Our Angel: Brother of Our Soul

The doctrine of Guardian Angels belongs to the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church. Although their rank among the other angels is unknown, it is believed that our angel guardian is given to us at birth. They never leave us in this life, and they will be with us in eternity. The Guardian Angels not only protect us from the multitude of temptations of the devil, but they also pray for us, obtain graces to provide for our needs, warn us about dangers, and admonish us when we sin. Their protection is invaluable, especially at the last moments of our life, when the devil is most eager to take our souls to Hell.

This is a Mass of humility and poverty of spirit. We are reminded of the absolute necessity of prevenient and concomitant grace to help us in performing good actions. It is pride that makes us believe that we can accomplish any good thing without the help of God’s grace, and God resists the proud. Poverty of spirit is the first of the beatitudes and its reward is Heaven. We have nothing of ourselves, and the man who is poor in spirit appreciates his true dependence on God. From this poverty of spirit comes an abundance of generosity towards neighbor. Although this generosity is performed for the sake of love, rather than for receiving a reward, we cannot help but reap the benefits of our ‘good investments,’ even in this life.