Today I would like to talk about something you don’t often hear about and which is often not taken seriously, that is angels and demons. How do we know if angels are real and how can we know anything about them?
There are 373 references to angels in Scripture including several times when Jesus mentioned them. In the New Testament there are 180 references to angels. Referring to children, Jesus said, ‘See that you do not despise one of these little [children], for I tell you their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven’ (Mat 18:10). In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword and He says, ‘Do you think I cannot call on my Father and He will at once put at my disposal twelve legions of angels?’ (Mat 26:53). Referring to the second coming of Christ in glory, Jesus said, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, He will sit on his glorious throne’ (Mat 25:31).
When people say they don’t believe in the devil or angels, I always say, ‘So you think Jesus was lying?’
We also know about them from what has been revealed to the saints down through the ages and from what exorcists have learned from their ministry of casting out demons, who are the fallen spirits. Casting out demons was one of Jesus’ commands to the Apostles and it is mentioned in today’s Gospel: ‘The twelve drove out many demon and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.’ Jesus commanded the Apostles, ‘Heal the sick, raise the dead…cast out demons.’ (Mat 10:8)
The word angel means a messenger. The angels are pure spirits created before the material universe and created primarily to worship and give glory to God, as are we. Because they are pure spirits, they don’t have a bodily form, although they can take on bodily form for different purposes. If they appear to humans, they take on a form so that we can recognize them. Artist’s impressions often show them with wings and I suppose that is to remind us that they can move/fly, but they can appear in any form. They are also outside of time and space, but they can appear to us in the world, when they have been given a particular task by God.
They are pure intellect and will, far superior to humans. They do not have emotions. They can influence our dreams. They can affect our moods. They do not know what we are thinking, but they can guess from our body language. They do not know the future.
Intellectually they are far superior to us and also far more powerful than us. Anything they have knowledge of, they have total knowledge of. The knowledge they have is instant and complete. It is not like us when we have to learn about a subject gradually, although they are limited in knowledge too. Not all angels have the same knowledge. The higher ranks of angels have greater knowledge than the lower ones.
The Choirs (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16)
All of God’s creation has an order to it and the same goes for the angels. There are nine choirs, or orders of angels, which are divided into three hierarchies. When we say choirs of angels, you might just think of groups of angels singing, but that is not what it means. It means groups, orders, or ranks.
The first Hierarchy are the Seraphim, the Cherubim and the Thrones, which are closest to God. The first hierarch, or rank, extends immediately to the service of God, so they are never sent to do any exterior ministry. If they perform any kind of activity in relation to those external to themselves, they do it through the mediation of lower angels.
The Seraphim, which means ‘burning ones,’ are closest to God and have been given a greater degree of love than any other angel. Their primary task is to love God. They purify others by enlightening them and setting them on fire with love. Their illumination of others is to draw them closer to God, to give them a greater love for God.
The Cherubim have been given the greatest degree of knowledge and wisdom of God. Their name means ‘fullness of knowledge.’ They are mentioned as guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden after the Fall.
The Thrones have knowledge of God’s will, mercy and love, which they pass on to the lower ranks of angels to be carried out. They are aware of the weakness of humans because of the Fall and they show God’s mercy.
The second Hierarchy are the Dominations, Virtues and Powers and their role is to do with governing. These have to do with the governance of what is below them.
The Dominations are given knowledge from the higher angels of what is to be done and they are the ones who actually give the orders of what is to carry out God’s plans. The name indicates a participation in God’s power of governing. They pass on God’s orders, so to say and they are never disobeyed by those below them.
The Virtues give the power to execute the orders of the Dominations. Their name implies a certain strength and courage.
The Powers are to ensure how the orders are to be carried out according to God’s providence and that it is not interfered with, or distorted in any way. They are also to protect against evil interference, so they are said to ward off evil spirits.
The third Hierarchy are the Principalities, Archangels and Angels. This group are about bringing about the actual orders that have been given by God through the higher angels. They interact with humans.
