Discover Your Guardian Angel

"Angel of my guard, sweet company, do not abandon me neither by night nor by day." Thus begins a popular Catholic prayer that dates back to around the year 1111. It is not a prayer, because it is known that prayer is the act of communicating with God.

The Belief

As stated in the quoted prose, there is a belief that every human being has a protective angel. This idea was well expressed by Pope Francis when he said: "We all have an angel always by our side, who never leaves us alone, and helps us not to err on the path and protects us."

There are speculations about the guardian angel, such as that it is an angel assigned at the moment of birth. That it has not been a guardian of anyone before, nor will it be of any other once the person has died. There are even those who claim that it is possible to know its name.

Some more equitably think that we have two angels, one good and the other bad, advising us or helping us to make decisions in certain circumstances. And also those who intimidate children and not-so-young people by telling them that an angel is watching them. Something akin to an accusing angel.

Returning to the guardian angel, it is also said that one can talk to him, that he acts as an intercessor, etc. Given how well-known the initial prayer is, repeated so many times, it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether the beliefs regarding this being are true, and what the foundation of this dogma is.

A practice that I appreciate in the Catholic liturgy of the Mass; is that, when reading the Bible, it concludes by saying: "This is the word of God." Based on this entirely true statement, I will briefly examine what the Bible reveals about this angel.

In the Bible

In the Quran, the Tanakh, and in the Bible, angels are celestial, supernatural, invisible beings that relate in some way heaven to earth. This last point is clarified by the etymology of the word "angel" which means messenger.

In the sacred book of Christians, there are numerous accounts where angels intervene as bearers of a message from God, generally to a particular person, but also occasionally to more than one individual.

The belief that each individual has an angel for personal care from birth is not exclusive to any religion, nor to Christianity. Its foundation lies solely in the tradition of the Catholic Church.

In this context, tradition is understood as the oral transmission of a doctrine, news, or custom from past generations that is not contained in the Scriptures, but which for them holds the same documentary value.

Early in this analysis, it becomes evident that they are not guardians, but messengers. The concept of guardian angel does not exist in the Scriptures as a being that is permanently by our side protecting us.

In the Bible, the closest thing to a guardian angel is found in the following verse from the book of Psalms:

"The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear him, and delivers them"

This verse is part of the lyrics of a hymn about God's protection composed by King David. It expresses that angels will be close to those who believe and trust in the Lord. This protection is not offered to every person, much less from birth, as it is confined to those who fear Him. (Salmo 34:7)

Angels from Heaven

David's psalm is not a doctrinal statement that allows for the conclusion that each individual has a celestial being permanently by their side. Contrary to that thought, the Bible provides information that they do not dwell on earth, but come from heaven with specific missions.

The Evangelist Matthew confirms this when he states that "their angels

The concept of the "guardian angel" is not found in the Bible, but the certainty that angels minister in our favor is undeniable. It is a truth that runs throughout its pages from beginning to end. They come swiftly when God sends them to protect us, to encourage us, to bring us the answer to some prayer.en los cielos ven siempre el rostro de mi Padre que está en los cielos” (Mateo 18:10). Son frecuentes las expresiones que declaran que Dios: envió un ángel (Números 20:16), enviará su ángel (Génesis 24:7), mandará a sus ángeles (Mateo 4:6), que vendrá con ellos (Mateo 16:27). En fin, reafirmando que, si bien vienen constantemente, no habitan en este mundo.

The prophet Daniel recounts that tormented, he prayed for his people, unable to understand what God had told him. Before he finished his prayer, the Angel Gabriel came to him saying: "From the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words."

If that is the promptness with which they come to answer a prayer, we can understand why we do not need a guardian angel. What we truly need is to pray and trust in the God who has not one, but multitudes of angels to manifest His love.

Si esa es la presteza con la que acuden a responder una oración, podemos entender por que no precisamos un ángel de la guarda. Lo que realmente necesitamos es orar y confiar en el Dios que tiene no uno, sino miríadas de ángeles para manifestarte su amor.