As I was walking this morning on my regular exercise routine through my neighborhood, I caught sight of a bright light traveling across the sky. Thanks to the advantage of technology, I snapped a picture right away. I had no idea what it was. Could it be a rocket? Aliens? Angels?
Today is the feast of the guardian angels. A couple of years ago I took a class in my church about angels and demons. It was a very interesting class. In this class I learned that each of us is assigned a guardian angel at the moment of birth and this angel stays with us until we die.
Most of us learned the prayer to the guardian angel when we were children: "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day, be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide." I knew it in Spanish because my mom and grandmother taught it to me in Cuba. And I in turn taught it to my children. But as we grow older, we stop praying and many times, we stop believing in angels.
Guardian angels appear in various passages of the Old Testament. "I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared." Exodus 23:20. And angels in general are mentioned numerous times in the Bible. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2
Everyone that was taking the class had at least one angel story. I have shared mine before but I'll repeat it for the benefit of those that are reading my blog for the first time. We were on the outskirts of Paris, running very low in gas. We parked on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, trying to figure out what to do. My husband decides to try to find a gas station walking and as he starts to head in one direction, a lady shows up. I tried to communicate with her in my limited French and she answers me in English. She led us to a gas station which was very close from where we were. When I looked for her to say thank you, she was gone. I have always believed that she was an angel that came to our rescue.
Angels do not always assume the appearance we expect. According to St. Augustine: "Angels are spirits, but it is not because they are spirits that they are angels. They become angels when they are sent. For the name 'angel' refers to their office, not their nature. You ask the name of their nature, it is spirit; you ask its office, it is that of an angel, which is a messenger."
So this morning, I was very excited that maybe I had finally seen an angel in its spiritual form. A few of the ladies that took the class claimed to have had angel encounters in all its glory. I have not had that privilege. And we all love the supernatural. I remember a few years ago, there was a claim that an image of the Holy Family had appeared in a cloth in the chapel that held the Blessed Sacrament at St. Brendan. Chaos soon followed. Masses of people were rushing to St. Brendan to witness the miracle. The news media was present. Many waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the image. Eventually, the news died down and the Blessed Sacrament was left alone once again. When in reality, that is where the miracle truly lies. But we need signs and fireworks.
Even though my vision turned out to be a rocket, not an angel, I still believe in angels. And as I did when I was little, I have once again picked up the habit to pray to my guardian angel.
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