God not only sends special angels into our lives, but sometimes He even sends them back again if we forget to take notes the first time!

I believe we are free, within limits, and yet there is an unseen hand, a guiding angel, that somehow, like a submerged propeller, drives us on. ~Rabindranath Tagore: (1861 – 1941:  Bengali poet of India)

Gospel Text: (Mt 18:1-5, 10)

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

In the gospel reading for today, the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, Jesus tells his disciples that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the disciple who embraces humility and becomes like a little child.

Our Guardian Angels shed light upon the path that we must walk. When our struggles each day seem too great, they extend a ray of hope down upon us from God. They allow us to see from our path the face of Our Crucified and Risen Lord, who having shared in our suffering helps us share in His Resurrection, even in the midst of suffering.

Our Guardian Angels guard us from the snares of our enemies. As the Devil tries time and again to convince us that his way—easier and broader than God’s—is the way that will bring us happiness, our guardians remind us that the Way of the Cross is the necessary path to the Father.

Our Guardian Angels rule us as we slip from the narrow path. As we fall prey to the temptations of the Devil, our guardians do not abandon us. Sharing in the boundless love of our Savior, they do not fail to stand by us even then. They convince us as they nurse our consciences back to health that the Cross is the only true remedy for our constant falling away from God.

Our Guardian Angels guide us by bidding us to share in the sacraments of the Church. For all their power, our guardians entrust us to the care of Holy Mother Church, since in her care we most truly belong. For the Church is their Mother, too. All the angels are fellow members of the Church, and as the Church’s children we imitate the words of Jesus when like little children we recognize and thank those who are our guardians.