[Rank]
Guardian Angels;;Duplex majus;;4;;vide C4

[Ant Vespera]
God hath given His Angels charge over thee, * to keep thee in all thy ways.
Let us praise the Lord, * Whom the Angels do praise, unto Whom Cherubim and Seraphim do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy.
In heaven their Angels do always behold the face of My Father, * Which is in heaven.
Blessed be God, * Who sent His Angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him.
Praise ye God, * all His Angels Praise ye Him, all His hosts.

[Hymnus Vespera]
v. Angel-guardians of men, spirits and powers we sing,
Whom our Father hath sent, aids to our weakly frame,
Heavenly friends and guides, help from on high to bring,
Lest we fail through the foeman's wile.
_
He, the spoiler of souls, angel-traitor of old,
Cast in merited wrath out of his honoured place,
Burns with envy and hate, seeking their souls to gain
Whom God's mercy invites to heaven.
_
Therefore come to our help, watchful ward of our lives:
Turn aside from the land God to thy care confides
Sickness and woe of soul, yea, and what else of ill
Peace of heart to its folk denies.
_
Now to the Holy Three praise evermore resound:
Under whose hand divine resteth the triple world
Governed in wondrous wise: glory be theirs and might
While the ages unending run.
Amen.

[Versum 1]
V. Before the Angels will I sing praise unto thee, O my God.
R. I will worship toward thy holy Temple, and praise thy Name.

[Ant 1]
Are they not all * ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

[Oratio]
O God, Who in thine unspeakable Providence hast been pleased to give thine holy Angels charge over us, to keep us, mercifully grant unto our prayers, that we be both ever fenced by their wardship here, and everlastingly blessed by their fellowship hereafter.
$Per Dominum

[Invit]
The Lord, He is the King of the Angels, * O come, let us worship Him.

[Ant Matutinum]
The Lord God of heaven and earth shall send His Angel before thee.;;8
My God hath sent His Angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me.;;10
Go prosperously, and the Lord be with you in your journey, and His Angel keep you company.;;14
V. An Angel stood at the Altar of the Temple.
R. Having a golden censer in his hand.
When I came unto you, by the will of God I came; bless Him, and give Him thanks.;;18
The Angel of the Lord, which went before the camp of Israel, removed, and went behind them.;;23
The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.;;33
V. The smoke of the incense ascended up before the Lord.
R. Out of the Angel's hand.
The Lord sent His Angel, which cut off all the mighty of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the King of Assyria.;;95
Worship the Lord, all ye His Angels! Zion heard, and was glad.;;96
Bless the Lord, all ye His Angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, to hearken unto the voice of His word.;;102
V. Before the Angels will I sing praise unto thee, O my God.
R. I will worship toward thy holy Temple, and praise thy Name.

[Lectio1]
From the Book of Exodus
!Exod 23:20-23
20 Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.
21 Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him.
22 But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.
23 And my angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, whom I will destroy.

[Responsory1]
R. God hath given His Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
* They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.
V. Thousands of thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times hundreds of thousands stood before Him.
R. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.

[Lectio2]
From Zacharias the Prophet
!Zech 1:7-11
7 In the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month which is called Sabath, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying:
8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom: and behind him were horses, red, speckled, and white.
9 And I said: What are these, my Lord? and the angel that spoke in me, said to me: I will shew thee what these are:
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered, and said: These are they, whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth.
11 And they answered the angel of the Lord, that stood among the myrtle trees, and said: We have walked through the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.

[Responsory2]
R. Then the angel of the Lord answered, and said: O Lord of hosts,
* How long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation?
V. These three score and ten years?
R. How long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation?

[Lectio3]
!Zech 2:1-5
1 And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, with a measuring line in his hand.
2 And I said: Whither goest thou? and he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, and to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great the length thereof.
3 And behold the angel that spoke in me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him.
4 And he said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, by reason of the multitude of men, and of the beasts in the midst thereof.
5 And I will be to it, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about: and I will be in glory in the midst thereof.

[Responsory3]
R. When ye see the Gentiles, be not afraid of them, but in your hearts worship and fear the Lord;
* For His Angel is with you.
V. An Angel stood at the Altar of the Temple, having a golden censer in his hand.
R. For His Angel is with you.
&Gloria
R. For His Angel is with you.

[Lectio4]
From the Sermons of St. Bernard, Abbot (of Clairvaux.)
!On Ps. xc
He hath given His Angels charge over thee. A wonderful graciousness, and a wonderful outpouring of love. For who hath given charge? And what charge? Unto whom? And over whom? Let us carefully consider, my brethren, let us carefully hold in mind this great charge. For who hath given this charge? To Whom belong the Angels? Whose commandments do they obey, and Whose will do they do? He hath given His Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways, and that not carelessly, for they shall bear thee up in their hands. The Highest Majesty, therefore, hath given charge unto Angels, even His Angels. Unto these beings so excellently exalted, so blessed, so near to Himself, even as His own household, unto these hath He given charge over thee. Who art thou? What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? (Ps. viii. 5.) Even as though man were not rottenness, and the son of man, a worm. (Job. xxv. 6.) But what charge hath He given them over thee? To keep thee in all thy ways.

[Responsory4]
R. As the Lord liveth
* His Angel hath kept me in my way that I went thither, and in my sojourning there, and in mine homecoming again hither.
V. And the Lord hath not suffered me that am His handmaid to be defiled.
R. His Angel hath kept me in my way that I went thither, and in my sojourning there, and in mine homecoming again hither.

