Fulton Sheen – Angels (Part II)

Fulton Sheen – Angels (Part I)
Fulton Sheen – Angels (Part III)

“Our Guardian Angel keeps us in constant touch with heaven.  To derive full profit from his guardianship we can do no better than direct our thoughts frequently to our Guardian Angel, making him the object of our veneration, our confidence and our love.  a)  We venerate him by hailing him as one of those priveleged beings who ever see the face of God and who are to us the representatives of our Heavenly Father.  Therefore, we should do nothing that could displease or sadden our Angel; on the contrary, we must strive to give him proof of our respect by emulating his fidelity and loyalty in God’s service.  This is, indeed, the most touching way in which [we] can attest our esteem for him.  b)  We show him our confidence, by bearing in mind the mighty protection he furnishes us and his unfailing goodness towards us, his God-given charges.  Since he is a master in foiling the wiles of the devil, we should invoke him especially when we are assailed by this treacherous foe and in all dangerous occasions in which his foresight and his adroitness will be of great help.  We should likewise call for his assistance when determining our vocation, for he better than any other will know the providential designs of God in our regard.  Finally, in all important affairs with others it is well to address ourselves to their Guardian Angels that these persons may be well-disposed towards the mission we are about to discharge in their behalf.    c)  We manifest to our Guardian Angel our love by reflecting that he has ever been and is still our devoted friend, ever ready to render us services the extent and import of which we shall realize only in heaven.  By faith, however, we can even now understand, though only imperfectly, something of his good offices toward us, and this suffices to call forth our gratitude and our love.  When loneliness weighs heavily upon us, let us remember that we are not alone, that near us hovers a friend, devoted and generous, upon whom we can lean and with whom we can hold familiar converse.  Let us bear in mind that [by] honoring our Guardian Angel we honor God Himself whom our Angel represents here below, and let us often unite ourselves to him in order to give greater glory to God.”  

“Some among the Angels are commissioned with the care of individual souls:  these are the Guardian Angels.  This is the traditional doctrine of the Fathers, based upon scriptural texts and supported by solid reasons.   It has been confirmed by the Church in the institution of a feast in honor of the Guardian Angels.  The reasons that support this doctrine flow from our relationship to God, for we are His children, members of Jesus Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost.  “Because we are His children,” says Father Olier, “He appoints to us as tutors the princes of His realm, who hold it an honor to have us in their charge.  Because we are His members, He wills that those very spirits that minister unto Him be also at our side to render us their services.  Because we are His temples in which He Himself dwells, He wills that Angels hover about us as they do about our churches, so that bowed down in worship before Him they may offer a perpetual homage to His glory, supplying for our neglect and making reparation for our irreverence.”  Father Olier goes on to say that God wishes to unite intimately through the agency of His Angels the Church Triumphant and the Church Militant:  “He sends this mysterious host of Angels in order that they may by uniting themselves to us and binding us to themselves form one body of the Church of heaven and the Church of earth.” 

Note:  The “Father Olier” referred to by Fr. Tanquerey is Father J.J. Olier (1608-1657), founder of the Society of St. Sulpice.