Guardian Angels and the Protection of the Innocent

There are unknown numbers of angels that surround the altar at every Mass and remain adoring God even when no one else is present. Angels have no sense experience, because they have no material body, so they come to their knowledge intuitively. There’s no possibility for an angel to change his mind or for a devil to repent. God has given us our guardian angels to protect us from all manner of temptations and guide us in our prayers. Even after we die, our angel will accompany us to Purgatory and escort us into Heaven.

During a Solemn High Mass, a secondary sacrifice is offered and that is the sacrifice of incense. this practice of burning incense as a form of sacrifice can be traced even to the Old Testament with the incense offered in the Temple. The smoke ascending to Heaven represents our prayers being lifted to God. the angels are referred to as standing on the right hand of the altar of incense because of their great love for the liturgy.

The Gospel of the feast of the angels instructs us to be childlike. We should not confuse being childlike with being childish. Being childlike means that we appreciate our complete dependence on God as a child does with his parents. We are not only commanded to be childlike in our poverty of spirit, but to avoid destroying that innocence in others by scandal in our words, deeds, and omissions. We must guard against offering occasions of sin to our neighbor, lest the angels are forced to condemn us at our judgment.