489- Are there spirits who link themselves to particular individuals in order to protect them?
“Yes, spirit friends; what you call good spirits or guardian spirits.”
490- What is a guardian angel?
“A protector spirit of a high order.”
491- What is the mission of protector spirits?
“Their mission is that of parents toward their children: to guide their wards along the path of the good, to help them with their counsels, to console them in their afflictions and to sustain their courage in the trials of earthly life.”
492- Are protector spirits connected to particular individuals from birth?
“From birth to death. They frequently accompany them after death in the spirit life and even through numerous corporeal existences, because these existences are no more than very short phases in the life of a spirit.”
493- Is the mission of a protector spirit voluntary or obligatory?
“The spirit is obliged to watch over you because it has accepted the task; however, it is allowed to choose beings who are attuned to it. For some, it is a pleasure; for others, a mission or a duty.”
– In linking itself to an individual, does the spirit refrain from protecting other individuals?
“No, but it does so less exclusively.”
494- Is the protector spirit indissolubly connected to the person who has been entrusted into its care?
“Certain spirits often leave their position to carry out different assignments, but in such cases they are replaced.”
495- Do protector spirits sometimes abandon their ward when the latter is heedless of their warnings?
“They withdraw when they see that their counsels are useless, and that the ward’s will is set on submitting to the influence of little-evolved spirits. They do not abandon them entirely, however, and always try to make themselves heard. Their wards are the ones who shut their ears. Their protectors return as soon as they are called”.
“If there is a doctrine that should convert the most incredulous by its charm and sweetness, it is that of guardian angels. Isn’t it a very consoling idea to know that you always have at your side beings who are more evolved than you, who are always there to counsel, sustain and aid you in scaling the rugged mountain of the good, who are more reliable and devoted friends than the most intimate connections that may be contracted on earth? These beings are there at God’s orders. It was God who has placed them at your side; they are there out of love for God and they fulfill a beautiful but laborious mission alongside you.
Wherever you may be, your angel will be there with you: in prison, in the hospital, in dens of iniquity, in solitude; nothing separates you from that friend whom you cannot see, but from whom your soul nonetheless receives the gentlest impulses and hears the wisest counsels.
“Why can’t you understand this truth more fully! How many times it would help you in moments of crisis; how many times it would save you from evil spirits! But on the great day of accounting, this angel of the good might have to say to you, ‘Didn’t I offer you advice? Yet, you did not follow it! Didn’t I show you the abyss? Yet, you fell into it! Didn’t I make the voice of truth resound in your conscience, yet you followed the counsels of a lie instead?’ Question your guardian angels. Establish between yourselves and them that intimate tenderness that reigns between best friends. Do not think of hiding anything from them, for they are the eyes of God and you cannot deceive them. Consider the future. Seek to progress in this life, and your trials will be shorter and your lives happier. Come; take heart! Once and for all, avoid prejudices and ulterior motives! Enter upon the new pathway now opening before you! Forward, forward! You have guides; follow them. Your goal cannot fail you, for the goal is God.
“To those who think it impossible that truly high order spirits could devote themselves to such a laborious task and at all instants, we will say that we can indeed influence your souls, even though millions of miles may separate us. Space does not exist to us, and even while living on another world, our spirits retain a connection with you. We enjoy faculties that you cannot comprehend; however, you can be certain that God has not imposed a task on us that is above our strength, or that God has abandoned you alone on the earth without friends or support. All guardian angels have their wards, whom they watch over as parents watch over their children. They feel happy when they see them on the path of the good but mourn when their counsels are despised.
“Do not fear tiring us with your questions; rather, remain in contact with us always: you will thus be stronger and happier. These communications between each individual and his or her familiar spirit are what make all individuals mediums – mediums ignored today but who will show themselves later, spreading out like an ocean without shores to sweep away disbelief and ignorance. People of learning, teach; people of talent, educate your brothers and sisters! Without knowing it, the work you accomplish is Christ’s work, which God has imposed on you. Why has God granted you intelligence and knowledge if not to share them with your brothers and sisters to enable them to progress on the path of joy and eternal blessedness?”
St. Louis, St. Augustine
The doctrine of guardian angels watching over their wards, in spite of the distance separating the worlds, has nothing surprising about it; on the contrary, it is grand and sublime. On the earth, do we not often see a father, albeit far away, watch over his child and aid him or her with his wise counsels through correspondence? Why should we wonder that there are spirits who, from one world to the other, are able to guide those whom they have taken under their protection, since to them the distance separating the two worlds is less than that separating the continents on the earth? Do they not have the universal fluid that connects all worlds, uniting them in solidarity with one another, an immense vehicle for the transmission of thought, as the air is for us the vehicle for the transmission of sound?
496- Can spirits who abandon their wards and no longer do them good do them evil instead?
“Good spirits never do evil. They leave that to those who take their place, and then you blame fate for the misfortunes that overwhelm you, whereas you yourselves are actually to blame.”
497- Can protector spirits leave their wards at the mercy of spirits who might harm them?
