Their angels in heaven . . . 

St. Padre Pio called him “my friend since infancy.”   They were close companions from a young age and spent a lot of time together.   They talked to one another before bed and stayed in touch throughout the years.   Padre Pio was convinced that this friend always had his back, through all the highs and lows of his life. Who was this treasured friend?   His guardian angel.

We might think Padre Pio’s words are a little fanciful, but the Church teaches that every one of us has a guardian angel to accompany us throughout our lives. Even Mary and all the saints had guardian angels!  Just think—God loves you so much that he has given you a heavenly being to protect you and guide you.   That’s how much he wants to help bring you to heaven!

If this is the case, then why don’t we experience this angel speaking to us?   Why don’t we see him?   It’s like our relationship with the Lord.   Developing a relationship with our guardian angel means learning how to sense his invisible, constant presence.

Just as you would speak to Jesus in your heart and try to discern his voice in your thoughts and imagination, so too can you talk with your guardian angel.   If you need wisdom, you can ask your angel to pray for you or help you see the right way.   You can ask your angel to guard you when you enter a difficult or unfamiliar situation.   And when you sense an inspiration as you’re making a decision or choosing a path, it may very well be your guardian angel at work!

“Invoke your guardian angel,” Padre Pio said, and “he will guide you.”   Padre Pio reached out to his angel with childlike faith, and found he had a heavenly friend leading and protecting him.   Today, why not take a few moments to begin a conversation with your angel?   You don’t have to be a mystic; you just have to take a small step of faith, then another.

Word Among Us