The Angels
The
Catechism says…
'the
existence of spiritual, non bodily beings that Sacred Scripture calls angels is
a truth of faith. The witness of scripture being as clear as the church
tradition.'
St Thomas
Aquinas who wrote a great deal about angels said this,
'Angels are
spiritual creatures who glorify God without ceasing, and who serve His saving
plans for other creatures. The angels work together for the benefit of us all'
The word
angel means messenger and comes from Greek 'Angeles'.
Church
teaching tells us that Angels are created being beings who are servants and
messengers of God. Like us they both intelligence and free will, unlike us who
could be described as spirits embodied, they are spirits without bodies,
although when they allow themselves to be seen they take on a physical form.
St Augustine
says that angel is the name of their office, not of their nature. Their nature
is spirit, but what they do is angel. With the whole of their being they are
the servants and messengers of God.
The Bible
contains many references to angels in both the old and new testaments. They
have been present since creation, and throughout the history of salvation they
have been working to accomplish the Divine plan. For example they closed the
garden of Eden, protected Lot, saved Hagar and her son, stayed Abraham's hand,
led the people of God, announced births and callings, assisted the prophets and
ultimately the angel Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist and of
Jesus himself. From Christ's incarnation to the Ascension he is surrounded by
the angels. Their song of praise at his birth has not ceased resounding in the
Church - 'Glory to God in the highest'. They protected him in his infancy and
strengthened him in his agony. They proclaimed the Good news of his
resurrection, and will be present when he returns to serve at his judgement.
God bestowed
on the angels great wisdom, freedom, and power. He gave them a supernatural
grace by which they could gain the reward of Heaven by remaining faithful to
God. However, both the new and old testaments also refer to fallen angels. We
know from scripture that a third of all the angels didnt remain faithful to
God, they followed Lucifer when he tried to take God's throne, but they were
defeated by St Michael the Archangel and fell to their punishment - eternal
damnation.
The Catholic
teaching is that although angels were created with free will, the test they
underwent was so decisive that afterwards their will was set and an angel can
no longer choose sin, this is also why a demon aka a fallen angel cannot
repent.
Why did God
create Angels?
The Creator
is so powerful and glorious that He cannot be approached in person by human
beings as God cannot look on sin,
1 Timothy
6:16
'Dwelling in
the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see.'
Angels have
not sinned, and therefore can act for God and represent Him when communicating
with men and women. They bridge the huge gap between the holiness and
perfection of God in Heaven and the shortcomings of us on earth.
Angels were
made immortal, and are neither male nor female. (Luke 20:35-36)
There are
nine different orders of angels. Seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues,
powers, archangels, principalities, guardian angels.
Today we will
concentrate on Archangels and guardian angels.
Guardian
Angels - Oct 2nd feast day.
The doctrine
of angels is a part of church tradition. The role of the guardian angel is to
both guide us to good thoughts, works, and words, and to preserve us from evil.
Since the 17th century the church has celebrated a feast day on which to honour
them especially.
From its
beginning until death, each human life is surrounded by their watchful care and
intercession. They stand by your side as protector and shepherd leading you to
the eternal life, at the same time as they stand before the Father.
'Beware lest
you scandalise any of these little ones, for their angels in heaven see the
face of my Father'.
The existence
of angels is a dogma of faith, and as such we should be aware of having great
respect for, and give thanks to God for the Angel at our side. Plus we should
always be careful not to offend by sin those eyes which are ever upon us.
Psalm
8:4-5
'what is man,
that you are mindful of him....for thou has made him little lower than the
angels.
God denies to
no man sufficient help to save his soul and in the order of Divine providence
the guardianship of the holy angels is one of the elements which make up that
help. For God allows men to be tempted, even though in our own strength we
could not resist the temption or successfully. Hence he provides us the
assistance and protection of the holy angels.
Angels also
watch over those who have never had faith, and those who have lost faith or
fallen from grace. This shows us the mercy of God whereby he seeks always the
reconciliation of the sinner.
Angels guard
us from physical harm - removing the harm or prompting us to avoid it.
Angels guard
us from spiritual harm - flashing into our minds rays of light, or stir our
hearts in order to avoid the evil they would have us flee.
Angels hold
the demons in check - not allowing them to tempt us as often or a violently as
they would do.
Angels offer
our prayers and good works to God.
Your guardian
angel has been with you from your birth and will remain with you until you
enter Heaven. In purgatory it is believed that your gurdian angel will visit
you to encourage and comfort you, until he can accompany you to Heaven.
In all the
ups and downs of life He has never once moved from your side. Your
forgetfulness of him, coldness towards him, Ingratitude of him, has not driven
him away. Our sins, however terrible will not silence his voice of warning. He
will continue to pray for us and protect us and urge us towards God all the
more.
We may choose
a particular saint that we feel an affinity with but our angel has been chosen
for us by God and has a particular affection for us.
Exodus
23:20-22
This passage
urges us to listen to our angel’s promptings. We owe him our respect, love, and
gratitude, and we should remember to pray acknowledging our guardian angels
help and protection.
Archangels.
These are
generally understood to mean chief or leading angel. They are mentioned in Jude
9, and 1 Thess 4:16. These are the most frequently mentioned in the Bible. They
have a unique role as God's messengers to people at critical times in salvation
history. (Tobit 12:6/15 John 5:4 and Rev 12:7-9)
St Michael is
of special significance a he has been invoked as patron and protector of the
church since the time of the Apostles. He was the one who as leader of the
forces of heaven led their triumph over satan and his followers.
Gabriel is
first mentioned in the prophecies of Daniel in the Old testament. He also
appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist, and proclaimed
the Annunciation of Mary.
Raphael first
appears in the book of Tobit he announces 'I am the angel Raphael one of the
seven who stand before the throne of God (Tobit 12:13).
Uriel is only
mentioned in the apocryphal book Esdras 3.
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