Meditations on the Holy Angels

Meditations on the Holy Angels

“O my soul, contemplate the surpassing beauty of these citizens of paradise! They shine like a vast constellation of radiant stars, or even like the sun itself, in the splendid city of God.”

—St. Aloysius Gonzaga

In the history of the Church, there are few saints who wrote with such angelic purity and devotion on the subject of angels as Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Much has been written on this Jesuit novice who died at the young age of twenty-three while caring for plague victims, but little has been available on his actual writings—that is, until now. For the first time in English, Meditations on the Holy Angels, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga’s longest and most significant work is offered to readers. Discover this great saint’s love for the holy angels, no doubt a powerful inspiration for his own angelic purity. Those who read this inspiring work will fall more deeply in love with God and His holy angels. Learn about our angelic companions’ excellence, nobility, and glorious order. Contemplate the powerful roles of Saints Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael through the eyes of one of the Church’s great Jesuit saints.

Included in this volume are two important versions of the life of Saint Aloysius. The first is from the Office of the saint, first published in 1737, and subsequently incorporated into the Roman Breviary. The other version, published in 1699, is somewhat longer and offers further beautiful details of his sanctity, piety, and ardent charity.

As the patron saint of youth and students, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga’s writings and life reveal that one cannot live an angelic life without angelic help. Here is a saint who sought his guardian angel’s help three times a day. Here is a book that will enflame the hearts of both young and old to love our angelic friends—messengers from heaven—with even greater fervor.

“This small book on the angels is a simple yet profound guide to a deeper understanding and devotion to the holy angels. In his teaching on the angels, Saint Aloysius reveals a wisdom beyond his years: a wisdom born of his angelic purity and his own personal devotion to his guardian angels and the holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Only an angelic soul could have written so well about the angels!”

—Fr. Sebastian Walshe, O.PRAEM, author of The Foundations of Wisdom: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosophy 

“The early Jesuits had a strong and lively devotion to the Holy Angels. In these meditations, Saint Aloysius gives due veneration to God’s holy messengers, reflects on their most typical virtues, and then exhorts ‘the soul’—that is, himself and his neighbor—to embrace with zeal these angelic virtues for the glory of God and the salvation of his soul. Classic, practical Jesuit devotion at its best!”

—Fr. Richard C. Hermes, SJ, president, Jesuit High School of Tampa

“The Christian soul can only benefit from learning about the holy angels and cultivating a pious devotion to them. The work of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga wonderfully details the light, clarity, and beauty of the angels and how they can intercede for us.”

—Sr. Mary Raphael, DVM, foundress of the Daughters of the Virgin Mother and author of Some Seed Fell