Today's Gospel: Luke 12:8-12 - Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, and Companions Geez, Lord, could You put the stakes any higher? Not only do I have to uphold my allegiance to You here on earth, but there are eternal consequences to betraying my faith. Reading this passage, I was struck by a phrase I'd never noticed before: the Son of Man will acknowledge or deny us "before the angels of God". Christ is referring here to the Last Judgment, when each of us will receive our eternal punishment or reward. Each of us has been given an angel to watch over us, from conception to death: to guide us, assist us, defend us against the evil one, adore God for and with us, and walk beside us in this Christian life. Our angel sees every decision we make, every movement towards and away from Christ. He'll stand witness to what we have done and what we have failed to do. And in the end, our angel will know Christ's judgment of us. I don't know if angels can be sorrowful (they are pure spirits, so emotions definitely aren't a thing, but I'm no angel-ologist) but from a human perspective, I don't want to disappoint my heavenly friend. God gave him to me and me to him, and personally, I'd rather hang out with him praising God for eternity than know he was watching me go to hell, despite all his efforts to keep me from the brink.

Ponder:

Do you pray to your guardian angel? Pause for a moment to thank him for his loving care of you, and ask him to help you in whatever struggle you're currently facing.

Pray:

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of my guardian angel. Guardian Angel, keep me strong so that when the Last Judgment comes, Jesus will acknowledge me before you.
Copyright 2019 Rebecca Willen Receive CatholicMom.com newsletters in your inbox, including the Daily Gospel Reflection each morning! * indicates required
Interests
  Gospel Reflections 800x800 gold outline

About the Author

Rebecca W. Martin

Rebecca W. Martin

Rebecca W. Martin, a trade book Acquisitions Editor for Our Sunday Visitor and Assistant Editor at Chrism Press, lives in Michigan with her husband and too many cats. A perpetually professed Lay Dominican, Rebecca serves as editor for Veritas, a quarterly Lay Dominican publication. Her children’s book Meet Sister Mary Margaret will release in fall 2023 from OSV Kids.