DAILY HOMILIES #protection

Why do we need guardian angels? We live in a deeply spiritual world. As we often say, there is more to reality than meets the eye. Nothing happens in the physical realm unless settled in the spiritual realm. Hence, St. Paul would say: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).

The Holy Eucharist is the best protection any human can ever have. As Jesus protected the Christians in Damascus from Saul’s raid, Jesus would surely protect you from the plans of your enemies, whether known or unknown. As a communicant, no one can cut short your life or kill you before your time.

Sometimes God tests us by putting our enemies in our hands. Revenge is not as sweet and glamorous as we see in the movies; killing your enemies makes no sense because it will not restore what they have taken away from you. If you treat your enemies the same way they treated you, it means you would have done worse if you were in their shoes

If you learn to listen to your spirit (your guardian angel), you will not go to certain places or be involved in certain deals. You will feel something trying to stop you from what would have brought you great danger. The more you converse with your guardian angel, the less fearful you become.

Are you scared of terrorists hiding in every nook and cranny of our nation? Have you lost all confidence in our security architecture? There is a silent war going on in our land and like Ahaz, we are poorly equipped in terms of weapons and ammunition. While we defend ourselves, let us not forget that we serve a powerful God who knows how to fight for his children. Let us increase our prayers and repent from any sin that may become a hindrance to our prayer or attract God’s wrath.

Right there in prison, rather than fall into despair, they burst into singing. They prayed, they sang and the Holy Spirit came down. God who did not prevent them from being beaten and thrown in prison became moved when he heard them pray and sing. He not only freed them from prison, but he also brought about the conversion of the chief jailer.

If we understand what happens each time we receive Holy communion, we would realize that we have the best protection any human being can ever have. Just as Jesus protected the Christians in Damascus from Saul’s raid, Jesus would surely protect you from the plans of your enemies whether known or unknown. Jesus assures us that whoever eats Him will live because of Him. No one can cut short your life because you are a child of communion – you are not just anybody. Jesus did not arrest Saul just to punish him, rather Jesus transformed Saul into a minister of the Gospel. Avoid praying for your enemies to die, instead, pray that God may so use them for good as He did with Saul who later became Paul.

Angels are not gods to be worshipped but merely messengers who continue to function regardless of our awareness of their existence. Nevertheless, knowing that God has assigned a messenger to you should make you bear one thing in mind: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE.