Guardian Angels are indeed a reality, but they are pure spirits, without body, invisible to our eyes of flesh; therefore we tend to forget them easily. It is good to remember from time to time what help they can be during life.
A Guardian Angel for everyone
In representations of the Guardian Angel, religious icons, stained glass or other, the Guardian Angel is usually depicted in the company of a child whom he guides or protects. You can check
www.angelsnames.xyz/ for more. Such a representation could lead one to believe that only children have a Guardian Angel, and that once they reach the age of reason or at least become adults, the Guardian Angel's presence is no longer necessary. This is a serious mistake for two reasons:
1 - A Guardian Angel for the good and the bad:
the Church clearly teaches that the Guardian Angel accompanies us throughout life and that every man without exception has a Guardian Angel, even the greatest criminals of humanity. Thus Saint Thomas affirms that even the Antichrist will be assisted by a Guardian Angel. The Guardian Angel will prevent him from committing all the iniquities he would have wanted in his hatred of God.
2 - A guardian angel for young and old alike:
Once the age of discretion is reached, generally around 7 years old, the little man is aware of good and evil and unfortunately, begins to sin. It is at this moment that we need our Guardian Angel even more so that he helps us not to fall into sin by these good inspirations. Thus the coming age, far from making the presence of the Guardian Angel useless, justifies his presence even more.
This representation of man as a child on the religious icons of the Guardian Angel can be explained in two ways:
- it reminds us how weak human nature is, below the angelic nature;
- It is important that the child as soon as he can learn of the Guardian Angel's existence. The religious image is much more eloquent for his young age than any speech. Under these conditions the representation of a child is totally justified.
The Guardian Angel for the baptised and the non-baptised
If everyone has a Guardian Angel, his presence is not linked to baptism; therefore, all Muslims, all non-Christians have a Guardian Angel next to them who takes special care of them. These Guardian Angels act inwardly with good inspirations in order to help these pagans to follow the path of their conscience, to lead an upright and honest life, which can lead them to believe in the truths necessary for eternal salvation according to the plan of Divine Providence which gives all men the means to save themselves.
A single Guardian Angel for every man
The theologians point out that this Guardian Angel is unique in the double sense that the Angel does not have the simultaneous custody of several men and that the Angel fulfils this mission only once. To the extent that the man of whom he had custody is saved, in Heaven there will be a deep friendship between the Guardian Angel and his protégé. A friendship that we can begin right now by loving him, by praying to him, by talking with him.
If an Angel has custody of only one man, he may have several guardian angels because of the different duties or responsibilities he has to fulfil. For example, the pope or the bishops have an angel to help them with their tasks. Generally speaking, every superior has several Angels guarding him.
Superiority of the Angel at the service of mankind
Thus we must have great trust and faith in the action of the Guardian Angel in our lives. But can we know a little more about the influence of these mysterious, spiritual beings in our lives? Incomparably better than man, angels know the material world and its laws. They exercise a mysterious empire over it. This influence goes so far and exceeds the limits of science and technology, that some of the works carried out by our guardian angels might seem miraculous to us, even though they are purely natural.
