What about the Angels?
I'm really starting to wonder why more people - myself included - don't have a healthier devotion to the Holy Angels, especially their guardian angel.
After all, Scripture certainly seems to give them a prominent role. Just think of how many times God sends His angels to relay a history-changing message to His people. I'm trying to think now of even a few books of the bible that don't mention angelic activity.
... God places His angel at the gate of Paradise to protect it
... Jacob sees angels ascending into and descending from the heavens on a ladder.
... Jacob wrestles with an angel.
... Three angels come and visit Abraham to warn him about Sodom's coming destruction.
... God's angel goes about in Egypt to slaughter the firstborn sons.
... An angel appears to Joshua to commission him.
... An angel tells Samson's mother that she will have a son.
... Isaiah sees angels surrounding God's throne.
... An angel tells Our Lady that she will be the mother of the Messiah.
... An angel tells St. Joseph that he should take Mary as his wife.
... An angel warns St. Joseph to take the Holy Family into Egypt to avoid Herod's slaughtering soldiers.
... An angel tells St. Zachary that his wife will bear St. John the Baptist.
... An angel comes to strengthen Our Lord in His wilderness temptation.
... An angel comes to comfort Our Lord in His agony in the garden.
... An angel announces the Resurrection to the disciples at the tomb.
... An angel strikes down Herod in the book of Acts.
... Angels administer all of the judgments in the book of the Apocalypse.
... An angel casts Satan out of heaven in the Apocalypse.
The bible also tells us many things about the ongoing activities of the angels.
Angels are Ministers of Salvation
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation? (Heb. 1:14)
Angels Guard and Protect Us
For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Ps. 91:11-12)
Angels Execute the Final Judgment
So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. (Matt. 13:49-50)
Everyone Has a Personal Angel
See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 18:10)
Angels Attend Holy Mass with Us
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering. (Heb. 12:22)
Angels Offer Our Prayers to God in Heaven
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. (Rev. 8:3)
Angels Learn about Christ through the Church
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. (Eph. 3:8-10)
The fact that the angels are called in Heb. 1:14 "ministering spirits" who "serve" those who are to be saved is interesting. The adjective "ministering" is the Greek word leitourgika, and the noun "serve" is diakonian. You should recognize both of these words: the first is the word from which we derive our word "liturgy," and the second is the word from which we derive our word "deacon."
Finally, the verb "sent" is the word apostellomena, which we know today as the word "apostle." Is it not interesting that in this one passage the angelic job description is given in terms that describe the Church's liturgy and hierarchy? They are "apostles," they are "deacons," and they are "liturgical" ministers.
They are like the invisible soul behind the visible body of our priests - they minister alongside the priests, to administer salvation to us.
St. Thomas Aquinas, following the opinions of many other Church Fathers (St. Augustine, St. John Damascene, Origen, St. Gregory the Great), taught that angels were placed over the heavenly bodies to govern them: "we must assert that the angels possess an immediate presidency ... only over the heavenly bodies ..." (ST, I, 110:1)
The Fathers believed, in relation to this cosmological understanding, that Lucifer was the angel who was given to rule over earth (along with the angelic "footsoldiers" who were under his command) - this is why he is variously called in Scripture by St. Paul and by Our Lord, "the god of this world," or "the prince of the air."
The angels and demons are engaged in a cosmic battle for souls, at every moment of every day. That means that your guardian angel (or even angels, plural) are constantly fighting for you on your behalf, not only protecting you from bodily harm, but warding off the attacks of demons.
My personal theory is this: we choose to commit sin. Therefore, the demonic attacks we experience every day are ultimately dependent upon our willing surrender. When we turn to our guardian angels for help in those moments of temptation, we are turning our will against the demon and choosing to do the good; this gives our angel(s) the "permission" and the strength to beat back the demon(s). Thus, in a way, our prayers are what provide our angels with ammunition, empowering them to win the battle with the demons.
So cultivate a devotion to your angel. Begin each day by greeting your angel and asking for his help; ask him especially to learn how to listen for his promptings; enumerate specifically the battles you are trying to win, and ask the angel to help you succeed in these specific areas.
Every sin has its demon - of this I am firmly convinced. This is why we pray to be delivered from "the spirit of lying," or "the spirit of fornication." We know from stories of real-life exorcisms that all demons have names as well, and these names are often the sin itself: one demon is named "pride," one is named "lust," and so on.
So name the demons you are expecting to come your way, and warn your angel that those specific demons are coming; not that he doesn't already know, but once you've named them, you are more aware of them yourself, and you will be better prepared to do battle.
You think you don't do battle every day? If so, then that probably means you're being defeated every day and just don't realize it. St. Paul says: "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12)
There's no easier enemy to defeat than one who doesn't even know he's in a war, so remind yourself of this frequently. I am convinced that if we could see the spiritual realm that underlies the physical, we would see just how badly scarred and damaged our souls are after a day of war with the demonic hosts.
By the way, every angel has a name as well. Psalm 147:4 says "He determines the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names." Wait, that said "stars," though, didn't it? Yes, but remember what we've just said about the relationship between the heavenly bodies and angels! The Book of Job actually links the stars and the angels together explicitly by means of Hebrew parallelism:
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? ...
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4, 7)
See the parallel? "Sang together" = "shouted for joy," so also "morning stars" = "sons of God" (a common term in the book of Job to refer to angels, c.f. Job 1:6, Job 2:1).
So all the angels have names as well. What is the name of your angel? Perhaps if you cultivate a healthy devotion to him, you'll find out - if not on this earth, then certainly in heaven.
