In 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts became the first humans to orbit the moon. As they swung around the far side, completely cut off from all radio contact with Earth, alone in the cosmic dark, astronaut Jim Lovell looked out into the void and said something unexpected: “I feel like there were more than three of us up there.” He couldn’t explain it. No religious vision, no sudden apparition, just an unmistakable sense of presence. Years later, he still maintained: “We were not alone.”
Today, on the feast of the Guardian Angels, we hear a curious reading from Nehemiah. The people of Israel gathered to hear words they had forgotten, and when they remembered, they wept. But Ezra told them to stop crying and start celebrating. Because they discovered again what it means to be accompanied, what it means to not be forgotten.
Secret Service or Quiet Presence?
That is precisely what angels remind us of. We think of them as cosmic bodyguards, spiritual Secret Service agents, swooping in to prevent disasters. But what if they’re more like an unseen companion in the dark? What if they’re the inexplicable strength that comes precisely when you have nothing left? Guardian angels aren’t about magic protection; they’re about presence. The kind of presence that watches over an infant sleeping, not because the child has achieved anything, but simply because its existence brings joy.
Strength When Spirits Break
Let me tell you another story. In 2010, a mine in Chile collapsed, trapping 33 miners nearly half a mile underground for 69 days. The world held its breath. Rescue teams drilled, families prayed, and the men below survived on scraps of food and sheer determination. Later, when they were finally pulled to safety, one of the miners, said: “There were not 33 of us down there. There were 34. God never abandoned us.” And many of the miners echoed that sentiment. They spoke of an unseen companion, a presence that strengthened them when their spirits were breaking.
That is the work of guardian angels: not always winged figures in paintings, but the quiet certainty that God does not leave us alone. They stand with us in our caves and collapses, whispering courage when our own voices fail.
Heavenly Support
And Scripture itself is full of such moments. Hagar, cast out into the wilderness with her son Ishmael, ready to give up, an angel opens her eyes to see a well of water (Genesis 21). Elijah, worn down and ready to die in the desert, an angel touches him, feeds him, and says, “Get up, or the journey will be too much for you” (1 Kings 19). Over and over again, when despair closes in, heaven does not send an army but a messenger, quiet, close and practical.
The Jewish tradition has a beautiful Midrash that says: “A procession of angels walks before a person wherever he or she goes, blowing the trumpet and announcing, ‘Make way for the image of the Holy One.’” Think about that: every person you meet is so precious in God’s sight that angels clear the path, proclaiming their dignity. “or announcing your arrival, Here comes the image of God, make way!” If we actually believed that, we might drive more politely on the highway.
Presence to the End
I was at a nursing home two days ago to anoint a dying woman. The staff told me she had been talking to someone in the room from last night, someone they couldn’t see or understand. I’ve heard such stories often. Patients in their final hours whispering, “You’ve finally come. I was waiting.” Or softly saying, “I see the light now; I’m not afraid anymore.” We can’t explain that away. All we can do is stand in reverence, recognizing that death is not entered alone.
More Than Fairy Tales
So, what do we learn from this feast? That guardian angels are not fantasies for children but reminders of a truth we adults forget: we are never alone. Sometimes they look like a nurse at midnight, or a stranger offering direction, or even a child’s laughter breaking through your sadness. Sometimes they are simply that unshakable sense, as Jim Lovell said from the dark side of the moon, that “we weren’t alone.”
Most of the time, when things all work out well, we have called it luck. Today, learn its name: Guardian Angels.
- Today’s Readings
- Father Boby's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
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