feel in prayer.
All of this may be the work of our guardian angel, who leads us closer to God.
As the Lord says in our first reading from the Book of Exodus, “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared,” today, tomorrow, and forever.
May our guardian angels watch over us and lead us into paradise, the new and eternal Jerusalem.
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Image credits: (1) Saint Agnes Catholic Church (2) Our Sunday Visitor (3) Facebook