Early Church history and tradition teaches that each day of the week has a theme which can help us to celebrate ordinary time. Monday has been traditionally dedicated to honoring the Holy Angels. This would include guardian angels and archangels. Below are some prayers and activities to help you celebrate!

Prayer to St. Michael Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our defense against the wickedness
and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray.
And do you, O prince of heavenly host,
by the power of God
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world
for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Guardian Angel Prayer

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

• Remind children (and adults!) that their guardian angel is always at their side helping them to pray, to fight back when they are tempted, to warn them to steer clear of situations which will turn them away from God. Give your guardian angel a special gift by taking him to a church for some quiet time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Praying and Talking to Your Guardian Angel

“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” — St. Basil.

Remind the family that our guardian angels are there always and say a special prayer today to your guardian angel. This week try to get in the habit of talking to your guardian angel. It is also an old custom to greet another’s guardian angel, silently, as you greet the person aloud.

Discuss the great hero St. Michael and his battle with his brother-angel Lucifer, who refused to serve God and had to be thrown out of heaven into the abyss.

Raphael the Archangel Place Mat

You’ll need light-colored construction paper; markers and/or crayons; and clear contact-paper (optional).

Read the book of Tobit (especially chapters 4 to 12). You can use a children’s Bible version, or have an adult or older child read and paraphrase the story. Try to read the words of Raphael in chapter 12. Discuss the role of the Angel Raphael. How did he help Tobias? What was his message to Tobias and his father? The symbols for Raphael are a pilgrim’s staff, a wallet, or a fish. Children can decorate a piece of paper with the symbols and/or what they think he looked like to Tobias to make a place mat. They can also add favorite verses from the story. When finished, the place mat can be covered with clear contact-paper and used at dinner.

C&H Box (Charity and Humility)

Supplies:

• Catholic dictionary
• paper
• crayons, markers, pencils
• empty shoe-box with lid
• foil or wrapping paper to cover box

Criticism is an activity that seems to come naturally to adults and children alike and creeps up most often among close friends and family. Fortunately for us, God sent our guardian angels to help us with just such problems. Charity and humility are the virtues that help combat criticism. Today would be a good day to come up with a plan to root out criticism and plant the virtues of charity and humility, with the help of our guardian angels.

Cover and decorate the box. Label it “C&H Box” and make sure everyone knows what that means. Look up charity and humility in the dictionary and brainstorm ways to practice these virtues. Write down the favorites and put into the box. At the end of the day, or early in the morning, choose one paper out of the box and put that action into practice all day. After a week or so, evaluate the family’s growth in virtue and add or take away ideas as needed.

Angel on My Shoulder

You’ll need:

• blank stickers or labels
• glitter; and gold and/or silver crayons or markers.

Draw a picture of your guardian angel on a blank label (ask him to help you!). Decorate with glitter and cut out the white part around the edges so the shape of the sticker matches your picture. Wear your guardian angel on your collar or shirt-pocket and be open to explain to friends who he is and what he does.

Our guardian angels are special friends sent to us by God. They help us and protect us. Sometimes our friends here on earth can act like “guardian angels.”

My Best Friends

You’ll need:

• paper plates
• crayons and/or markers
• tape.

Each person thinks of one person not in the family who is a good friend, then shares the reasons why. Share a time when this friend was a helper or protector to you. Using the paper plates, make a likeness of the friend and hang it above the dinner table. Spend some time before or after the meal to pray for the person and thank God for the gift of such a friend.

Sharing Vocations

The apostles answered the call to the first vocations in the Church. Your children will be called to one of three vocations: religious life, married life, or consecrated single life. Spend time today sharing your vocation with your children. Any one of the following ideas would be fun and educational:

Spend the evening looking at wedding pictures and/or videos and discussing God’splan for marriage and what it means to you. You and your spouse could spend some time discussing or studying the subject beforehand.

• Take one or more of the children to work for the day (or an hour). Show them around and introduce them to colleagues. This would be a good opportunity to practice manners when meeting adult strangers.
• If a trip to work is not possible, bring a tape recorder or video camera and document a typical work day.
• Let older children take on some more difficult household tasks for a day, in order to fully appreciate the vocation of parent and spouse.