In addition to the creation of the visible world and of man, God also wanted to spread his goodness by giving being to the angels, exclusively spiritual creatures, of the highest perfection.
The angels, pure spirits - without composition of matter or body - are the most perfect creatures of creation. On the one hand, their intelligence proceeds with a simplicity and acuity of which man is incapable, and their will is more perfect than that of man. On the other hand, being already raised to the beatific vision, they are glorified creatures who see God face to face. This greater excellence, by nature and by grace, makes the angels ordinary ministers of God, who is willing to make common use of second causes in the government of the world, and enables them to influence men and lower beings. "The name that Sacred Scripture attributes to them indicates that what counts most in Revelation is the truth about the tasks of the angels with respect to men: angel means, in fact, messenger".
In many places in the New and Old Testaments we hear of them, and their presence is so evident that it is inseparable from the saving action of God on behalf of mankind.
In addition to intervening in singular events in human history, the angels are continually at work in the personal lives of men, for "the providence of God has given the angels the mission of guarding the human race and of helping every man. They are one more sign of the divine goodness towards us, and for this reason they help, encourage, comfort, and call us to goodness, trust and serenity. An entire book of the Old Testament is dedicated to recounting the help of an archangel, St. Raphael, to the family of Tobiah4. Without making known his angelic condition, he accompanies the young Tobias on a long and difficult journey, and gives him invaluable advice and services; at the end of the narrative, he introduces himself: I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the righteous and have an entrance before the majesty of the Holy One. The Lord knew well the honorable conduct of that family: When you prayed (...) I presented your prayers before God. When you buried the dead, I also assisted you. When you buried them with diligence (...) I was with you.
Our life is also a long journey, and at the end of it, when with the help of grace we are in the house of our Father God, the Guardian Angel can also say to us: "I was with you", because the Guardian Angels have the mission of helping each man to reach the supernatural end to which he is called by God. I will send an Angel before you," said the Lord to Moses, "to defend you on the way and to bring you to the place I have appointed for you
Let us thank the Lord for having wished to entrust us to these princes of Heaven, who are so intelligent and effective in their work, and let us frequently manifest the esteem in which we hold them.