Pope Francis wants to know if you are talking with your guardian angel. And he left no doubt on October 2, 2018, that such conversations are important.
His comments came during his homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, on the Feast of the Guardian Angels.
On the path of life, the Christian is helped by “companions, protectors”, a “compass that looks like the human and that helps us look where we need to go,” the Pope said in his homily reported by Vatican News.
The Holy Father mentioned three dangers our Guardian Angel can help us to avoid:
- A danger of just settling down and not moving forward, fearing to take risks.
- A danger of taking the wrong path.
- A danger of getting off the path, lost and confused.
The first danger – of inaction – appears especially dangerous.
“There is the danger of not going on the journey. And how many people settle down, and don’t set out on the journey, and their whole life is stalled, without moving, without doing anything… It is a danger,” Francis explained. “Like that man in the Gospel who was afraid to invest the talent. He buried it and said ‘I am at peace, I am calm. I can’t make a mistake. So I won’t take a risk.’
“And so many people don’t know how to make the journey, or are afraid of taking risks, and they are stalled. But we know that the rule is that those who are stalled in life end up corrupted. Like water: when the water is stopped up in a place, the mosquitos come, they lay their eggs, and everything is corrupted. Everything. The angels help us, they push us to continue on the journey.”
And what of the dangers of taking the wrong path or getting lost? Here, Pope Francis shows how they can guide us:
“And the Lord says, ‘Have respect for their presence.’ The angel is authoritative; he has authority to guide us. Listen to him. ‘Hearken to his voice, and do not rebel against him.’ Listen to the inspirations, which are always from the Holy Spirit – but the angel inspires them.
“But I want to ask you a question: Do you speak with your angel? Do you know the name of your angel? Do you listen to your angel? Do you allow yourself to be led by hand along the path, or do you need to be pushed to move?”
The Holy Father emphasized that our Guardian Angels not only help us to stay on the right path but show us our destination:
“Our angel is not only with us; he also sees God the Father. He is in relationship with Him. He is the daily bridge, from the moment we arise to the moment we go to bed. He accompanies us and is a link between us and God the Father. The angel is the daily gateway to transcendence, to the encounter with the Father: that is, the angel helps me to go forward because he looks upon the Father, and he knows the way. Let us not forget these companions along the journey.”
