Cosimo Cardinal Corsi

Pope St Leo said, “Make friends with the Angels”. And St Hilary of Poitiers called Angels, “the eyes, or the ears, or the hands, or the feet of God,” and explained that it was not the nature of God but the weakness of man which requires their service. This short sermon by Cardinal Corsi gives a sound treatment on devotion to our Guardian Angels.
Note that a Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decree of June 6, 1992 forbids consecration to the Angels and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments says: “The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged…” (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, December 2001, n. 217).

One of the most salutary devotions, and one of the most neglected, is the devotion to the angels, in particular to our guardian angels. The sanctity of these heavenly spirits, and the distinction which they enjoy with God, the important service which they have rendered and still render us, all these reasons bid us to practice devotion to the holy angels.
Let us, therefore, briefly recall to our minds what the angels are, what services they render us, and what our obligations are towards them.
You know that the angels are pure, created spirits. Their ex­cellence surpasses any description that man can imagine or express. The being of the angels is something so vast and superior that man's understanding cannot fully conceive it. Their knowledge is im­mense. They know all nature, all things in heaven and on earth. Their power is great and their beauty surpassing anything we can imagine.
The occupation of the angels in heaven is to love God, to praise and glorify Him unceasingly. They are, as it were, attendants of the Heavenly Court, and the Ministers of God. Their number is legion, some theologians are of the opinion that there are millions of them. All these spirits are filled with a love of God, the great­ness of which is incomprehensible to man. They are penetrated by the spirit of God, and their thoughts and inclinations are in com­plete accord with His. And since they see how God has infinite love for men, and how He humbled Himself for man's sake to crown him with blessedness, they too, burn with ardent love for men.
Although the holy angels are not alike among themselves in power and dignity, as God has divided them into different choirs and gave them various degrees of station, yet they all are, accord­ing to the testimony of St. Paul, "the ambassadors of God ordained to the service of those who await the inheritance of salvation." Thus some are sent by God for the protection of nations and cities, others there are for churches and altars, others for houses and families. Those who are most intimately associated with our own persons are our guardian angels, so-called because they are com­missioned by divine Providence specially for our protection and de­fense.
That each one of us is given into the protection of an angel is a truth which is declared plainly in holy Scripture and is univer­sally taught by theologians. This truth is calculated to show us once more the love of God, the dignity of our souls, the importance of our salvation and the respect that we owe to fellow men. God is not content with watching Himself over us unceasingly. He has even confided each of us to the protection of an angel, and com­missioned him to take care of us. From the first moment of our existence this celestial guardian has been at our side, and will not forsake us as long as we live.

And in what consists this protection? It consists in those many services that these messengers from heaven can render us; they enlighten us, defend us, strengthen us and show us the way to eternal salvation. The guardian angels protect us against the many dangers to which we are exposed every day of our lives. Who, indeed, could number the perils that beset us in childhood, in youth, in middle age and old age; dangers threatened by the elements, dangers in traveling, dangers due to sickness and all kinds of un­toward happenings. There is no one amongst us who has not more than once in the course of life been in danger of life and limb. Who else has saved and protected us at such times but our good guardian angel who, as the Psalmist expresses it, bears us in his hands (Ps. xc, 12). To read more...