[Lectio5]
That respect, what thankfulness, what trust, ought this word to work in thee! Respect for their presence, thankfulness for their kindness, trust in their safe keeping. Walk carefully, as one with whom are Angels, as hath been laid in charge upon them, in all thy ways. In every lodging, in every nook, have reverence for thine Angel. Dare not to do in his presence what thou wouldst not dare to do in mine. Or dost thou doubt whether he be indeed present, because thou seest him not? What if thou heardest him? What if thou touchedst him? What if thou smelledst him? Behold, not by sight alone is the presence of things made manifest.

[Responsory5]
R. The Angel of the Lord came down into the furnace together with Azariah and his fellows, and smote the flame of the fire out of the furnace;
* So that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt them.
V. Blessed be their God, Who sent His Angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him!
R. So that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt them.

[Lectio6]
Let us also, brethren, dearly love His Angels, as them with whom we are one day to be co-heirs, and who in the meanwhile are leaders and guardians set over us by the Father. With such guardians, whereof shall we be afraid? They that keep us in all our ways, can neither be conquered nor corrupted, far less can they corrupt. They are trusty, they are wary, they are mighty. Whereof shall we be afraid? Only let us follow them, only let us cleave unto them, and we shall abide under the shadow of the God of heaven. As often then as the gloom of temptation threateneth thee, or the sharpness of tribulation hangeth over thee, call upon Him That keepeth thee, thy Shepherd, thy Refuge in times of trouble, call upon Him, and say: “Lord, save us, we perish.”

[Responsory6]
R. In all their affliction He was not afflicted;
* And the Angel of His presence saved them.
V. In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old.
R. And the Angel of His presence saved them.
&Gloria
R. And the Angel of His presence saved them.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
!Matt 18:1-10
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? And so on.
_
Homily by St. Hilary, Bishop (of Poitiers.)
!Comm. on Matth. xviii.
Unless ye become as little children, saith the Lord, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, that is, unless by the uprooting of bodily and mental depravity, we bring our souls to the innocency of childhood. But He giveth the name of children to all such as believe by the hearing of faith. Children follow their father, love their mother, know not how to wish evil to their neighbours, are not careful for earthly riches; they insult not, they hate not, they lie not, they believe what they are told, and take for truth what they hear. Us then it behoveth to return to the simpleness of little children, for when we are well rooted therein, we shall so far bear about in ourselves an image of the sublime simpleness of the Lord Jesus.

[Responsory7]
R. When Maccabeus and they that were with him heard that (Lysias) besieged the holds, they and all the people with lamentation and tears besought the Lord that He would send;
* A good Angel to deliver Israel.
V. So they went forth together with a willing mind, and, as they were at Jerusalem, there appeared before them on horseback one in white clothing.
R. A good Angel to deliver Israel.

[Lectio8]
Wee unto the world because of offences! The lowliness of the Passion is an offence unto the world. Such is the state of stupidity to which man's ignorance hath reduced itself, that it turneth away from the Lord of Eternal Glory, because of the unsightliness of the Cross! And what is so certain to bring woe unto the world as to turn away from Christ? And therefore He saith It must needs be that offences come, because his fulfilling the lowliness of the Passion was the predestined mean whereby He was to give us eternal life.

[Responsory8]
R. O Lord, Thou didst send thine Angel in the time of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and didst slay in the host of Sennacherib an hundred, fourscore, and five thousand.
* Wherefore now also, O Lord of heaven, send thy good Angel before us, for a fear and dread of the might of thine arm.
V. That those be stricken with terror that come with blasphemy against thy holy people.
R. Now also, O Lord of heaven, send thy good Angel before us, for a fear and dread of the might of thine arm.
&Gloria
R. Now also, O Lord of heaven, send thy good Angel before us, for a fear and dread of the might of thine arm.

[Lectio9]
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones that believe in Me. He hath laid on us a most meet tie to constrain us to love one another, especially such as indeed believe in the Lord. For I say unto you that in heaven their Angels do always behold the face of My Father Which is in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost. From these words we see, first, that the Son of Man saveth; secondly, that the Angels do see God; and thirdly, that the Angels of these little ones have the wardship over the prayers of the faithful. That the Angels have this wardship is taught us absolutely. The Angels therefore do every day offer to God the prayers, which they which are saved, do make to Him in the Name of Christ. Therefore it is dangerous for a man to despise them, seeing that these are they by whose watchful service and ministry his wishes and requests are presented before the throne of the eternal and unseen God.
&teDeum

[Capitulum Laudes]
!Exod. 23:20-21
v. Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. Take notice of him, and hear his voice.
$Deo gratias

[Hymnus Laudes]
v. Ruler of the dread immense!
Maker of this mighty frame!
Whose eternal providence
Guides it, as from thee it came:
_
Low before thy throne we bend;
Hear our supplicating cries;
And thy light celestial send
With the freshly dawning skies.
_
King of kings, and Lord most high!
This of thy dear love we pray:
May thy guardian angel nigh,
Keep us from all sin this day.
_
May he crush the deadly wiles
Of the envious serpent's art,
Ever spreading cunning toils
Round about the thoughtless heart.
_
May he scatter ruthless war
Ere to this our land it come;
Plague and famine drive away,
Fix securely peace at home.
_
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One eternal Trinity!
Guard by thy angelic host
Us who put our trust in thee.
Amen.

[Ant 2]
The Angel that talked * with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.

[Lectio Prima]
!Exod 23:22-23
v. But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee. And my angel shall go before thee.

[Capitulum Sexta]
!Exod. 23:21
v. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him.
$Deo gratias

[Ant 3]
Holy Angels, * our Keepers, shield us in the battle, that we perish not in the awful judgment.