The world is a dangerous place. When you leave the comforts of your home there is no telling what may happen to you or your children. This has been the case since Adam and Eve and will continue to be so until Jesus comes again.

The good news is that we are not alone.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church declares, “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by [angels and] their watchful care and intercession” (CCC 336). God appoints to each one of us a guardian angel whose mission is to guide, guard and protect. We don’t always see them or sense their presence, but the truth is that they are there, ready and willing to come to our aid.

We just have to ask.

For parents, it is easy to forget that our children have guardian angels and that we can pray to them (through the mediation of our own guardian angel) and invoke their powerful protection over our children. When we can’t physically be there with our children to protect them, it is most appropriate to pray to their guardian angel.

Here is a short prayer that is usually entitled, “A Mother’s Prayer to the Guardian Angels of Her Children,” and is one way that we can quiet our heart and be at peace knowing who is protecting our little ones.

I humbly salute you, O you faithful, heavenly friends of my children! I give you heartfelt thanks for all the love and goodness you show them. At some future day I shall, with thanks more worthy than I can now give, repay your care for them, and before the whole heavenly court acknowledge their indebtedness to your guidance and protection. Continue to watch over them. Provide for all their needs of body and soul. Pray, likewise, for me, for my husband, and my whole family, that we may all one day rejoice in your blessed company. Amen.