Did Jesus Have a Guardian Angel?

Jesus Christ was fully man and fully God. Did He need a guardian angel? 

A few months ago, I had a friend who was expecting a baby, and she wanted to know if she had two guardian angels during the pregnancy: one for her and one for the baby. So, I wrote a short article answering that question. Not long after that, a student asked me if the Antichrist will have a guardian angel. So, I decided to write another article on guardian angels! (If anyone is interested, I will put a link to those articles in the reference) Recently, I was asked if Jesus had a guardian angel. Naturally, I decided to write a third short article on the guardian angels since they are one of my favorite topics in theology! 

So, did Jesus have a guardian angel? 

Saint Thomas addresses this question by saying:

Christ as man was guided immediately by the Word of God: wherefore He needed not be guarded by an angel. Again as regards His soul, He was a comprehensor, although in regard to His passible body, He was a wayfarer. In this latter respect it was right that He should have not a guardian angel as superior to Him, but a ministering angel as inferior to Him. Whence it is written (Matt 4:11) that angels came and ministered to Him.

Jesus does not need a guardian angel for the same reason Superman does not need a bodyguard. Jesus, as a man, was guided and protected by the Word of God. It is, therefore, impossible for Him to sin or fail to accomplish His will, so He needs no protection from the angels. 

On the other hand, Christ is the king of the universe, so it is fitting that He has angels minister to Him, especially in His human weakness. 

Christ does not need a guardian to fight His battles for Him; however, He does employ ministers so they might serve Him, share in His victory, and merit a reward. This is why Christ uses the Apostles to evangelize and priests to sanctify their parishioners instead of doing it all by Himself. God loves to use creatures as conduits of His goodness; this is why He made us.

For the same reason, God uses substack articles written by a regular Catholic father of one with one due in May to teach theology and philosophy rather than doing it all by Himself! 

God has chosen to win victories in and through His creatures rather than by Himself. He is so emphatic about this point that He only saves those who work with Him. As Augustine says, “He who created you without you, will not justify you without you.”

God has given each of us the task of saving ourselves and those around us and the dignity of causing our own salvation and the salvation of others. He loves to win victories through us in order to give us a chance to merit and cause much good.

Additionally, God chooses to work through us, not only so we can share His victory and merit but also because it brings Him more glory than if He did everything Himself. A good king rules well, but a great king rules well and raises a good heir. Christ is the perfect king, so He makes His heirs into Saints. A good father is virtuous, but a great father has virtue and raises virtuous sons. God is a perfect Father, so he makes His sons into Saints in His image and likeness.

Christ could have done everything the ministering angels did by Himself, but He chose to share His work with the angels to manifest the goodness of His creatures and show His wisdom as creator. These angels now eternally rejoice that they were able to serve the Humanity of Christ and accomplish their God-given task.

Just as Christ gave the above-mentioned angels a specific role in Salvation History, so has He given each of us a task to accomplish for His glory. Only you can accomplish the task God has given to you. Hope in God and work joyfully, knowing you have been chosen for this purpose.

Christ has already conquered, so for us, to fight is to win. 

“In the Lord, your labor is not in vain.” 1 Cor 15:58

Thanks for reading,

P.S.

What other reasons do you think God uses fallible creatures to accomplish His infallible will? Leave a comment telling us!

Reference: 

https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~ST.I.Q113.A4.Rep1

https://thedailythomist.substack.com/p/do-pregnant-women-have-two-guardian

https://thedailythomist.substack.com/p/does-the-antichrist-have-a-guardian