Angels are celestial or heavenly beings, who by nature, are on a higher order than human beings. Angels have no bodies and do not depend on matter for their existence or activity. People who die and go to heaven become saints, basically disembodied spirits, but not angels. Angels are distinct from saints. Angels have intellect and will, and are immortal, but not eternal. There is a vast multitude of angels, but each is an individual person. The creation and existence of angels are implied in the first chapter of Genesis, which states that “God created the heavens…”
In Genesis 3:24, a Cherubim is standing guard when Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden. Angels played other notable roles in the scriptures in the execution of God’s divine plan. Although they are too numerous to completely capture in this chapter, we will mention a few instances. Archangel Gabriel delivered the joyful news of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Luke 1:26-38. Archangel Raphael assisted Tobit, his son, Tobias, and daughter-in-law, Sarah, in the Book of Tobit. An angel with the help of Archangel Michael, delivered the answer to Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 10:10-19 while in 2 Kings 19:35, a warrior angel (believed to be Archangel Michael) slaughtered one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers in one night!
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, popularly called the “Angelic Doctor” of the Church, angels exist as buffers between God and humans. He taught that angels are made in the image and likeness of God, and so are the most excellent of God’s creatures because they most closely resemble God’s nature. Aquinas also stated that the mission and role of angels is to worship and adore God, to communicate God’s plan to humans, and to act as guardians and protectors. He also believed that God designated angels to be in charge of every material part of creation. Angels are not eternal. God alone is eternal; He has no beginning and lives forever. Angels are immortal; they have a beginning, and will never die of age, just like the human soul.
Angels do not multiply, nor will they cease to exist. Angels are God’s light of pure love and care around us to help us, for angels are God’s messengers, while we are God’s children. We call God “Father”, while angels call Him “Lord”. No other human activity enables us to share more intimately in the communion of angels and saints than does our participation in Liturgy. At Mass, our guardian angels carry our offerings and petitions before the altar of the Lord, while at the singing of “Holy, Holy, Holy”, angels surround the altar and worship Christ who has not only become man, but also is present as the “bread of the Angels”.
• Excerpt from the book “Called to be Holy” by the Knights and Ladies of St. Mulumba, Nigeria, Lekki Sub-Council, Lagos.
