Sunday 26 March 2017

Katie's Angels




Dear Reader,



                                                                                        Angels

Someone asked me the other day whether I had ever sought the help of my Guardian Angel, and I had to say I had not.  In truth, I know very little about Guardian Angels and what they are supposed to be or do.  As a Christian, I have never felt the need of an angel to intervene on my behalf.  Nevertheless I thought I would like to know a little more about them, and this is what I found.

According to Saint Jerome (347-420 AD) the concept of Guardian Angels is in the "mind of the church".  He said "how great the dignity of the soul, since each one has from his birth, an angel commissioned to guard it".   And he also said that "every soul was assigned a Guardian Angel the moment it was put into a body".  A Guardian Angel would therefore seem to be a created being, non-human, non-corporeal, that has been assigned to guard a particular person, especially to help that person avoid both physical and spiritual dangers, and so achieve salvation.

The Guardian Angel concept is present in the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament and its development is well documented.  Writing of angels as guardians Thomas Aquinas once said: "On this road man is threatened by many dangers from within and without, and therefore as guardians are appointed for men who have to pass by an unsafe road, so an angel is assigned to each man as long as he is a wayfarer."

Perhaps, in these difficult times, we all need the help of our Guardian Angels more than we know.

                                                                           *

Katie's Angels 

At dawn, driving eastwards,
mist still covering the fields,
trees ribboned in cobwebs
sky blue and white,

she saw a rabbit, a pigeon,
and two hen pheasants,
but no cherubs, no bright light.

Much later, lost, tired,
rounding a corner she saw
gathered in the road
twenty white doves.

They flew up,
a breath of sunshine tipping their wings.
Ecstatic, she recognized the sign;
recognized her angels.

                                                                              *

Very best wishes, Patricia


2 comments:

  1. A beautiful concept and a beautiful poem.
    Thank you for sharing it. We all need angels in one form of another. Xx

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  2. hi Mum,
    Is it perhaps understandable we have such an interest in angels. Perhaps people warm to the thought that a special angel looks after them. Despite your learned scholars thoughts the bible as is, 66 little books, does not ever say that there are guardian angels.
    It does say that an angel can travel at supernatural speeds to assist, as recorded when Daniel was in the lions pit. It also records that Jehovah sent his angel to protect the Israelites from the Egyptians and another time one angel killed 185,00 Assyrians in one night, again in order to protect the Israelites.
    At the garden of Ghesemene (spelling ? ) before his death an angel came to comfort Jesus. So we can definitely conclude that angels are watching us and step in if they are called to do so. I like your poem Mum she obviously felt safe with the familiarity of the birds. xxx Tiffo

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