Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels
Although the solemnity of September 29 is intended to honor all the blessed spirits of the nine choirs, in recent centuries the piety of the faithful has led to the desire for a special day on which the world could celebrate the Guardian Angels.
Different Churches took the initiative to establish this feast, which they placed under different rites at different times of the year. Paul V, while authorizing it in 1608, thought it should remain optional; Clement X, in 1670, put an end to this variety regarding the new feast by fixing it obligatorily on October 2, the first free day after Michaelmas, upon which it thus remains dependent.
It is a matter of faith that in this exile, God entrusts the Angels with the guardianship of men called to contemplate Him along with them in the common homeland; this is the testimony of Scripture, the unanimous affirmation of Tradition. The most certain conclusions of Catholic theology extend the benefit of this precious protection to all members of the human race, without distinction of the just or sinners, nonbelievers or baptized.
Averting dangers, supporting man in his struggle against the devil, inspiring him with holy thoughts, turning him away from evil and sometimes chastising him, praying for him and presenting his own prayers to God: such is the role of the Guardian Angel.
His mission is so special that the same Angel does not guard several at once; so assiduous that he follows his charge from the first day to the last of his mortal existence, gathering the soul as it leaves this life to lead it from the feet of the Supreme Judge to the place it deserves in heaven, or to the temporary dwelling of purification and expiation.
It is in the more immediate vicinity of our nature, among the crowded ranks of the last of the nine choirs, that the holy militia of Guardian Angels is recruited. God reserves the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones for the honor of forming His august court. The Dominations preside over the government of the universe from the vicinity of His throne; the Virtues watch over the laws of nature, the preservation of species, and the movements of the heavens; the Powers keep Hell in check.
The human race, as a whole and its great social bodies, nations, and churches, are entrusted to the Principalities; while the role of the Archangels, entrusted with the lesser communities, seems to be also to transmit to the Angels the orders of heaven, with love and light descending for us from the first and supreme hierarchy. O the depth of God's Wisdom! (Rom. 11:33)
And so, the admirable ensemble of ministries ordered between the different choirs of heavenly spirits culminates in that care immediately handed over to the humblest, the care of man, for whom the universe subsists. This is the affirmation of scholasticism; it is the word of the Apostle: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?” (Heb. 1:14) [...]
Finally, let us listen to the words of the Abbot of Clairvaux, whose eloquence is at its most striking: “In all places, be respectful of your Angel. Let gratitude for his benefits inspire your reverence for his greatness. Love this future co-heir, this guardian appointed by the Father from your infancy.
“For though sons of God, we are but children at present, and the road ahead is long and perilous. But God hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon (Ps. 90:11-13).
“Yes; thus, wherever the road is suitable for a child, they will limit their help to guiding and supporting you, as we do for children. If the ordeal threatens to exceed your strength, they will carry you in their hands. These hands of the Angels! how many fearful impasses are crossed thanks to them, as if without a thought, and leaving man only the impression of a nightmare suddenly vanished (in Ps. 90, 12)!”
Let us join the Church in offering this Hymn of Vespers today to the Guardian Angels.
We celebrate the Angels who guard human beings. The heavenly Father gave them as companions to our weak nature, lest it succumb to the snares of the enemy.
For since the evil angel was justly cast down from his honors, envy gnaws at him, and he strives to lead astray those whom the Lord calls to heaven.
You therefore fly to us, guardian who never sleeps; ward off from the land entrusted to you diseases of the soul and any threat to the peace of its inhabitants.
Praise and love ever be to the Holy Trinity, whose eternal power governs this threefold world of heaven, earth, and abyss, whose glory dominates the ages. Amen.
(Source : L'année liturgique de Dom Guéranger - FSSPX.Actualités)