provided the receiver places no impediment. Be thankful to God for so great a benefit, and always approach them worthily.
FRIDAY.
Benefits from the Guardianship of Angels.
I. " He hath given His angels charge over thee," says holy David, "to keep thee in all thy ways." (Ps. xc. 11.) Our heavenly Father is not content to make us His sons; but, with unparalleled kindness, provides us with tutors and guardians. This charge He has committed to the angels: they are the ministers of His graces, — they guard and protect us. "'Are they not all ministering spirits," asks the Apostle, " sent to minister for these, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Heb. i. 14.)
II. To whom has He committed this charge of us? To the angels, who are His most noble creatures, who are pure spirits, immortal by nature, " full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." (Exod. xxviii. 12.) They are more powerful than the most numerous and best disciplined army; they are adorned with every kind of grace and glory, and they continually enjoy the beatific vision. To the care of these superior beings, weak, frail and imperfect man is committed. " In their hands they shall bear thee up, less thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Ps. xc. 12.) Learn to appreciate the favor, which God does you, in placing you under the protection of His angelic spirits.
III. The conviction, that you are under the special protection of the angels, ought to excite you, as St. Bernard remarks, " to reverence, devotion, and confidence in them: reverence, because they are present;
