Today we celebrate the Holy Guardian Angels, a reminder each year of the reality and the
doctrine of the angels who protect us and who are our friends and guardians and companions
throughout our entire life. They're assigned to us from God, and so they don't have any choice,
but they still love us and protect us and treasure us as their prized possession,
and they're our friends, and they will always be, even in eternity in heaven,
they will still be.
They will still be our best companions and friends, and they help us in many ways,
not just physically from dangers, which they do. We can imagine all the accidents and
trip-ups and harm that could have come to us more than have happened because of their protection,
because we have a devotion to them, or even if we don't, sometimes they help us and we
didn't even know.
We didn't even think of them, but we should think of them. We should cultivate our relationship
with them and then have their protection even more, but they help us too in our spiritual
difficulties, to help us to overcome temptations, to help us to stay away from and resist temptations,
and they do that by entering into our mind, and they can hear our petitions and our prayers. They
can affect our lives. They can affect our lives. They can affect our lives. They can affect our
imagination, place images in our mind and our memories to help us to stay away from sin and to
have strength to resist temptations. So they give us counsel and suggestions to us on the way to
holiness, to be virtuous and to be faithful to God. So they are with us throughout our life,
and we are too.
And they're just one more gift from God to us. We have all our patron saints. We have God
himself, of course, the Holy Trinity, Our Lady, and now all these beautiful saints, all these
beautiful angels, and especially our guardian angels. We have so much to thank God for and to
use and cultivate this relationship with our guardian angel, St. Jose Maria Escriva. I used
to use every Tuesday to cultivate this relationship with our guardian angel, St. Jose Maria Escriva.
I used to use every Tuesday to cultivate this relationship with our guardian angel, st. Jose Maria
Escriva. I used to use every Tuesday to cultivate this relationship to cultivate his relationship with
the guardian angel. To have more conversations with the guardian angel on that day.
So perhaps we can find a day to do that as well. And to talk to them every day.
To have that close relationship, that familiar relationship with them and then we'll never be lonely
and never think we don't have that strong, powerful friend with us even when we're alone.
So the many saints have cultivated a close relationship with their guardian angels,
and I thought I'd just conclude with what happened to St. Pio with his guardian angel.
He relates to his spiritual father,
Saturday it seemed that the devils wanted to finish me off with their blows,
and I did not know what saint to turn to.
Then I called on my guardian angel, who after making me wait a while,
was right there at last to help me,
and with his angelic voice he sang hymns to the divine majesty.
I complained to him for making me wait so long,
for I had not neglected to call him for help.
To punish him, so to speak, for being late,
I tended to avoid looking him in the face and to move away from him.
But he, poor thing, came up to me almost in tears,
so that I lifted him up.
He lifted up my eyes, looked him in the face, and saw that he was all distressed.
Then he told me,
I am always near you, dear friend, mio diletto.
I always walk near you.
This love I have for you will not end, even when you die.
Padre Pio lived in intimate contact with his guardian angel,
who enabled him to translate letters written in Greek and French.
He used to keep Padre Pio up at night to chant God's praises with him.
He used to ease the pain Padre Pio suffered,
from the beatings he took from the demons.
This angel thus became his helpmate,
and would carry messages from him to souls far away,
bringing them comfort and a blessing.
One time Padre Pio wrote this about his angel,
Oh, the poor dear, he is too good.
Does this not make me see my grave obligation of gratitude?
And Padre Pio used to always tell his spiritual children as well,
to exercise their angels,
not to make their angels' wings rust,
but to exercise them to send our guardian angels to God,
and to Our Lady, and to the saints,
and even to the guardian angels of other people,
to help them on their path to virtue and holiness.
So let us thank God for this gift that he has given to us,
and to use it, use our friend,
and converse with him,
and use their particular gifts,
and use their protection and help.
Thank you.