The Principalities are the ones who are in charge of earthly nations and kingdoms. Their role is to guide leaders of nations, according to God’s will.
The Archangels are the ones who bring messages of great importance, as opposed to angels in general who bring less important messages or instructions to humans. The Archangels Gabriel announces to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus. The only names of Archangels that we know of are St. Michael, whose name means, ‘Who is like God,’ St. Gabriel, which means, ‘Strength of God’ St. Raphael, which means, ‘Healing of God.’
The Angels who have been appointed to guide us, we call guardian angels. Their task is to guide us to salvation and protect us from the attacks of the demons. They will do everything to help us, but they can’t force us.
Apparently the priest and mystic Padre Pio (St. Pius of Pietrelcina) was able to see his guardian angel all the time and he only realized after a few years that other people couldn’t see theirs.
The Fall
When they were created, all the angels were each given a task or duty and God gave them the grace to carry out that task, which would bring them closer to God and enable them to see God. However, some of them rejected that task. They didn’t want to do it by God’s grace, but by their own power. So they rejected God. In rejecting God they had total knowledge of what they were doing and what the consequences would be. There is no sense of them not realizing some aspect of that decision. The only regret they have is that they didn’t obtain what God was offering them, through the task they were given. They also regret the suffering that it has now caused them, but if they had the choice to do it again, they would make the same choice, because they had total knowledge of what they were doing. So if you feel sometimes that they should be given a second chance, it wouldn’t make any difference. They would do the same thing again.
It is believed that Satan was either an archangel or more likely a Seraph, the closest to God and the most powerful. The name Lucifer, means ‘Light-Bearer.’
The demons have rejected all good and separated themselves completely from God, which means that they are pure evil and only want to bring about evil, especially against us. They are far more powerful than we are, but through grace we can ascend higher than they can and they envy and hate that and so they try to lead us away from God. Demons cannot affect the will, but they can affect the imagination and body.
Sometimes God allows possession or demonic influence for our sanctification. Temptations in particular areas help us to recognize our weakness and give us the opportunity to work to grow in virtue in that area.
Ascending higher
One big difference between humans and angels is that angels cannot ascend to a higher level. They will always be what they are. Humans can ascend through grace and we have a life-time to continually obtain grace and move to a higher place in heaven. Our Lady, the only perfect human being and more filled with grace than anyone, is more powerful than any of the angels, which is one reason that the demons are terrified of her and hate her because she is a human being.
In every mass Jesus becomes present in the Eucharist, which means that in every mass the church is also filled with angels who continually worship God. I think we will be amazed when we die when we see what actually happens in each mass.
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| Padre Pio of Pietrelcina |
Just before we get to the Holy, Holy, at the end of the Preface in the mass, we always say these or similar words:
Through him the Angels praise your majesty,
Dominions adore and Powers tremble before you.
Heaven and the Virtues of heaven and the blessed Seraphim worship together…’ (Preface 1 of Blessed Virgin Mary).
‘And so with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions and all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory…’ (Preface of the Apostles)
Raphael’s guidance to Tobit and Tobias.
I just want to finish with part of the Archangel Raphael’s guidance to Tobit and Tobias. In the book of Tobit Raphael is sent to heal Tobit and to guide his son Tobias to his future wife and heal her. Raphael has appeared to them as a man and they don’t realize he is an angel until the very end when he reveals that he was sent by God. Here is part of what he says to them before he ascends to heaven:
"Praise God and tell all the living beings about the good things he has done for you, praising and singing to his name. Make God’s words known in an honorable way to everyone and don’t fail to acknowledge him. It is good to hide a king’s secret from view and good to reveal God’s works and bear witness to them with due respect.
Do what is good and evil won’t overtake you. Prayer with fasting is good and so is giving to the poor with righteousness… Giving to the poor saves from death and it washes away every sin.
Now praise the Lord here on earth and acknowledge God." (Tob 12: 6-8, 9, 20)
God promises his guidance to the Israelites
"I am going to send an angel in front of you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him." (Ex 23:20).
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