WE OFTEN hear the words: "I had a miraculous escape," "I escaped by a hair's breadth." But in plain truth how did we escape? It was probably our Angel who snatched us from the danger that threatened us.

Again we hear of someone who is dying, of whose life there is no hope and who suddenly takes a change for the better and gets well.

The watchers by the bedside cannot understand how it happened, neither can the doctors see a reason for the change. Was it a mere chance?

Certainly not. It was his dear Angel, who is "all-powerful;" "all-loving;" who intervened and saved him from a premature end. An Angel knows more about medicine and sickness than all the doctors in the world.

It is true that we cannot affirm categorically that this or that was done by the Angel if we have no proof of it, but we can say much more, viz., that our Angel saves us from thousands of dangers and evils and that he confers untold benefits and favors on us, and that at every moment of our lives.

It is for that, and for that alone that he is standing by our sides, that he is watching over us with all his vigilant care.

Many times we ourselves prevent him from using his loving power on our behalf, because we refuse to listen to his inspirations and counsels, clinging obstinately to our evil ways, to our silly imaginings.

 SOME INSTANCES

Were a person of delicate health rich enough to retain an eminent physician constantly in attendance on him, with instructions to use all his talent, to bestow all his time and to spare no expense in order to secure the improvement of his client's health, the patient would certainly attribute any betterment in his state to the unceasing care and efforts of this doctor. Yet the most eminent doctors have not the knowledge, the experience, the skill, the ability, the unrelaxing care, the eager wish to help us that our Angel has. Why then hesitate to attribute the many extraordinarily good things that happen to us to this ever watchful Angel?

Or take the case that is occurring daily in every household of the world. Children young and full of life, giddy, of course, and possessing little sense or prudence, are given into the watchful care of a nurse, whose only task is to take care of the little ones and see that no harm comes to them.

She has nothing else to do. No one doubts that this vigilant attendant saves her charges from a thousand dangers. They may walk in streets busy with traffic, where cars, automobiles, conveyances of all kinds constantly pass, or they may walk by the side of a lake or a fast-flowing river, or on a road which borders on precipices, but they are safe. Why? Their nurse is vigilant. She keeps them from all dangers.

Yet the watchfulness of a nurse is only a faint image of the unceasing care and vigilance of a mighty Angel.

INTERESTING FACTS

A lady friend of the writer's was once traveling with her little boy of three years in an express train. The child was standing near the door of the carriage, which suddenly flew open-----it had not been well closed. The boy was flung out. The mother, frantic with terror and filled with the gravest fears for the life of the little one, pulled the safety cord, but the train, which was traveling at high speed, did not pull up for a considerable time. When the rescue party reached the spot where the child had fallen, instead of finding a broken and bruised little body, as they had expected, they found the cause of their anxiety unscathed, radiant with happiness, playing as if he were in his nursery at home. The thought of all was "It was surely God's Angel who saved that child."

On another occasion, a young friend wishing to scale a high wall placed a ladder against it and proceeded to mount. At some yards from the wall, there was a deep well, about six feet in diameter, which had its sides paved from the top to the surface of the water with great stones. Suddenly, the climber found himself at the bottom of the well, standing up, unscathed.

How did this happen? The ladder must have slipped in some strange way.

In the natural course of events, he would have dashed his head against the side of the well, or fallen head foremost into the water, but except for the wetting, he escaped without the smallest scratch or bruise.

He could only think that it was his dear Angel who saved him from a horrible death, so that every day he thanks his Angel with all his heart for this favor.

A lady and her daughter were walking together on a road on the side of which was a high wall. Suddenly, the young girl stopped. Her mother repeatedly called her to come on, but she did not move. A moment afterwards the high wall crumbled and fell with an awful crash and would have certainly killed both mother and daughter had they gone only a few steps farther.

The mother, astonished at what had taken place, asked her daughter why she had stopped so suddenly, and as it proved, so opportunely.

"O, Mother!" exclaimed the girl in surprise, "did you not see that young man who signaled to me not to go on?" Was it her Angel?

The writer once asked a venerable bishop with whom he was traveling in a motor car through a crowded city if he were afraid of accidents, since a little time before, some serious collisions had taken place.

"Oh, no," he replied. "When I get into a motor car, I at once place myself under the care of my Angel Guardian, and I feel quite safe."

A young lady who lived in a lonely countryside once assured the writer that she was never afraid, neither in daytime nor in the darkest night because she felt absolutely sure that she had her Angel with her, an Angel who loved her, an Angel "all-powerful" ready to help her. When anything happened amiss and she escaped unhurt, she instinctively thanked her Angel, for she knew full well that it was he who had kept her from harm.

Another told him that she had in her early life been very nervous and fearful, but on learning about the Angel Guardians, she was filled with boundless confidence in her Angel, so that she now enjoys perfect peace and is no longer tormented with those horrible fears.

The conduct of these two ladies should be the attitude of every good Catholic.

MICHAEL'S GUARDIAN ANGEL

The following interesting fact bears, as our readers will see for themselves, the impress of truth. It happened over thirty years ago, but the account has been reprinted several times, with the personal guarantee of those who were actually present at the time of the occurrence.

