“Mommy, who can fight the monsters?” my three-year-old asks me as I sit beside his bed after we’ve read stories and turned off the lights. “I too little,” he continues. I smile at him; my energetic, superhero-wannabe big-for-his-age son doesn’t seem like he’d be scared of monsters. Apparently after the lights are out, though, he’s like any other child. I tell him, “Let’s ask your guardian angel to watch over you.”
On the top bunk, his five-year-old sister immediately begins reciting the guardian angel prayer. She quickly memorized the prayer on the prayer card she got with her Zelie Crafts felt guardian angel doll. Now, she leads often helps him pray. “Repeat after me,” she says solemnly, and line by line, leads him through the brief prayer.
Listening to them pray together reminds me of being a little girl as my own mother sat on the edge of my bed and prayed with me. She used to ask God to place a hedge of protection around me (I pictured a literal tall, thick green hedge growing around my bed) and to send His angels to watch over me (I’d picture those angels flying above the hedge).
Teaching our children about their guardian angels is a great way to help them face their fears and also to connect with God their Father who loves them so much, He gave each of them an angel to watch over them.
Our guardian angels are our most faithful friends, because they are with us day and night, always and everywhere. We ought often to invoke them. ~ St. John Vianney
Guardian Angel Doll
My youngest two girls each have a felt saint doll from Zelie Crafts. The doll is a small, soft, physical reminder of the spiritual being watching over them. As humans, I’ve found we’re all very sensual; we need physical reminders of spiritual realities. These little guardian angel felt dolls help my little girls remember to ask their guardian angels to pray for them.
The guardian angel dolls also remind the girls that their guardian angel is always with them. Unlike a favourite stuffie or a comforting fuzzy blanket, their guardian angel can never be left behind or forgotten. The doll is just a little reminder, not their actual angel.
Make yourself familiar with the Angels, and behold them frequently in spirit. Without being seen, they are present with you. ~ St. Francis de Sales
Bedtime isn’t the only time that we ask the intercession of our guardian angels. Often when we’re on road trips, we start the drive with a prayer and ask that our guardian angels watch over us. (I often picture all our guardian angels hanging out on the roof top rack of my truck.)
The felt dolls are each a bit shorter than my hand. They are beautifully sewn with tiny, neat stitches and a happy smile. Each angel came with a beautiful, sturdy prayer card.
Pray to your guardian angel. Invoke his aid if you should find yourself in any serious danger of body or soul, and I assure you that he will help and protect you. ~ St. John Bosco
Talk about Guardian Angels
Sam the Guardian Angel is a beautiful picture book that helps children see how their guardian angel can help them in other situations. In this story, Angie’s guardian angel Sam answers her questions about Mass and helps her understand the Eucharist better. Children can see how they can reach out to their guardian angels to help them deepen their faith.
How happy is that guardian angel who accompanies a soul to Holy Mass! ~ St. John Vianney
Make Guardian Angel Prayer Cards
One of the ways our children learn to pray is by rote prayer. Teaching them traditional prayers is a great way to help them learn how to approach talking to God. The guardian angel prayer is an easy, rhyming prayer that most children can learn quickly. Making a prayer card with this prayer is a good way to encourage children to memorize it.
And there you have three simple ideas for helping your children learn about their guardian angel and begin to pray—a guardian angel felt doll, a story book, and a prayer card.
Beside each believer stands an Angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life. ~ St. Basil the Great
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