The Angel at Your Side

Friday, October 2, 2026 Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels Readings for Today

Main: The Guardian Angel, by Bernhard Plockhorst Featured image via Adobe Stock Video “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Matthew 18:10 Angels fascinate both young and old. Countless books and stories have been written and shared about encounters with these heavenly beings. If you were to behold one of God’s angels, you would undoubtedly be filled with awe, marveling at the angel’s beauty, splendor, and power. Today, the Church honors those members of the Celestial Hierarchy who are most intimately involved in our daily lives: our Guardian Angels. The Gospel for this Memorial offers us insight into both their nature and their greatness. The passage begins with a worldly question posed by Jesus’ disciples: “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Their question reveals a lingering attachment to status and honor, reflective of human preoccupations both then and now. In response, Jesus performs a surprising gesture—He places a child in their midst. In the first-century Jewish context, children held little societal importance. They had no legal authority, no public voice, and no influence. Therefore, Jesus’ action is radical. By presenting a child as the model of greatness, He overturns conventional standards and introduces new criteria: humility, simplicity, dependence, weakness, and childlike trust in God. Jesus then offers a deeper reason why a child is truly great: “Their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” These angels are the Guardian Angels. If each child is assigned such a noble guardian who stands perpetually in the presence of God, then the child, too, shares in that dignity. In fact, so does every person, for God gifts each one of us with a Guardian Angel. From this perspective, human greatness is not determined by accomplishments or public acclaim but by the love and care God lavishes upon each soul. The very fact that God entrusts every person with an angel reveals each one’s intrinsic worth and sacred dignity. The gift of a Guardian Angel means that each one of us—whether a powerful ruler or a hidden soul in humble circumstances—has value in God’s eyes. This first form of greatness arises from our very nature—who we are in God’s sight. Such recognition should be enough for us to honor one another and treat every person with reverence. If the angels of Heaven love and serve those around us—our families, neighbors, even strangers—then we, too, must strive to love and serve them with the same devotion and love. There is also a second form of greatness worth reflecting on: the greatness that comes from freely cooperating with the will of God. When we submit ourselves to His providence and actively embrace the mission our Guardian Angels are tasked with—to guide, protect, and lead us to holiness—God’s grace abounds in our lives. This does not make us intrinsically “greater” than others, but it allows the greatness of God to shine more brightly through us. In this way, His glory is magnified in and through our cooperation with His will. Reflect today on the quiet presence of your Guardian Angel. Consider the immense dignity you possess in God’s eyes, a dignity confirmed by the fact that an angel has been appointed to walk with you through life. Then reflect also on the dignity of every person you encounter each day. Even those who sin and stray from God’s will have been entrusted to an angel’s care. We must strive to love and serve them as their angels do. As you ponder this awe-inspiring gift, allow this truth to fill you with peace, humility, and a renewed resolve to follow God’s will and to help others do the same, so that His greatness may radiate through your life. Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Guardian angel, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Testifying to the Truth

October 1, 2026 Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Readings for Today Readings for Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Sending Out Disciples, by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Video Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”  Luke 10:1–3 One of the clearest safeguards for ensuring the authenticity and integrity of Christian duty is that we proclaim the Gospel in communion with others. The Christian disciple is never a lone ranger. We do not carry the mission of Christ by private inspiration or isolated insight, but in the context of the Church. The Gospel we preach is not our own. It originates in God, is handed on through Sacred Tradition, and is entrusted to the Church as a whole. When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, He sent them in pairs. This had deep theological and scriptural significance. According to Mosaic Law, the testimony of two or three witnesses was necessary to establish truth (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15). This standard was well known in Jewish culture and was traditionally applied to legal cases, but Jesus elevated it to strengthen the credibility of evangelization. Two disciples witnessing together to the truth of the Gospel would speak with a kind of moral and spiritual authority that mirrored this ancient tradition. Moreover, when we speak in union with the Church and act in concert with other faithful witnesses, our united work of evangelization becomes a harmonious echo of God’s Word rather than a solitary voice subject to distortion. Even our Lord Himself respected this principle. When the Pharisees challenged Jesus for speaking on His own authority, He responded, “Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified… I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me” (cf. John 8:14, 18). Jesus makes clear that He does not speak in isolation; the Father testifies on His behalf. Thus, even the Son, in His earthly mission, models the humility of cooperative testimony. Consider your own duty to testify to the truth of the Gospel. The Twelve whom Jesus had earlier sent represent the bishops of the Church, who form the foundation of Christ’s mission through their participation in apostolic succession. In today’s Gospel, the seventy-two represent every disciple of Christ, including each of us today. Discipleship is much more than following Jesus through a personal devotion to Him and His teachings. It also includes being sent by Him. Once we receive the Gospel and interiorize it through living faith and prayer, we will then be sent by Christ to go forth and testify to the truth we have received. This is not an option; it’s a necessity. How well do you do this? Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that our faith is something personal that we keep to ourselves. But it is not. It must be shared, and if we are disciples, then we are also evangelists. Being an evangelist does not necessarily mean we enter into a full-time apostolate by which we preach and teach as we travel from town to town. For most, evangelization takes place in the ordinary rhythms of life—in our families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and social settings. It means living our faith with authenticity, speaking the truth with charity, and radiating Christ through our actions as well as our words. It means being willing to witness to the Gospel even when it is uncomfortable, unpopular, or rejected, and doing so in union with others in the faith. Reflect today on whether you are testifying to the truth in the way God is asking of you. Have you embraced both the privilege and the responsibility of being sent? Resolve to go forth with the courage of a lamb in the midst of wolves, never alone, but always in communion with Christ and His Church, bearing witness to the Kingdom that is at hand. Doing so will not only bring blessings to others, it will also deepen your faith and communion with God. My Lord and Living Word, Your voice must go out to the ends of the earth, drawing many to You through the members of Your Mystical Body, the Church. Please draw me close to You, dear Lord, and when I am ready, send me forth with others to testify to the Truth of Your saving Word. Use me as an instrument of Your grace, that through my witness, You may draw many souls into the glory of Your Eternal Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You.