Can real sorrow ever invade the ranks of the
Holy Angels? Never. Not a single pang of disappointment,
or regret, or anxiety, or sadness, or
self-reproach can ever enter into their sinless souls.
They were fixed in unalterable joy, when they
were confirmed in grace and admitted to the Beatific
Vision. Their perfect union with the Divine
will prevents them from regretting anything that
God permits. One day there will be, through God's
mercy, no more sorrow for me.
But how is it that we speak of our Guardian
Angels as shedding tears over our sins and turning
away his face in sorrow and disgust, and lamenting
over our ingratitude? These phrases are intended
to express what would be the effect of our mis-
doings upon the Angels if they were capable of
suffering. Alas! how many of our actions are of a
nature to cause sorrow to those who love us best!
How many caused the most poignant grief to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus when He was on earth! How
many times, moreover, have we grieved our parents
and friends, the guides of our youth, and
those who have watched over us!
Yet we can in this sense cause them sorrow,
in that when we disobey God's holy inspirations.
we deprive them of the additional joy they would
have taken in our obedience. We rob them of the
happiness we might have bestowed on them. This
loss to them is but a shadow of the loss we ourselves
suffer by each wilful act of disobedience to
grace.