In Nomine etc..
With an attitude that is perhaps a little too casual, on good days, when things are going well, I like to think that my guardian angel is on the job, and even working overtime. When things are going not so well, I begin to suspect that my guardian angel has been asleep, not paying attention at all! That isn’t true, of course; the angels are ever attentive, always awake, always on the job!
I’ve never had any problem with the concept of angels in general, or with the concept of guardian angels in particular. They are well-attested in Scripture, tradition, and in the experience of countless numbers of people. My talk today is about angels and their roles; we tend to neglect the angels, so the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels gives us an opportunity to pay more attention to them.
I’ve never had any problem with the concept of angels in general, or with the concept of guardian angels in particular. They are well-attested in Scripture, tradition, and in the experience of countless numbers of people. My talk today is about angels and their roles; we tend to neglect the angels, so the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels gives us an opportunity to pay more attention to them.
In the Scriptures, the existence of the angels, like the existence of God, is taken for granted, as accepted fact. Altho they are mentioned more than 200 times, we don’t have any information about their creation, and we don’t have many descriptions. But it is clear that they are part of the world, and have an interest in us humans.
In Greek, angel, angelos, means ‘messenger’, and, strictly speaking, applies only to the two orders, angels and archangels, who communicate with humans. And, odd as it may sound, they are not supernatural. They are created beings, part of the natural, created world like ourselves. As Paul says in the Letter to the Colossians, “In him all created things took their being, heavenly and earthly, visible and invisible.” Angels, like us, have character, individuality, and will, but they are not human. To make themselves visible to us, they take on human form. I remember once saying to a friend that if we could see the angels as they are, they would look like fire. I don’t know where I got that idea, but I was pleased to learn that St Basil the Great had a similar idea, when he wrote that “their substance is a breath of air or an immortal fire...visible...to those who are worthy to see them.” Ezekiel says, “the living creatures came and went, vivid as lightning flashes.” Psalm 103 says, “thou wilt have thy angels be like the winds, the servants that wait on thee like a flame of fire.” They are pure spirits, unlimited by time or space, immortal, free, neither young nor old, and more. Their brightness can be thought of as reflections of the uncreated light of God.
There are nine types, or ranks, or orders, if you will, of these heavenly beings, all named in the Scriptures: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. Psalm 102 and psalm 148 describe them as ever ready to praise God and to carry out his commands.
The Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones are councillors and have no relations with humans. Their work is the adoration of God. Their love for God is the strongest of any creature, according to St Dionysius the Areopagite.
The Dominions, Virtues, and Powers rule space and the stars, our galaxy among them. They have no direct relations with humans.
The Principalities, Archangels, and Angels are responsible for the Earth. They execute God’s will, are the perpetual guardians of humans, and are God’s messengers.
We know the names and something of the work of four of the Archangels. Michael, whose name means Who Is Like God, is the leader of the heavenly host, and threw Lucifer out of Paradise. Gabriel means Man of God, is the angel of the Annunciation. Raphael is The Healing of God, is chief of the guardian angels, and carries our prayers to the Lord. And Uriel, Fire of God, interprets prophecies. These are powerful names: Like God, Man of God, Healing, Fire. They reveal the personalities and powers of the archangels. There are three more archangels, whose names and roles I don’t know.
I used to own a Dictionary of Angels, which included mentions from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, and beyond. It reminded me that awareness of this spiritual reality is spread over the whole earth. That being so, it is our task to increase our sensitivity to the presence of the angels, and to be attentive to the messages that they bring us.
I pass over consideration of the fallen angels to another time, perhaps to a sermon in Lent. Their story reveals more of the nature of the angels, but we don’t need to go into it now.
Dionysius the Areopagite offers a splendid definition of the nature of an angel: “An angel is an image of God, a manifestation of the invisible light, a burnished mirror...receiving...all the beauty of divine goodness, and...kindling in itself, with unalloyed radiance, the goodness of the secret silence.”
The more we become aware of the angels of light, the more strengthened we are in our capacity for good, and the sharper becomes our ability to detect and resist the snares of the angels of darkness.
Let us pray. O Prince most glorious, Michael the Archangel, keep us in remembrance, and here and everywhere, always, pray to the Lord that our souls may be saved. Amen. (29.IX.18 Adv.)
