Angels

When I decided to write about angels, I naively believed that I would have an organized and concise topic to study. It wasn’t long before I realized that the whole concept of angels is impossibly complex, and so I nearly gave up in desperation. In the end, I decided to mention some ideas I have learned about angels without even pretending to be knowledgeable about them. One book that was quite helpful is called Everything Book of Angels, by M. J. Abadie, which helped me to come up with some thoughts; so here are a few of them.

First, there are angels in religious scriptures and then there angels that are based on traditions. In the Bible, for example angels are discussed many times, but only three are mentioned by name: Michael, Gabriel and Satan (the fallen angel). Michael is often depicted as a warrior while Gabriel is described as a messenger as in his appearance before the Virgin Mary and as the voice St. Joan of Arc heard during her defense of France. In Moslem scriptures, Gabriel is the messenger who dictated the Koran to the prophet Mohammad.

But there are also almost infinite traditions about angels that are important. There is a hierarchal ranking of angels that includes Cherubim and Seraphim. There are angels for days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. There are angels associated with specific colors and others known as messengers and protectors. Another group of angels, so-called “baby angels” came about as a result of Renaissance paintings.

There are also guardian angels that guide and guard individuals. In fact during the Renaissance so many angels were being named that the Catholic Church banded any further angel naming for fear they would overshadow the Divinity of Christ and even God. Angels can either appear with or without wings and can resemble people as well. It is actually easy to get “lost in the weeds” when it comes to angels, and scholars have spent their entire careers studying them. Angels continue to be popular as evidenced by films like Michael, starring John Travolta and Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner, and even shows like Highway to Heaven, with Michael Landon and Touched by an Angel with Della Reese.

Having said all that, I personally believe angels do exist and have appeared in Holy Scriptures. I also believe they can let their presence be known through intuition, signs and the “inner voice.” I am also convinced that guardian angels are real simply because there are so many stories about experiences with them by individuals throughout recent history. However, I also believe in the concept of Satan as an adversary. The best way I can describe it is when I believe that all my successes are based on self-will and perseverance alone without acknowledging God’s help. I have the tendency to blame God or circumstances when I’m having difficulty and/or pray to God when I’m in trouble but ignore him when I succeed, so show a total lack of gratitude.

Perhaps a fitting way to end this brief newsletter about angels is to describe an actual experience with angels by a famous person. Sister Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN, describes a personal experience she had that is taken from the book, Where Angels Walk, by Joan Webster Anderson on page 114:

About eleven years old, and feeling especially lonely, and sad, she was walking downtown one evening, oblivious to everything around her. “I started to cross a busy street, then heard a woman’s shrill scream behind me,” she recalls. Rita (Sister Mother Angelica) looked back expecting to see someone in trouble, and instead realized that a car was speeding toward her, the headlights shining in her eyes. There was no time to get to the safety island. Rita froze closed her eyes, and waited for the fatal impact. Instead, she felt two strong hands lift her high in the air. A moment later she blinked and looked around in disbelief. She was standing on the sidewalk. A crowd gathered. Onlookers had expected to see a terrible accident and a child’s crumpled body. Instead they found a healthy, but quiet frightened, girl. To them, it appeared that she had definitely been hit, then hurled aside by the force of the collision. They were completely mystified at the lack of injuries.”

There are so many stories about angels like this one or similar accounts that are hard to simply dismiss. The scriptural texts about angels are also believable as well. I suppose it’s a matter of faith too. Anyway, thanks for reading my newsletters. Below are some intriguing quotes about angels that I hope you enjoy. Have a great weekend!

(Please remember these are my own ideas, and I’m not attempting to persuade anyone to change theirs.)

Quotes:

Angels only care about what you look like on the inside. A pure heart is the vessel that contains a soul’s true identity. Molly Friedenfeld

The teachings of angels are precious gifts to be gleaned from the caves of undisturbed silence deep within ourselves like crystal ever growing because they are alive. Karen Goldman Angel Voices, 105.

Spiritual protection of infants is typical of angel occupations in that it is a kind of service. Angels have a special affection for newborn children. Robert H Kirven Angels in Action pg. 71

Guardian Angel prayer from Roman Catholic tradition: Angel of God, my guardian dear; to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be by my side; to light and guard, to rule and guide. Where Angels Walk, pg. 88.

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