One of the prayers I had to memorize as a child in Catechism was the prayer to my Guardian Angel. We all remember it:

This feast reminds us of the invisible spiritual world intimately connected to our visible reality. Angels are assigned to each of us to guide us in all our ways. In today’s Gospel, Jesus brings out two ideas in Matthew’s account (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.”

Here’s the first idea: Everyone who wants to follow Jesus is always a child of God. They are not an adult of God. To live in heaven now, we must be childlike. Access to God demands an abiding trust as a child has to a parent. Have arms open, asking God to hold you in his loving arms. Without a condition, a child looks to find shelter, food, and love in the arms of a loving parent.

Here’s the second idea: we are under the protection of the angels. As they worship the Father around His throne, they watch over us. Ask your Guardian Angel to help fight your battles, to abandon yourself into God’s loving arms.

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us of the importance of our angels:

“The Lord is ever close and active in humanity’s history and accompanies us with the unique presence of his Angels, whom today the Church venerates as “Guardian Angels,” that is, ministers of the divine care for every human being. From the beginning until the hour of death, human life is surrounded by their constant protection.”

May the mighty angel appointed to us guard us in this life and prepare us for eternal life. Amen.