Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash
By Easter Almuena
Special to the Herald
I realize I have been trying for an hour to pull a thick cloth lodged way under the bobbin of my sewing machine. It is now 5 a.m. I thought waking up at 4 a.m. would give me enough time to finish a project intended to be a Christmas gift. But one hour of trying to dislodge the cloth has become a nuisance. In desperation, I call my guardian angel.
“Help me!”
The cloth seems to be moving to the surface, but not at the pace that will enable me to finish in time. In desperation now, I summon my angel in a more forceful tone. In less than two minutes, with more pulling, the thick cloth rises to the surface. Hooray! I finish my project.
When I was 8, I asked God to show me my angel. I wanted to know if they were real and if God designated one just for me. One morning, as I was eating my breakfast at the dining table, I quickly glanced to my right. There, by my brother’s bedroom door, for about two seconds, I caught a glimpse of my guardian angel. It looked like the angels Michelangelo painted: short, stout, with small wings.
My angel, being a spirit, was transparent, like colorless glass. My angel moved swiftly, examining things in our house. How odd, I thought, but I was so happy and thankful to have seen my angel and to have received an answer to my prayer.
I call my angel in times of need for protection over my family, especially for my children and grandchildren. I ask my angel to talk to the angels of those whom I think may be in peril.
How gracious God is! How vast is his love to send each of us a guardian angel! How mind-boggling is his endearment for us that he provides each one of us a spiritual companion to walk with on this earth, so that the light of Christ illuminates our path to guard against stumbling. Yet even when we stumble, our angel is there to echo God’s word in our ears to continue guiding us in the path that leads to our Creator.
The guardianship of angels is one of God’s gifts. With all that is going on around us, the pandemic that brings so many uncertainties, the economic and political disarray, the help of our guardian angel is a treasure to tap.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.”
It continues, “As purely spiritual creatures, angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.”
Reminding others of the existence of guardian angels surely is a gift of hope that we can give one another during these difficult times. Truly, how vast is God’s love for us! He never, never stops loving us! For “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?” (Romans 8:35).
Not even angels can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Roman 8:38-39), because they are meant to bring us to God.
My angel, I am thankful to God for you.
Easter Almuena is a parishioner of Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace parish, an author and the wife of Deacon Joseph Almuena.