“There is unity among evil spirits for neutralizing the action of the good ones, but if wards would so desire, they could restore the link to their good spirit. The good spirit may find a more willing person somewhere else to help in the meantime while awaiting its ward to return.”
498- When protector spirits allow their wards to be led astray in life, is it because they are powerless to confront malevolent spirits?
“It is not because they are powerless, but because they do not want to. Their wards emerge from their trials more evolved and more learned. Their protector spirits assist them with their counsels through the good thoughts they suggest but which, unfortunately, are not always heeded. It is nothing but human weakness, carelessness or pride that grants power to evil spirits. Their power over you comes solely from the fact that you do not offer them any resistance.”
499- Are protector spirits with their wards all the time? Aren’t there circumstances where they may lose sight of them without abandoning them?
“There are circumstances in which the presence of the protector spirit next to its ward is not necessary.”
500- Does a time come in which a spirit no longer needs its guardian angel?
“Yes, when it reaches the level at which it can guide itself, just as the time comes in which the student no longer needs the master. But this does not happen on the earth.”
501- Why is the action of spirits in our lives so secretive? When they are protecting us, why don’t they do so openly?
“If you counted on their support all the time, you would not act by yourselves and your spirit would not progress. In order for it to advance, it needs experience and it must be acquired at its own expense. It must exert its own volition; otherwise, it would be like an infant who is not allowed to walk by itself. The action of the spirits who wish you well always occurs in such a way so as not to hamper your free will, for if you did not have any responsibility, you would not progress on the path that must lead you toward God. Since they do not see who is helping them, humans rely on their own efforts. Their guides watch over them nevertheless and from time to time warn them of danger.”
502- Do the protector spirits who succeed in leading their ward along the path of the good experience any good for themselves?
“It is a merit that will be taken into account, whether for their advancement or their happiness. They feel happy when they see their efforts crowned with success. It is a triumph for them, as when a mentor exults at the success of his or her disciple.”
– Are they responsible if their efforts are unsuccessful?
“No, because they have done all they could.”
503- Don’t protector spirits suffer when they see their wards following an immoral path in spite of their warning, and isn’t it a cause of distress for them?
“They suffer from their wards’ misdeeds and they pity them, but this affliction has none of the anguish of earthly parenthood, because they know that there is a remedy for the evil and that what is not done today will be done tomorrow.”
504- Could we ever know the name of our protector spirit or guardian angel?
“Why do you want to know names that do not exist for you? Do you believe there are only spirits with whom you are familiar?”
– But how can we invoke it if we do not know its name?
“Give it any name you please: that of a high order spirit for whom you have sympathy or veneration. Your protector will answer to that name, for all good spirits are kin and mutually assist each other.”
505- Are protector spirits who employ well-known names always those of the actual individuals who had those names?
“No, but they are spirits who are sympathetic to them, and who often come at their orders. You require a name; therefore, they employ one that will inspire your trust. When you cannot personally carry out a mission, you send someone whom you trust and who acts in your name.”
506- When we return to the spirit life, will we recognize our protector spirit?
“Yes, because you frequently knew it before your incarnation.”
507- Do protector spirits all belong to the order of highly evolved spirits? Can they sometimes be found among average orders? Can a father, for example, become the protector spirit of his child?
“He can, but protection presupposes a certain degree of elevation, and additionally, a power or virtue granted by God. A father who protects his child may himself be assisted by a more evolved spirit.”
508- Can spirits who have left the earth under good circumstances always protect those whom they loved and who have survived them?
“Their power is more or less restricted. The position in which they find themselves does not always allow them full freedom of action.”
509- Do humans in the primitive state or in the state of moral impurity also have protector spirits? If so, are these spirits of an order as elevated as those of more advanced humans?
“All individuals have a spirit who watches over them, but such a mission is relative to its purpose. You do not give a professor of philosophy to a child who is just learning to read. The progress of the familiar spirit follows that of the spirit it protects. Having a highly evolved spirit who watches over you, you in turn may become the protector of a spirit who is less evolved than you, and the progress you help that spirit make will contribute to your own advancement. God does not require of a spirit more than what its nature and the degree at which it has arrived will allow.”
510- When a father who has been watching over his child reincarnates, does he still continue to do so?
“That is a more difficult situation, but in a moment of freedom he may ask that a sympathetic spirit assist him in this mission. However, spirits only accept missions that they can carry out to the end.
“Incarnate spirits, especially on worlds where existence is quite material, are too dominated by their physical body to be able to devote themselves entirely to others; that is, to assist them personally. That is why those who are not sufficiently evolved are themselves assisted by spirits who are more evolved, so that if one fails, for whatever reason, it will be replaced by another.”
511- Besides our protector spirit, is an evil spirit connected to each one of us for the purpose of leading us into evil and for providing us an opportunity to struggle with good and evil?
“Connected is not the right term. It is certainly true that evil spirits try to draw individuals away from the moral road when they find the opportunity. However, when one of them connects itself to an individual, it does so of its own accord because it hopes to be listened to. This gives rise to a struggle between the good and the evil spirit, and the one whose influence the individual has heeded will win.”
