Day 47: The Angels

[T]he whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels. In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the Roman Canon's Supplices te rogamus. . .["Almighty God, we pray that your angel..."]; in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels). CCC 334-335

Today's reading is short but finishes what the Catechism teaches us about angels in this section. Angels play an important role in the life of the Church and as guardians, in our own lives as well. 

As the Catholic Companion, Vol I states:

Tradition teaches that each of us has a guardian angel. As St. Basil says, "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life" (quoted in CCC 336). (p. 98)

Angels protect us and intercede for us. Even though we might sympathize with angels doing the former, given our propensity to ignore God at times and sin, they are "fully surrendered to the Lord" and His will. Angels protect us but are not our servants. It is God alone to Whom they serve. I like how the Catechism Companion puts this:

Jesus does not force us to respond to him; therefore, he does not send his angels to overpower us... Like them, we are free beings who must choose to reveal ourselves to respond to Christ's love. We must freely cooperate with their protective care. And after we die? Jesus tells us movingly about the joy in heaven of the angels if we do respond to his saving grace and come home to our Father (see Luke 15:1-10). (p. 99)

Angels are spirits and serve the Lord completely. We are made in the image of God (Gen 1:27), and like the angels are called to serve Him as well. 

Angels icon by an anonymous Russian icon painter (mid-19th century)