God never leaves us alone. He gives us parents, spouses, godparents, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, nieces, nephews, friends, co-workers. He gives us religious leaders, too – religious men and women, priests, bishops.  He gives us heavenly patrons in baptism and confirmation and all sorts of others in the cloud of witnesses.

If all that weren’t enough, he also assigns to us all a guardian angel. As Exodus 23:20 tells us: “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.”

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.