Vatican City, Oct 2, 2015 / 15:47 pm
Each of us has a Guardian Angel who, acting on behalf of God, advises us and protects us from evil, if we only listen to him, Pope Francis said during his homily at Mass on Friday.
"May we ask the Lord for the grace of this meekness, to listen to the voice of this companion, to this ambassador from God who accompanies us in His name and may we be supported by his help," the Pope said Oct. 2 during his celebration of Mass for the feast of the Guardian Angels, Vatican Radio reported.
He explained that when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God could have left them to fend for themselves. But instead, as an act of love and mercy, the Lord sent with them an angel to guide and protect them.
The same is true for us today, Pope Francis said. Even when we feel alone or think that we can "hide so many things from God," our Guardian Angels are by our sides, guiding us and trying to show us the right path.
"It's like having God's ambassador with us. And the Lord advises us: 'Respect his presence!' And when we, for example, commit a sin and believe that we're on our own: No, (the Guardian Angel) is there," he said.
Although we cannot see our angels, we can listen to them and heed their advice, the Pope continued.
"Show respect for (the angel's) presence. Listen to his voice because he gives us advice. When we hear that inspiration: 'But do this … this is better … we should not do that.' Listen! Do not go against him."
In today's Gospel reading (Mt. 18:1-5, 10), Jesus tells his disciples they must become like little children in order to enter heaven.
In the same way, we must be childlike in our humility and meekness before our Guardian Angels, Pope Francis said.
"The Christian must be meek when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Meekness towards the Holy Spirit begins with this yielding to the advice given by this companion on our journey."
He closed by saying that we must "ask the Lord for the grace of this meekness, to listen to the voice of this companion" who is a sign of God's love for us.
"(I)n this Mass where we praise the Lord, let us remember how good our Lord is, who straight after we lost His friendship, did not leave us alone, did not abandon us."
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