Job’s musings in today’s first reading resemble our own experience of discernment and decision making. Often life becomes so overwhelming that we are tempted to cave into doubts that God really cares about us. Then the Holy Spirit reminds us of God’s unconditional love in the form of a friend, a family member: the angel who guides us through problems, storms, self-doubt, or depression. As often expressed in this column, each of us continues to experience our own suffering until we are in an urn or a coffin. Yet, we are never alone! Those physical or spiritual angels who support us, who gather up the fragments when we fall apart—these are our guardian angels.
I have a friend who has difficulty walking, yet she continues to do her own grocery shopping. Each time she returns home from shopping, she relates how her “angel” reached for the item on the top shelf or another “angel” helped her pack the groceries in her car. When I take my daily walk around our apartment complex each morning, I drink in the beauty of the mountains and trees. I thank God for the “angel” of nature’s healing.
Our guardian angels come in various forms. God gave us the Word in human flesh, so that we have a model to follow especially in stressful times. Whenever Jesus witnessed someone in physical, emotional or mental pain, he offered comfort. Maybe he did not work a miraculous cure, but Jesus made sure that people felt their own self-worth. What a model for each of us! We witness verbal and physical violence each day via the media. We may even experience this harsh treatment in our own homes. God created us to be a guardian angel to each other. In whatever way we can diminish harsh speech and physical violence, we are “guardian angels.” The Hebrew Scriptures are replete with living examples of people sent by God to those in need of love, protection, and healing.
Yes, each of us has our own guardian angel. God gave us that Spirit not only to comfort ourselves but to relieve each other’s pain. In one of his presentations, Greg Boyle, SJ, told us that “Loving is your home, so you’re never homesick.” I suggest that we each take some time today to reflect on what our ministry is as a guardian angel to each other. We may find within ourselves gifts that we have never unwrapped!
Lord,
may my life be your heart
beating in the world.