Looking for a good book?

Among the most common ways of honoring the Lord's Day are attending Holy Mass and visiting with family and friends. These days, another good way to keep Sunday is very much under-appreciated: reading spiritual books.

This afternoon I read Mike Aquilina's Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio: Servant Books, 2009).

This short book, consisting on an introduction, twelve chapters, and a selection of prayers, hymns and prayers, is an excellent resource both for learning more about angels and for teaching others about them.

Aquilina addresses the creation of the angels, free will in relation to the angels and the role of angels in the lives of men. He also includes chapters on the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Of particular interest to me was his insightful chapter on the guardian angels. Consider this:

Our angels can be immensely helpful too in everyday life. We can call upon
our own angel as well as the angels of those around us - our family members,
coworkers, neighbors and even our adversaries...

If you're married, for example, it's useful to know that your spouse's angel wants you to succeed in creating a happy home. You can ask for the help of your honey's angel.

If you're a parent, it's helpful to keep in mind that your children have guardian angels, and those angels want you to succeed at parenting. So when you're beginning to lose patience, ask your own guardian angel to help you. If the situation keeps getting worse, call on your kid's guardian angel as well. If face, the system works best if you greet each child's angel (silently, in your heart) each time your the child strolls into your presence.

Saint Josemaria suggested that guardian angels can be a big help in evangelization too. "Win over the guardian angel of the one you want to draw to your apostolate. He is always a great 'acomplice'" (53-54).

I am happy to recommend this book to you. If this is a topic you are especially interested in, don't forget Peter Kreeft's excellent book, Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them? (San Francisco, California: Ignatius Press).