Who is your guardian angel?

In the general sense, a guardian angel is one who is charged with keeping you, specifically, safe from all dangers.  We find angel warriors and visitors mentioned in several places in the Bible and in other Christian sources, although the concept of a specific guardian angel assigned by God to protect a certain individual and to deliver their prayers back to God is a 5th century concept. We find angel protectors a particularly appealing concept when applied to innocents. The concept of a guardian angel protecting a child from almost certain death is a favorite subject of some of the well known painting and art work through history. Matthäus Kern s work Guardian Angel from 1840 is a prime example of the genre.  Here we find angel arms wrapped adoringly around a toddler who is cantilevered out over a high outcropping of rocks.

Biblical references

Both the book of Daniel and the book of Job speak specifically of angels as ministering spirits and messengers.  In Daniel, we find angel warriors assigned to countries as well as to individuals.  We also get a glimpse of a celestial wrestling match between the demonic angel assigned to Persia and Michael a more powerful angel, known as an archangel. Michael is one of the few angels named in the Bible, Gabriel is another.  Neither angel appears to assigned specifically to an individual, but are of a higher order of angels.

Angels in history and literature

We find angel references throughout history, although there has been no consistent recognition or agreement that a guardian angel is assigned to each person.  In fact, by the 19th century, the guardian angel seems to have become more of a conscience figure, with the goal of preventing the person from committing a sin. This is reflected in the almost comic picture of an cherubic angel and an imp sitting on opposite shoulders of a person arguing for and against committing a wrong deed. In fact, this scene is often depicted in children s cartoons.  In such storylines, we usually find angel advice from the good angel is ignored.

Angels on television and in movies

We find angel characters, particularly good angels, have long been popular characters in movies and in series made for television.  From 1946, Clarence Oddbody s efforts to convince Jimmy Stewart that "It s A Wonderful Life" are known and loved by generations.  Michael Landon s footloose guardian angel character from Highway to Heaven ran for a successful 5 seasons on television.  This angel didn t limit his care to just one person, but to dozens of people and issues that needed to be corrected or saved.

We find angel teams working for the California Angels baseball team and one young boy in particular in the 1994 movie Angels in the Outfield.   The guardian angel boss is played by Christopher Lloyd.

The years 1994 through 2003 saw another guardian angel team doling out advice and saving hopeless individuals.  The series regulars were played by Roma Downey, Della Reece and John Dye.  Here we find angel hierarchy hinted at, sometimes strongly with impulsive Monica (Roma) being trained by Tess (Della) and both sometimes overruled by the Angel of Death--Andrew. This series Touched by an Angel fueled the angel revival in popular culture.

We find angel anomalies in John Travolta s portrayal of guardian angel Michael--soon to be stationed forever behind the Pearly Gates a sometimes refreshing change from the always good angel crop.  Michael smokes cigars, molts and is definitely anything but holy. .