Angels

So one of the college students asked me about Guardian Angels. I figured that since not all of you are in confirmation when I went over it, I would blog about Angels and how awesome they are.

Angels are created just like we are. As human beings we are body and soul composites. This means that we are made up of a body and a soul. Angels however, have no body, they are purely spiritual beings. Because of this, they can look anyway they want when they appear on earth. Further, because they don’t have a body, they also don’t have a gender. Gender is something that is unique to the bodily creatures on earth. So how does one tell them apart? Without a body, or a gender, it seems that it would be impossible to tell Michael from Gabriel. Every angel is actually its own species of angel. Its kind of like the animals of the earth. A dog is different from a cat, which is different from a fish which is different from a bird, ect. It’s the same principle. But the mind blowing thing is that there are so many angels, no one but God could ever count. In the Book of Daniel, the prophet has a vision of the last judgment and he sees Angels before the throne of God:

“I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (Daniel 7: 9-10)

Among the crazy numbers of angels, they are divided into levels. There are nine choirs or levels of angels. All Angels belong to one of these Choirs. They are: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. Sacred Tradition holds that there are only 3 archangels: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. All of the other choirs of angels are numberless.

Guardian Angels are the lowest choir of angels. They are the ones sent to men to aid us and bring us to Heaven if that is our choice. Each person on earth at their conception receives a guardian angel who never leaves them except in the case of a soul choosing to go to Hell. Even in heaven, we are with our guardian angel and they are ours. Guardian Angels are not recycled, so to speak. Your angel is yours and it will be yours forever. This means that there is an angel for every person to ever have lived, is living, and will be living.

In our tradition, we also know of the Fallen Angels. These are the angels that fell before the creation of man. The most known is Lucifer, or as he is known now in his fallen state, Satan. He was actually a cherub (singular of the cherubim choir). This means he was in the second highest choir of angel.

For more on the Angels, let me know you want another blog and I can write one describing each of the 9 choirs and their faculties.

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, Pray for us.