Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Guardian Angels. There are two main categories of angels, those who have fallen and those who have given themselves over in obedience and service to God. According to St. Thomas, each angel forms his own unique species. Here are a few interesting facts about angelic beings.
By Deacon Frederick Bartels
2 October 2018
In our gospel for today, we hear Jesus speak about the angels who watch over God’s children (Mt 18:1-5, 10): “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (excerpt).
The Catechism has this to say about angels:
The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition. (328)
As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness. (330)
The Catechism also has other interesting information about the angels.
Angel Facts
There are two main categories of angels, those who have fallen (Satan and the other demons) and those who have given themselves in obedience and service to God (such as the archangels and our guardian angels). St. Thomas Aquinas has a corpus of teaching on the angels (the word angel means “messenger,” and refers to the office these spiritual beings are given by God. Their nature is spiritual, as St. Augustine noted and the Catechism points out).
St. Thomas taught that each individual angel forms a unique species. For example, think of the difference in species between an elephant and a mouse. Angels, of course, are non-corporeal, personal beings—they don’t have physical bodies, so the analogy is very weak.
Although angels do not have bodies, they can appear in human forms as we find indicated in various places in Scripture. It is not clear how, exactly, they can do this.
Angels are spiritual beings created prior to the creation of man (created in a state often called aeviternity) and gifted with exceedingly powerful intellects and wills. Due to their infused knowledge (implanted in their intellects by God at the moment of their creation), as opposed to human knowledge that is learned slowly over time through experience, angelic intelligence far surpasses human intelligence. If one were to compare a human child to an adult, it would be an exceedingly inadequate comparison of the difference in intelligence between a human person and an angel. Because of their spiritual intellects, they are not prone to such things as memory loss with age as are human beings.
Additionally, an angelic will does not waver between choices, first choosing something and then later dismissing that choice in favor of something else. The angelic will remains fixed on God and the good or, in the case of demons, in opposition to God and in favor of evil. When an angel sets his will on something, it is a permanent choice. This is made possible by their immense intellectual knowledge as well as their powerful, angelic strength of will.
Read about Satan and the Fallen Angels.
We do well to pray daily to our guardian angel in thanks for his service in our lives that is directed toward the attainment of salvation in Christ. Our guardian angel is indeed a powerful ally who assists in defending us against evil.
Conversely, because of the exceedingly great intelligence of the fallen angels (demons and the devil) whose activities and intentions always remain vicious, we would do well to carefully avoid all contact with them or any situation which may give rise to inviting them into our lives. They are not to be toyed with. One must never give them permission to interact with us through such harmful activities as the use of Ouija boards. We should never entertain a disordered interest in them such as is found in attempting to contact them or gain some advantage over others by employing the use of their powers. The fallen angels never intend to benefit us in any way. On the contrary, their intention is always destructive.
The best remedy against the diabolical influences of the fallen angels is to live one’s life in Christ and in full communion with the Church, receiving frequently the sacraments, especially the Eucharist (worthily and in a state of grace).
Christ’s peace.
Deacon Frederick Bartels is a member of the Catholic clergy who serves the Church in the diocese of Pueblo. He holds an MA in Theology and Educational Ministry, is a member of the theology faculty at Catholic International University, and is a Catholic educator, public speaker, and evangelist who strives to infuse culture with the saving principles of the gospel. For more, visit YouTube, iTunes and Twitter.
I heard a priest say that the Catholic Church have no valid proof of the existence of Angels. Is this true, there are so many instances where we given importance to angels. We have a feast day, Micheal the Ark Angel prayers etc. Please advice.
Dear Anita Pimenta,
I can’t speak to what that priest said specifically since I didn’t here it, but what I can say is this:
The existence of angels is a truth of the faith. Any priest who says we can’t be certain if they exist is in denial of the inspired Word of God found in sacred scripture. He’s also apparently rejecting the constant teaching of the magisterium of the Church. Catholics have always believed in the existence of angels. That’s one reason why we have a feast day in celebration of them. If they did not exist, the Church would be celebrating a lie. It’s unfortunate that some priests seem more interested in novelty and weird ideas than teaching in a straight-forward manner what is true.
Deacon Bartels
Hi, Frederick “ALL TRUTH, CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN MESSIAH.” Believing in his words. IN MESSIAH dwells his GOD and FATHERS word.
Psalms 33:6 By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made; and all the HOST of them (SUN, MOON AND STARS) by the breath of His mouth (spirit).
Your article “The Existence of Angels is a Truth of the Catholic and Christian Faith” Is NOT based on TRUTH but ERROR stemming from Judeo-Christianity (pagan religion) and the traditions of men (synagogue/church) and YOUR misunderstanding of what the scriptures teach: Also bible translators give us their version, NOT necessarily a literal translation, but their biased opinion of what they believe to be true (mans doctrine). Take the capitalisation of words for instance, which gives the reader a false impression of the authors original intent; Changing word into Word (Person) or changing adversary into Adversary (Person) or changing adam into Adam (Person) doesn’t help anyone seeking truth: Please consider the PDF link bellow titled Angels & Demons:
*See for yourself what Yahweh ALONE teaches about angels/demons/spirits/ghosts/Idols.
In Messiah’s Love
Dear Bill,
Well, not sure exactly where you’re coming from, but it seems you lack faith in the Bible as the inspired Word of God. The scriptures reference angels in many, many places. And the Christian religion is not in any way a “pagan” religion. Pagan religions are polytheistic, worship false gods, and practice idolatry. That’s certainly not what the Christian religion is all about.
Given that you seem to lack faith in the scriptures, and you’re not Christian, perhaps the best approach to use is one from reason alone. If you believe in God, and you believe he created human persons as body/spirit composites, then it’s reasonable to conclude that he could also have created personal beings who are composed of pure spirit (angels). In other words, if God created corporeal and spiritual persons, he too could create non-corporeal, non-physical persons. Angels are just that sort of being.