51. Guardian angels are real
51. GUARDIAN ANGELS ARE REAL
Are “guardian angels” nice, comforting myths, like Santa Claus? Or are they as real as radiators?
And why do we need them?
On the text, Their angels in heaven do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven, Jerome says: Great is the dignity of souls, for each one to have an angel deputed to guard it from its birth.
Each man has an angel guardian appointed to him. . . . For men are not only incorruptible (immortal) in the common species but also in . . . each individual. . . . Now it is manifest that the providence of God is chiefly exercised towards what remains for ever, whereas as regards those things which pass away, the providence of God acts so as to order their existence (as means) to the things which are perpetual (as ends) (I,113,2).
The demons are ever assailing us . . . (1 Pet 5:8) . . . . Much more, therefore, do the good angels ever guard us (I,113,6).
We need angels’ help because we are at war. Wake up and smell the gunpowder.
War is horrible, but it is at least interesting. (Indeed, it is very likely that one of the main sources of war is boredom. You’re never bored when you’re planning to kill or be killed.) And since angels and demons are real, life is war. Therefore life is interesting.
The theme of spiritual warfare is on nearly every page of the Bible. If it’s mythology, so is the whole Bible, including all the upbeat stuff about love and mercy and salvation. It’s a package deal; it all stands on the same foundation, it comes to us with the same authority: “Thus says the Lord.”
It is “the Word of God”, after all, and according to the Word of God in print, Christ is the Word of God in the flesh, Who fulfills “the Word of God” in print, i.e., “the Law and the Prophets”; so that Scripture partakes of the same authority as Christ Himself, though less clearly and completely. “The Word of God” is always singular. It is ontologically one. To deny Scripture is, therefore, ontologically and objectively speaking, to deny Christ, even if that is not one’s psychological and subjective intention.
We seldom realize the incredible privilege it is to have these Heavenly warriors fighting for us, guarding us, caring for us. A dog or a cat is privileged to be brought into the life of a human family and to have that immensely superior species, human beings, paying them so much attention, loving and caring for them. For the very same reason, we are privileged to be brought into the life of angels. We are their pets.
We are more than that, of course. Unlike animals, our lives are immortal. In this way we are closer to angels than to animals, and we will share the life of the angels in Heaven forever: their joy, their praise, their music (of which our most moving music is an echo). But it is also true that unlike angels, our lives are not only immortal but also mortal; for we have animal bodies, and in this way we are closer to animals than to angels. We are quasi-animals with immortal souls and we are quasi-angels with mortal bodies. So when we are kind to our pets, this helps us to understand a little better what the angels are to us. When we realize how humble and unselfish the angels are to care about us, we understand a little better how we should treat our pets; and also the other way round: when we care for our pets we better understand how angels care for us.
Angels and demons are not equal, as good and evil, light and darkness, truth and error, love of being and hatred of being, are not equal. The demons are ever assailing us. . . . Much more, therefore, do the good angels ever guard us.
It’s not an “equally” but a “much more”. It’s a fixed fight.
Just be sure you’re fighting on the winning side every moment. Be sure you keep listening to the angel who’s whispering into your right ear instead of the demon who’s whispering into your left ear. You have one vote cast for you (your guardian angel’s vote) and one vote cast against you (your tempting demon’s vote), and you cast the deciding vote.