Wouldn’t it be cool to have your own bodyguard at all times? One of those strong, buff men, with the black suit, shaded sunglasses, and little hidden secret microphones? Actually, you do have one, and they’re called guardian angels. It’s sometimes tempting to think about the unseen as part of a fairy tale or even nonexistent. But these beings thought “invisible” are not imaginary; they are there by your side at all times. 

The truth about us Catholics is that we love to celebrate. All the different feasts and remembrance days for all the saints, different events, ideas — we have a full calendar of them. And October 2 is the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. Why do we celebrate these beings?

First things first, everyone has one. Guardian angels are appointed to each human at the beginning of their life, at conception. It’s beautiful to think about the fact that these beings have been by our side from the literal second we came into the world. Guardian angels are spirits. Since they’re spirits, they don’t have genders. Some paintings might portray them as strong male warriors or as gentle women, and let’s not forget about cherubs — the chubby babies. In reality, they’re neither male nor female. Spirits don’t have bodies, and therefore they don’t have genders either. 

They can actually borrow human forms if it’s necessary for their mission. They put it on like a costume and “shed” it off whenever. So, moral of the story: be kind because you never know when you might be talking to a guardian angel. Even though they don’t have permanent bodies, they do have personalities, and those personalities could be either more feminine or masculine, which is why they might be depicted in paintings as male or female. It’s not uncommon to have dreams about your guardian angel; if you watch and listen carefully, they might reveal something about themselves.

They’re also incredibly intelligent and smart. God lets them know what He wants them to know, and they — without saying — know everything about us, or the “appointed” human they have to babysit. Something my family has been doing for a while now is asking for our guardian angels’ help when looking for parking spots. And it works without exceptions; even in the middle of Boston, we have always found not just good, but great parking spots. I definitely recommend asking them for help. As they say, ask and you shall receive. 

Another fun fact about them is that they have names. All angels, including guardian angels, have names. We know of St. Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel, but they’re archangels. We can’t really know the names of our guardian angels, unless they decide to reveal it. But until then, just keep guessing. Or just give them a nickname. 

Guardian angels also have some cool “superpowers.” For one thing, they’re outside of chronological time, so they can basically space — and, in a sense — time travel as well. I’ve recently read that they might not actually be moving from place to place but instead instantaneously act wherever they need to be in order to do their deeds, like helping out during your math test, for example. 

Another cool superpower is that they’re telepathic. They can transfer their thoughts from each other and even to us. They don’t have to take that energy to open their mouths and generate vocal tones to talk like us. They can just share their thoughts whenever they want, like Twitter, but for celestial beings. 

Now the last fact about them is that they’re beautiful. Since they’re always in the presence of God, that beauty reflects on them. So yes, you can imagine a really, really good-looking bodyguard. I encourage you to try to get to know your little bodyguard more on this Feast of the Guardian Angels. You can ask them to help you find a parking spot or ace a test, you can do your daily ranting session with them, or you can even make up a handshake. 

Anna Marosfoi ‘22, Staff Writer

22amarosfoi@montroseschool.org