Angels Are A 'Truth Of Faith'
ANGELS ARE A 'TRUTH OF FAITH'
Fr. William Saunders
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly affirms, "The existence of the spiritual non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture calls 'angels' is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition" (No. 328). Given that we do believe in angels, we define them as pure spirits and personal beings with intelligence and free will. They are immortal beings. As Sacred Scripture attests, they appear to humans as apparitions with a human form.
We also believe that Almighty God created the angels before the rest of creation. At some point, some angels, led by Lucifer, did rebel against God and were cast into hell. This event is mentioned, albeit briefly, in several passages of the New Testament. St. Peter wrote, "Did God spare even the angels who sinned? He did not! He held them captive in Tartarus (hell)—consigned them to pits of darkness, to be guarded until judgment" (I Pt 2:3).
In the letter of St. Jude we read, "There were angels, too, who did not keep to their own domain, who deserted their dwelling place. These the Lord has kept in perpetual bondage, shrouded in murky darkness against the judgment of the great day. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the towns thereabouts indulged in lust, just as those angels did; they practiced unnatural vice. They are set before us to dissuade us, as they undergo a punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 6-7).
When Jesus spoke of the Last Judgment and the need to serve the least of our brethren, He said to the unrighteous, "Out of My sight, you condemned, into that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt 25:41). Always remember that these fallen angels—the devils and demons—had been created good, but by their own free will chose to sin and turn away from God.
A key to understanding angels is by looking at what they do. First, angels see, praise and worship God in His divine presence. Jesus said, "See that you never despise one of these little ones. I assure you, their angels in heaven constantly behold My heavenly Father's face" (Mt 18:10), a passage which also indicates that each of us has a guardian angel. The Book of Revelation describes how the angels surround the throne of God and sing praises (cf. Rev 5:1 1, 7:1 1). Moreover, they rejoice over the saved soul of the repentant sinner (Lk 15:10).
Second, angel comes from the Greek angelos, which means "messenger," which describes their role in interacting in this world. St. Augustine stated that angels were "the mighty ones who do His word, hearkening to the voice of His word." Throughout Sacred Scripture, the angels served as messengers of God, whether delivering an actual message of God's plan of salvation, rendering justice or providing strength and comfort. Here are a few examples of their role as messengers in the Old Testament:
After the Fall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion, the cherubim guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Gn 3:24).
(Continued from page 5) Angels protected Lot and his family in Sodom and Gomorrah (Gn 19). The angel stopped Abraham as he was about to offer Isaac in sacrifice (Gn 22). An angel guarded the people on the way to the Promised Land (Ex 23:20).
In the New Testament, an angel appeared to the centurion Cornelius and prompted his conversion (Acts 10:1); and an angel freed St. Peter from prison (Acts 12:1). In all, Hebrews 1:14 captures their role well: "Are they not all ministering Spirits. sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation?"
Sacred Scripture identifies by name three angels—Sts. Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. They are called archangels because of their important roles in God's plan. St. Michael, whose name means, "one who is like God," led the army of angels who cast Satan and the rebellious angels into hell; at the end of time, he will wield the sword of justice to separate the righteous from the evil (cf. Rev 12:7-9). St. Gabriel, whose name means "strength of God," announced to Mary that she had been chosen as the Mother of the Savior (cf. Lk 1:26-38). St. Raphael, whose name means "remedy of God," cured the blind man Tobit (cf. Tb 5).
Since the 4th century, nine choirs of angels have been upheld: archangels, angels, cherubim, seraphim, virtues, powers, principalities, dominations and thrones. (The latter five groups are mentioned in the epistles of St. Paul.) This schema became popular in the Middle Ages in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Hildegard of Bingen and John Scotus Erigina.
As members of the Church, we are conscious of the angels. At Mass, in the Preface before the Eucharistic Prayer, we join with all of the angels and saints to sing the hymn of praise, "Holy, holy, holy..." In Eucharistic Prayer 1, the priest says, "Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven." In the Final Commendation of the Funeral Liturgy, the priest prays, "May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you to the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem." Moreover, we celebrate in our liturgical calendar the Feasts of the Archangels (Sept. 29) and Guardian Angels (Oct. 2).
Fr. Saunders is associate pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish and president of the Notre Dame Institute, both in Alexandria.
This article appeared in the July 28, 1994 issue of "The Arlington Catholic Herald," 200 N. Glebe Rd., Ste. 607, Arlington, VA 22203-3797, (703) 841-2565.