512- May we have several protector spirits?
“All individuals always have sympathetic spirits who are more advanced or less so, who dedicate their affection to them and who take an interest in them; there are also those who help them in evil.”
513- Do sympathetic spirits act in virtue of a mission?
“Sometimes they may have a temporary mission, but generally they are only attracted due to a similarity of thought and sentiment in good or evil.”
– So it is correct to assume that sympathetic spirits may be either good or evil?
“Yes, humans will always encounter spirits who sympathize with them, whatever their character may be.”
514- Are familiar spirits the same as sympathetic spirits or protector spirits?
“There are many, many gradations of protection and sympathy. Give to them whatever names you desire. The familiar spirit, however, is usually a friend of the home.”
From the above explanations and from observations made about the nature of spirits who connect themselves to human beings, we may deduce the following:
Protector spirits, guardian angels or good spirits are those whose mission is to follow humans during life and to help them progress. They are always more highly evolved than their ward.
Familiar spirits link themselves to certain persons by means of ties of varying duration in order to help them according to their power, which is frequently quite limited, however. These are good spirits, but sometimes little-advanced and even a little frivolous. They voluntarily occupy themselves with the details of an individual’s personal life, and only act by order or with permission of protector spirits.
Sympathetic spirits are those whom we attract to us through individual affections and a certain similarity in tastes and sentiments, both in good and in evil. The duration of their relationship almost always depends on the circumstances.
Evil spirits are imperfect or wicked spirits who attach themselves to individuals for the purpose of diverting them from the good, but they behave at their own impulse and not in virtue of a mission.
Their tenacity is directly related to how easy or difficult their access to the person is, and individuals are always free to listen to their voice or to repel them.
515- What should be thought of persons who seem to attach themselves to others in order to lead them inevitably into perdition, or on the other hand, to guide them along the path of the good?
“Some persons exert a certain effect on others; they hold a kind of spell over them that seems irresistible. When this happens for evil, they are in fact evil spirits whom other evil spirits employ in order to better subjugate their victims. God may permit this in order to test them.”
516- Could our good spirit or an evil one incarnate in order to follow us more directly in life?
“This sometimes happens, but they frequently entrust this task to incarnate spirits who are sympathetic with them.”
517- Are there spirits who attach themselves to an entire family in order to protect it?
“Some spirits link themselves to the members of the same family, who live together and are united by affection; however, do not believe in spirit protectors of race pride.”
518- Since spirits are attracted to individuals out of sympathy, are they attracted to groups of individuals for particular reasons as well?
“Spirits prefer places where they can be among those who are like themselves. In such places, they can be more at ease and surer of being listened to. Humans attract spirits because of their tendencies, whether as individuals, as a collective group, a city or a nation. Thus, there are societies, cities and nations that are assisted by spirits of greater or lesser advancement, depending on their character and the passions that dominate them. Since imperfect spirits withdraw from those who repel them, the moral purity of a collective whole, like that of individuals, tends to repel evil spirits and attract good ones. The latter awaken and maintain a sense of the good in the masses, in the same way that the former may inspire in them the worst passions.”
519- Do groups of individuals such as societies, cities and nations have their own special protector spirits?
“Yes, because such groups are collective individualities that are headed toward a common objective and therefore have the need of higher direction.”
520- Are the protector spirits of groups of a more advanced nature than those who are linked to individuals?
“Everything is relative to the degree of advancement, whether of groups or of individuals.”
521- May certain spirits help the arts to progress by watching over those involved in them?
“There are special protector spirits who assist those who invoke them, and whom they deem worthy. But what could you expect them to do for those who deem themselves to be something, which, in fact, they are not? They cannot make the blind see or the deaf hear.”
The ancients made special deities of such spirits. The Muses were the allegorical personification of the protector spirits of the arts and sciences, just as the family protector spirits were designated by the names of lares and penates. Among moderns, the arts and the various industries, cities and countries also have their own patrons or protectors, who are high order spirits, but under other names.
Since all individuals have their own sympathetic spirits, it thus follows that in all collective groups the overall quality of the sympathetic spirits corresponds to the overall quality of the individuals composing them, and that foreign spirits are attracted to such groups out of similarity of tastes and thoughts. In other words, these groups, as well as the individuals comprising them, are more favorably surrounded by protector spirits or they are less surrounded by them, and they are assisted and influenced according to the nature of the thoughts of the majority.
Among nations, the causes that attract spirits are their customs, habits, their dominant character, and above all, their laws, for the character of a nation is reflected in its laws. Humans who ensure that justice reigns among them combat the influence of evil spirits.
Wherever laws consecrate injustices that are contrary to humanity, good spirits are in the minority and a mass of evil ones flood in, keeping the people of that nation stuck in their ideas and paralyzing the occasional good influences, which become lost in the crowd like isolated stalks of corn in the midst of weeds. By studying the customs of nations or of any group of individuals, it is therefore easy to get an idea of the invisible population that is meddling in their thoughts and actions.
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