CORONAVIRUS CORNER

GUARDIAN ANGELS

In his pastoral letter addressing church closures during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and spokesman for the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales, has suggested people ask for the intercession of a guardian angel; while human beings cannot currently enter churches for Holy Communion, they may ask an angel to act on their behalf, since locked doors present no barrier to them. He quoted a prayer beginning: “Dear Guardian Angel, go for me to the church, there kneel down at Mass for me… During Holy Communion, bring to me the Body and Blood of Jesus uniting Him with me in spirit, so that my heart may become His dwelling place… When the Mass ends, bring home to me and to every home, the Lord’s blessing”.

Although sometimes thought of as a Victorian invention, the idea of guardian.