Guardian Angels . Only four centuries have passed since, in 1608, the devotion to the guardian angels was made official in the liturgy of the Catholic Church, with the institution of the feast by Pope Clement tenth set for October 2. Those were the years when it was also definitively clarified the text of the prayer better known by children, condensed to a quatrain with which began the long poem by an English monk of the late eleventh century (Angel of God, who are my guardian , to light and guard, to rule and guide me, who have been entrusted by the heavenly goodness. Amen). But in reality it sinks in time the awareness of the existence of a guardian angel placed by God to the left of each human being. Since the book of Exodus, written around the sixth century BC by relying on previous oral and written traditions, we find that God says: (Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I preparation). Without ever formulating a dogmatic definition in this regard, the Magisterium of the Church has held, in particular in the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century, that each human being has a guardian angel.
Michael is considered the commander of the heavenly and the traditional iconography depicts him with a shield and a spear, or with a shield and a sword, as he fights victoriously against Lucifer. Another representation sees the balance in his hand, the symbol of the weighing at the time of the final judgment, of good and evil done by the souls. The Old Testament presents him as (the great prince). In the New Testament is the head of the angelic hosts, who oppose the rebellious angels.
Gabriel is considered the ambassador par excellence of God. The iconographic tradition it is usually with a lily in his hand, but in some cases is also depicted with a lantern and a mirror of jasper. Pius XII proclaimed him patron of telecommunications and communicators, while Paul VI added protection postal and philatelic. In the Old Testament prophet Daniel gives warnings about what will happen to the people of Israel. In the New Testament it appears in two circumstances. First in the Temple of Jerusalem, the priest Zechariah. (Your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must name him John). So, six months later, the Virgin Mary (the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth).
Raphael is considered by tradition the angel who heals all physical and spiritual. The iconography sees portrayed in the act of bringing a fish and a stick, or holding a cup containing a medicinal drink. The popular tradition attributes to him the protection of travelers, sailors, pharmacists, engaged and young married couples. His name is reported only in the Old Testament, where the Book of Tobit tells the constant intervention in favor of Tobi and his loved ones. Raffaele is also considered an opponent of Asmodeus, the demon that apocryphal Testament of Solomon is presented as the enemy of the conjugal union.