The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy
Our Guardian Angel
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
All people feel an insecurity from time to time, physical, mental, psychological, spiritual, and we ask for protection. Man comes into the world and lives in society, where there are so many influences coming from everywhere, he feels unable, weak, powerless, especially when his physical powers leave him. Then he seeks help and protection.
As Christians, we have God, the Panagia, the Saints, the Church as our protector. We are not alone in life, we are "fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19). But many times we don't understand this either, because we are of little faith and weak spiritually. However, God gave us His Angels to protect us and each person has their own Guardian Angel. The Church has this truth in mind and prays to God: "For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord," that is, let us ask the Lord God to give us an angel of peace, who will be a faithful guide and guardian of our souls and bodies.
First of all, this means that there are angels of God or of peace and angels of the devil or of disorder. The angel of peace will put good thoughts in our minds, he will inspire us with good thoughts, so that we have peace in our hearts. How many disturbances are created by bad thoughts and ideas connected with carnality, avarice, ambition, but also by other aggressive actions of people! However, every good thought that comes to us to do good and avoid evil comes from the angel of peace.
Then we ask God to give us an angel as a "faithful guide". We need guides in our lives for good. The Jewish people, when they were traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land, had a faithful guide, the great Moses, and he had as a guide the Angel of Great Council, the pre-incarnate Word. Thus, the Israelites were able to overcome all the difficulties that appeared on their way. We also need a faithful guide, who will never betray us, who will never abandon us, even when we behave thoughtlessly and recklessly. This can also be somebody sent to us from God, such as our spiritual father, or just someone who offers good guidance.
We further ask God, that this angel be a "guardian of our souls and bodies". The word "guardian" is defined someone who guards something, who protects someone. Such protection refers to the body and the soul. And for the body there are special categories of people who can protect it, but who can protect our soul? Today there are temptations of the soul that come from all directions and enter our soul from all the senses. The truth is that we too do not protect ourselves from such psychic temptations, and we leave all our senses open for bad influences to enter us, and that is why problems and trials increase, so we are tortured in various ways.
We need protection from the angels of God, but, of course, we must also want it and be worthy of the protection of God and His angels.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
As Christians, we have God, the Panagia, the Saints, the Church as our protector. We are not alone in life, we are "fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19). But many times we don't understand this either, because we are of little faith and weak spiritually. However, God gave us His Angels to protect us and each person has their own Guardian Angel. The Church has this truth in mind and prays to God: "For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord," that is, let us ask the Lord God to give us an angel of peace, who will be a faithful guide and guardian of our souls and bodies.
First of all, this means that there are angels of God or of peace and angels of the devil or of disorder. The angel of peace will put good thoughts in our minds, he will inspire us with good thoughts, so that we have peace in our hearts. How many disturbances are created by bad thoughts and ideas connected with carnality, avarice, ambition, but also by other aggressive actions of people! However, every good thought that comes to us to do good and avoid evil comes from the angel of peace.
Then we ask God to give us an angel as a "faithful guide". We need guides in our lives for good. The Jewish people, when they were traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land, had a faithful guide, the great Moses, and he had as a guide the Angel of Great Council, the pre-incarnate Word. Thus, the Israelites were able to overcome all the difficulties that appeared on their way. We also need a faithful guide, who will never betray us, who will never abandon us, even when we behave thoughtlessly and recklessly. This can also be somebody sent to us from God, such as our spiritual father, or just someone who offers good guidance.
We further ask God, that this angel be a "guardian of our souls and bodies". The word "guardian" is defined someone who guards something, who protects someone. Such protection refers to the body and the soul. And for the body there are special categories of people who can protect it, but who can protect our soul? Today there are temptations of the soul that come from all directions and enter our soul from all the senses. The truth is that we too do not protect ourselves from such psychic temptations, and we leave all our senses open for bad influences to enter us, and that is why problems and trials increase, so we are tortured in various ways.
We need protection from the angels of God, but, of course, we must also want it and be worthy of the protection of God and His angels.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.