The guardian angels

There is a doctrine, that of the guardian angels, which, by its charm and gentleness, ought to convert the most incredulous. Does it not seem to you greatly consoling, the idea of having always near you beings who are superior to you, ever ready to counsel and support you, to help you in the ascent of the abrupt mountain of good; more sincere and devoted friends than all those who most intimately bind themselves to you on Earth? They are at your side by order of God. It was God who placed them there, and, remaining there for the love of God, they carry out a beautiful, yet arduous, mission. Yes, wherever you may be, they will be with you. Neither in prisons, nor in hospitals, nor in places of debauchery, nor in solitude are you separated from those friends whom you cannot see, but whose gentle influence your soul feels, at the same time as it hears their measured counsels. Ah! If you well knew this truth! How greatly it would help you in moments of crisis! How greatly it would deliver you from the bad Spirits! But, oh! how many times, on the solemn day, will that angel not find itself constrained to observe to you: "Did I not counsel you this? Yet you did not do it. Did I not show you the abyss? Nevertheless, you cast yourself into it! Did I not make the voice of truth echo in your conscience? You preferred, however, to follow the counsels of falsehood!" Oh! question your guardian angels; establish between them and you that tender intimacy which reigns among the best friends. Do not think to hide anything from them, for they have the eye of God and you cannot deceive them. Think of the future; seek to advance yourselves in the present life. In so doing, you will shorten your trials and render your existences happier. Come, men, courage! Once and for all, cast far from you all prejudices and preconceived ideas. Enter the new path that opens before your steps. Walk on! You have guides: follow them. May the goal not fail you, for that goal is God Himself. To those who deem it impossible that truly elevated Spirits should devote themselves to a task so laborious and of every instant, we will say that we influence your souls even though we are many millions of leagues distant from you. Space, for us, is nothing, and, notwithstanding our living in another world, our Spirits keep their bonds with yours. We enjoy qualities you cannot comprehend, but rest assured that God has not imposed on us a task beyond our strength, and that He has not left you alone on Earth, without friends and without support. Each guardian angel has its ward, over whom it watches, as the father over the son. It rejoices when it sees him on the good path; it suffers when he scorns its counsels. Do not fear to weary us with your questions. On the contrary, seek to be always in relation with us. You will thus be stronger and happier. It is these communications of each one with his familiar Spirit that make all men mediums, mediums unknown today, but who will manifest themselves later and will spread like an ocean without shores, sweeping away incredulity and ignorance. Learned men, instruct your fellows; men of talent, educate your brothers. You do not imagine what works you perform in this way: that of the Christ, the one God imposes upon you. For what did God grant you intelligence and science, if not to share them with your brothers, if not to make them advance along the path that leads to blessedness, to eternal happiness? Saint Louis, n Saint Augustine. n Observation. – There is nothing surprising in the doctrine of the guardian angels, watching over their wards, despite the distance that lies between the worlds. It is, on the contrary, grand and sublime. Do we not see on Earth the father watch over the son, even from afar, and aid him with his counsels, corresponding with him? What cause for astonishment will there be, then, in that the Spirits can, from another world, guide those whom, as inhabitants of the Earth, they have taken under their protection, since, for them, the distance from one world to another is less than that which, on this planet, separates the continents?

[1]

Translator's note: See this message in The Spirits' Book. – Part Two. – Chapter IX. – Question 495.

[2] [v.

Saint Louis.]

[3] [v.

Saint Augustine.]