In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The gospel reminds us that even in the face of difficulties, in the face of tragedies, our faith must sustain us, that we must always have our faith at the center of our lives. When we face difficulties or tragedies, things that are out of our control, that we know that even in these moments of our lives, Jesus is close to us and with us and at our side. 
During my time that I spent working as a diocesan priest, perhaps I think one of the most difficult things that I had to do was funerals for children, and I had to do several funerals for children. Some had passed through car accidents, some through sickness, but one was particularly difficult. It was a baby that the father had taken a nap with his baby in his bed, and during his time napping, unfortunately, he rolled over and he suffocated the baby, and the baby died. And this was a particularly difficult one for me to do.
But in all tragedy, it helps us to understand that as much as parents love their children, as much as family or friends love their children, God loves their children more. Jesus loves their children more. And Jesus wanted only one thing, that they would have eternal life with Him forever. And so even in the midst of tragedy, it’s important for us to always remember the love of God is greater than the tragedy, and that in the end we must understand that our purpose and goal in life is to be with God forever in heaven, no matter what the age that we leave this world, from a little baby to a hundred years old, and that baby had been baptized, so that baby had been baptized before it died when it was crushed by its father in that incident. That Jesus loved those children more than the parents loved them because He died for them so that they could be with Him forever in heaven.
And so in the midst of tragedy, it’s important that our faith sustain us and that we remember always that we’re here on earth for one purpose, to be with God forever in heaven. In that moment, none of us has control over, none of us can set the date that we leave this world. And that’s also why it’s important, it’s so important for parents to instill in children that they are created for heaven to be with God and that they too must always be prepared and ready to do that in such an appropriate way, to make them see that they’re here to get to heaven and that they too must live holy lives. 
I always remember when Sister Lucia asked Our Lady about one particular friend who was a teenager, had died. If she was in heaven, there were two friends that had died. The first friend, Our Lady said, “Yes, she’s with me in heaven.” The second friend, who was just a teenager, maybe 11, 12 years old, 13 years old, Our Lady had said she would be in purgatory to the end of the world. And so it’s just a reminder to us also that we must instill in our youth a love for virtue to live a holy life. 
And that we, you know, there’s one thing as parents cannot do is control when God calls them to be with Him. But the most important thing is that we remember God’s love for us and that even in the midst of tragedy, the love of Jesus is greater than the tragedy and that we are created to be with Him forever in heaven. And for this, He suffered and died for our sins. 
Though we’re not celebrating a votive mass today on the guardian angels, we remember always the importance of devotion to our guardian angel as we begin this new week, that we ask our guardian angel’s help to love and stay close to Jesus and to help us to serve Him faithfully. 
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.