In a small town in Pennsylvania, the parish priest, with the help of some nuns, was preparing the boys and girls of the parish for Confirmation. On the eve of the ceremony, the children were taken to the church to make their confessions.

One of the Sisters in attendance got annoyed at what she considered the unusual giddiness of the children. She noticed them whispering to each other and looking all in one direction, apparently at one of their companions, a little boy of ten or twelve years of age. She bade them be recollected.

On returning to the school after the confessions were over, she again reminded them that in church they must refrain from talking and whispering to each other. To her amazement, the children told her that they had seen an Angel and were quite surprised that she had not seen him too.

The tone of innocence and sincerity, and at the same time the unanimity with which all positively asserted that they had seen the Angel, impressed the good nun. In fact there seemed to be no possible doubt of what they affirmed. However, to make things still more certain and clear, she called them aside separately and diligently questioned each one as to exactly what he or she had seen when they first saw the Angel, where and what was he like.

Once more the children described, each separately, exactly what they had seen and with perfect agreement as to details. It was as follows:

One of their number, Michael, who was an excellent lad, had gone in his turn to Confession. On leaving the confessional, the children, one and all, saw a beautiful Angel, spotlessly white and radiantly beautiful, accompanying Michael, first to the altar where he knelt, and then to his place in the benches. The Angel had its wings outstretched and had an expression of tender love as it looked at Michael. At once the children, taken by surprise, whispered, "Look, look. Oh how lovely!"

The nun, more than ever convinced of the truth of what the children told her, hastened to lay the facts before the priests. These discussed the matter among themselves and then, without awakening the suspicions of the children, proceeded also to question them. They, in their turn, were deeply impressed and saw no reason for doubting what the children stated so firmly.

His Lordship the Bishop arrived in the course of the evening, and the priests gave him a full account of this consoling incident.

He also wished to have first-hand evidence, and once more the children unwaveringly narrated to His Excellency all the facts as before.

Inquiring into Michael's behavior, he learned that he was indeed a very good and innocent boy. He was cheerful and happy, a good companion, a diligent student and, although he lived very far from the church, he attended the instructions regularly and learned his lessons with unfailing care and diligence.

The bishop, the priests and the nuns were convinced that Michael's Angel Guardian had indeed manifested his presence.

Your web master remembers the story told to her by the good nuns about another Michael, which took place during World War II; a soldier named Michael, was seriously wounded in the trenches and was without aid, apparently abandoned. Before leaving for the front his mother had asked him to pray to St. Michael the Archangel, his namesake, for protection, which he did do. [See the the Story of Michael, HERE.]

Just as he thought he would die in that lonely field of blood and smoke, a young man suddenly appeared and carried him to safety. When he turned to thank him he was nowhere to be seen and none of the other soldiers had seen this young man carrying Michael, nor knew him by description. It was then that he realized it was St. Michael himself who must have rescued him and those he related the story to also became convinced of it. There was no other explanation that was satisfactory.

CLOSER TO HOME
by the Web Master

I had reason to recall that inspiration several years later when a friend and I were driving an uncle of another friend home through some treacherous mountain roads, an unfamiliar setting for us. The man had Alzheimer's and had found the keys to the family car and taken off for Maine and landed inexplicably safe at his nephew's home. Knowing there was no one to take him and the car back home to Vermont, we ladies volunteered after some trepidation. In fact, we dreaded the trip as both of us each owned very old cars of uncertain reliability for such a journey. But in the middle of the night a voice awakened me and bade to drive the old man home. So we went, she with the uncle in his car, and I following at a tail-gate distance in mine, to prevent the car from veering-----we were not authorized to drive his car. When we reached the treacherous portion of the trip, at twilight, the uncle's car kept lurching and I had to literally bump up against it to nudge it back on the road properly. At one point there was no guard rail and just a deep mountain ravine on the border of the road. I was literally frightened to death but I kept praying to my Guardian Angel and giving my friend the thumbs-up signal for her to see in the rear-view mirror of their car. Just when I was ready to scream in fright at one too-near mishap, I saw two Angels in white kneeling on the hood of the car for about 20 seconds, just long enough to be reassured and after that I was calm.

After we got the man safely home to his family, we set off for Maine, an all night journey in my rickety old auto. I told my friend, a recent convert, about the Angels and we said the Rosary, all fifteen decades in thanksgiving-----we learned it takes fifteen decades to get from St. Johnsbury, VT to the border of Maine. But this is only half the story.

Unknown to either of us, my husband had been informed the day before that the car was in need of a new belt and was not to be driven under any circumstances until repaired. My husband had either thought he told me and did not, or he had done so and I did not hear him. Either way I did not know that the car was not to be used. Meanwhile he had taken our better car to go out of town for his job, not realizing I would be taking an unexpected trip so far from home. Before my friend and I reached home early in the morning my husband was frantic because he had returned from his trip and found my note explaining where I would be and why and he knew of the condition of the car. He imagined something awful had happened to us.