Among her numerous visions, Sister Faustina Kowalska discerned the powers and limits of Guardian Angels.
Newsdesk (July 9, 2021 3:00 PM, Gaudium Press) Sister Faustina Kowalska witnessed several supernatural realities: she saw and talked to Jesus and observed the angelic world.
There are five things guardian angels can and cannot do to help us.
Fr. Marcello Stanzione (a specialist in angels and author of numerous books) reports these five missions recognized by Sister Faustina in his book “The Angels of Divine Mercy” (Segno editions).
1. The Angels can invite us to pray for the souls in purgatory
Sister Faustina repeatedly had visions of purgatory; one night, Jesus showed her purgatory and the sufferings of many souls. She was led there by her guardian angel, who invited her to pray for these souls.
This is how she described it: “I saw the guardian angel who ordered me to follow him. Soon I found myself in a foggy place, full of fire, and in it a huge crowd of suffering souls. These souls pray with great fervour, but with no effectiveness for themselves: only we can help them. The flames that burned them did not touch me. My guardian angel did not leave me for a moment and asked these souls what their greatest torment was. In unison, they answered that their greatest torment is the desire for God. Sometimes Our Lady visits the souls in purgatory, who call her Mary “Star of the Sea.” She brings them refreshment.
2. The Angels can ask us to pray for the dying
In Sister Faustina’s diaries, we read, “Once, I was walking through the garden in the afternoon when the guardian angel said to me, ‘Pray for the dying.’ Immediately I began to pray the rosary for the dying together with the girls in charge of the garden. At the end, we recited several invocations for the dying.” (C I: 313)
3. The Guardian Angel cannot always console us
From Sister Faustina’s account, we can understand why the angel cannot always console us: “One night I looked up at the sky from my cell and saw a wonderful firmament, full of stars and the moon. Suddenly an inconceivable flame of love for my Creator entered my soul. Unable to bear the longing that grew in my soul for Him, I prostrated myself, humbling myself in the dust. I glorified Him for all His creatures, and when my heart could not bear what was happening in it, I burst into tears. Then my guardian angel touched me and addressed these words to me, “The Lord commands me to tell you to get up off the ground.” I did immediately, but my soul was not comforted. The longing for God enveloped me even more.” (C I, 470)
4. The angel can help us during spiritual exercises
The night before she left for eight days of spiritual exercises, Saint Faustina was overcome with fear when she saw her misery and incapacity before the greatness of God’s work. Jesus said to her: “Why are you afraid to do my will? […]” (Q I, 489)
The following day, the guardian angel accompanied her from Wilno to Krakow, with a stop in Warsaw: “The next morning I saw my guardian angel, who accompanied me on the trip to Warsaw. When we entered the gate, he disappeared. […] When we boarded the train for Warsaw bound for Krakow, I saw my guardian angel again, absorbed in prayer and contemplating God, and my thoughts accompanied him. When we reached the convent door, he disappeared.” (C I, 490)
5. The Angel can accompany us to heaven
“Once when I was praying fervently to the Jesuit saints, I suddenly saw my guardian angel, who led me to the throne of God. I passed by great crowds of saints, saw many familiar faces – whom I knew from their images. I saw many Jesuits who asked, ‘To which congregation does this soul belong?’ When I answered, they asked me: ‘Who is your spiritual director? I answered that it was Fr. Andrasz… When they wanted to speak further, my guardian angel made a sign of silence and I passed before the very throne of God.”
The mystic then saw “a great and inaccessible clarity, the place that was destined for me in the closeness of God, but how did He look like… I do not know. For He was covered by a cloud. And my guardian angel said to me, ‘Here is your throne, for faithfulness in fulfilling God’s will.'” (C II, 683)
By Rita Sberna
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