Pay attention to your angel! He's a "ministering spirit" sent to help you obtain salvation.
After all, Scripture certainly seems to give them a prominent role. Just think of how many times God sends His angels to relay a history-changing message to His people. I'm trying to think now of even a few books of the bible that don't mention angelic activity.
... God places His angel at the gate of Paradise to protect it
... Jacob sees angels ascending into and descending from the heavens on a ladder.
... Jacob wrestles with an angel.
... Three angels come and visit Abraham to warn him about Sodom's coming destruction.
... God's angel goes about in Egypt to slaughter the firstborn sons.
... An angel appears to Joshua to commission him.
... An angel tells Samson's mother that she will have a son.
... Isaiah sees angels surrounding God's throne.
... An angel tells Our Lady that she will be the mother of the Messiah.
... An angel tells St. Joseph that he should take Mary as his wife.
... An angel warns St. Joseph to take the Holy Family into Egypt to avoid Herod's slaughtering soldiers.
... An angel tells St. Zachary that his wife will bear St. John the Baptist.
... An angel comes to strengthen Our Lord in His wilderness temptation.
... An angel comes to comfort Our Lord in His agony in the garden.
... An angel announces the Resurrection to the disciples at the tomb.
... An angel strikes down Herod in the book of Acts.
... Angels administer all of the judgments in the book of the Apocalypse.
... An angel casts Satan out of heaven in the Apocalypse.
The bible also tells us many things about the ongoing activities of the angels.
Angels are Ministers of Salvation
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation? (Heb. 1:14)
Angels Guard and Protect Us
For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Ps. 91:11-12)
Angels Execute the Final Judgment
So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. (Matt. 13:49-50)
Everyone Has a Personal Angel
See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 18:10)
Angels Attend Holy Mass with Us
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering. (Heb. 12:22)
Angels Offer Our Prayers to God in Heaven
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. (Rev. 8:3)
Angels Learn about Christ through the Church
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. (Eph. 3:8-10)
The fact that the angels are called in Heb. 1:14 "ministering spirits" who "serve" those who are to be saved is interesting. The adjective "ministering" is the Greek word leitourgika, and the noun "serve" is diakonian. You should recognize both of these words: the first is the word from which we derive our word "liturgy," and the second is the word from which we derive our word "deacon."
Finally, the verb "sent" is the word apostellomena, which we know today as the word "apostle." Is it not interesting that in this one passage the angelic job description is given in terms that describe the Church's liturgy and hierarchy? They are "apostles," they are "deacons," and they are "liturgical" ministers.
They are like the invisible soul behind the visible body of our priests - they minister alongside the priests, to administer salvation to us.
St. Thomas Aquinas, following the opinions of many other Church Fathers (St. Augustine, St. John Damascene, Origen, St. Gregory the Great), taught that angels were placed over the heavenly bodies to govern them: "we must assert that the angels possess an immediate presidency ... only over the heavenly bodies ..." (ST, I, 110:1)
The Fathers believed, in relation to this cosmological understanding, that Lucifer was the angel who was given to rule over earth (along with the angelic "footsoldiers" who were under his command) - this is why he is variously called in Scripture by St. Paul and by Our Lord, "the god of this world," or "the prince of the air."
The angels and demons are engaged in a cosmic battle for souls, at every moment of every day. That means that your guardian angel (or even angels, plural) are constantly fighting for you on your behalf, not only protecting you from bodily harm, but warding off the attacks of demons.
My personal theory is this: we choose to commit sin. Therefore, the demonic attacks we experience every day are ultimately dependent upon our willing surrender. When we turn to our guardian angels for help in those moments of temptation, we are turning our will against the demon and choosing to do the good; this gives our angel(s) the "permission" and the strength to beat back the demon(s). Thus, in a way, our prayers are what provide our angels with ammunition, empowering them to win the battle with the demons.
So cultivate a devotion to your angel. Begin each day by greeting your angel and asking for his help; ask him especially to learn how to listen for his promptings; enumerate specifically the battles you are trying to win, and ask the angel to help you succeed in these specific areas.
Every sin has its demon - of this I am firmly convinced. This is why we pray to be delivered from "the spirit of lying," or "the spirit of fornication." We know from stories of real-life exorcisms that all demons have names as well, and these names are often the sin itself: one demon is named "pride," one is named "lust," and so on.
So name the demons you are expecting to come your way, and warn your angel that those specific demons are coming; not that he doesn't already know, but once you've named them, you are more aware of them yourself, and you will be better prepared to do battle.
You think you don't do battle every day? If so, then that probably means you're being defeated every day and just don't realize it. St. Paul says: "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12)
There's no easier enemy to defeat than one who doesn't even know he's in a war, so remind yourself of this frequently. I am convinced that if we could see the spiritual realm that underlies the physical, we would see just how badly scarred and damaged our souls are after a day of war with the demonic hosts.
By the way, every angel has a name as well. Psalm 147:4 says "He determines the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names." Wait, that said "stars," though, didn't it? Yes, but remember what we've just said about the relationship between the heavenly bodies and angels! The Book of Job actually links the stars and the angels together explicitly by means of Hebrew parallelism:
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? ...
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4, 7)
See the parallel? "Sang together" = "shouted for joy," so also "morning stars" = "sons of God" (a common term in the book of Job to refer to angels, c.f. Job 1:6, Job 2:1).
So all the angels have names as well. What is the name of your angel? Perhaps if you cultivate a healthy devotion to him, you'll find out - if not on this earth, then certainly in heaven.
Pay attention to your angel! He's a "ministering spirit" sent to help you obtain salvation.
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