Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Job 9:1-12.14-16; Matthew 18:1-5.10)
Today’s feast reminds Christians of God’s special care for
each human. Catholic piety assigns an
angel to everyone to protect and to lead him or her to heavenly glory. As warrant for “Guardian Angels,” today’s
gospel is cited. Jesus says that “these
little ones” have angels in heaven advocating for them. His intent is as much to call his disciples
to child-like humility as to proclaim a privilege for children.
Contemporary culture has difficulty translating the culture
of the Bible. Biblical consensus is that
children in biblical times were valued as slave property with neither rights nor
power to defend themselves. They depended
on the goodwill of others for everything.
Jesus is telling his disciples that they must stand before God in just
the same way. In other words, his
disciples must be ready to serve God and to accept everything they have as His gift.
Today children not only claim the right to have a cell phone
but also are not expected to do much beyond their homework. Cultural icons like Dennis the Menace defy and
manipulate with no one daring to correct them.
They are hardly what Jesus has in mind when he refers to a child as a
model for his disciples.
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