“Let us affectionately love His angels as counselors and defenders appointed by the Father and placed over us. They are faithful; they are prudent; they are powerful; Let us only follow them, let us remain close to them, and in the protection of the God of heaven let us abide.”- St. Bernard of Clairvaux

"For he hath given his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” - Psalm 90:11

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, it is made abundantly evident that every human soul has a Guardian Angel who guards it against spiritual and material evil.

It is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles that an angel freed St. Peter from jail and that an angel strengthened the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus, however, clarifies the purpose and existence of guardian angels when he says, "See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 18:10).

Jesus makes it clear in this passage that everyone, including young children, has a guardian angel. The angels' job on earth is to safeguard and guide us on our journey to our Father's home, and they are constantly in Heaven, gazing upon the face of God. According to St. Paul, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14).

But they only lead us to Heaven if we ask them to. Although angels cannot directly influence our will or intellect, they can influence our senses and imagination, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, who believed this knowledge should help us make moral decisions.

It is suggested that you pray to the guardian angels, and develop a habit of acknowledging their assistance and presence fosters friendship with them. From the start of the 12th century at the latest, the Church has prayed to the guardian angels:

Angel of God,
my Guardian dear,
to whom His love
commits me here,
ever this day
be at my side,
to light and guard,
to rule and guide.
Amen.