He hath given his angels charge over there; to keep them in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."--Psalm 90:11-12
"See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."--Matthew 18:10
They Defend Us Against The Demons
In the hour of temptation, when the enemies from Hell break in upon us, the holy Angels intervene in our behalf & help us to conquer the craftiness of the enemy. They strengthen us in the fight, warn us against the suggestions of the tempter, disclose to us his snares & make us fear evil. The fallen angels, retaining the keep and penetrating knowledge proper to their spirit nature, wage fierce & constant battles against those creatures whom God had commanded them to serve. In their morbid despair and jealousy, with strength surpassing the utmost might of man, they aim at our destruction. "our wrestling," says St. Paul, "is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and the powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high place."--Eph. 6:12 But the paternal care of God shields us from their malevolent attacks by surrounding us with the protection of our good Angels. "God," says St. Augustine, "has subjected the bad angels to the good; they cannot do as much harm as they wish, but only as much as they are permitted for our trial and punishment."
They Warn And Admonish Us
Before the city of Jerusalem was captured by the Romans, voices were heard above the Temple saying,"let us withdraw from hence!" Similarly, our holy Guardian Angel often urges us to leave those places, those companionships, those conversations, books & pastimes where danger threatens our hand where, because of his angelic purity and delicacy, he cannot bear us company. His voice cries out to us in various ways--through the counsel of a friend, through the reading of a good book, through the voice of conscience, etc. How often, how lovingly, how mildly he instructs, warns, entreats and invites us! He is most anxious to be our advocate at the throne of God, but if we do not heed his admonitions, he will one day be compelled to reveal our sins before all the world. Disobedience on our part would therefore be not only the basest ingratitude but the greatest folly as well, for it is only for our own eternal welfare that our Angel thus warns us.
Our Guardian Angel is likewise our loving admonitor. To reprove is an act very proper to love, for since love cherishes an inmost desire for the good of the beloved and sows itself also in deed, so it seeks to avert evil from the one beloved. The administering of reproofs is a means toward this end, and this the Angel accomplishes by inflicting the sting of remorse of conscience. the moment we have committed sin, our holy Angel withdraws his consolations and pierces our soul with pain. he strives to awaken in our heart vehement qualms of conscience and to move us to true contrition and penance. How great are our obligations toward this true friend who thus warns us of evil, chastises us and fills us with anxiety when we have done wrong!
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