Psalm 103: 20
Bless the Lord, all ye His Angels; you that are mighty in strength, and execute His word, hearkening to the voice of His orders.
Taken from the Introit (opening prayer) of the Mass celebrating St. Michael the Archangel on September
29.
Angels exist. They are God's highest creation. Many times they are mentioned in the Bible. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is October 2, by the way. In Matthew's Gospel, chapter 18, Christ warns not to scandalize and to become as children. He says here: See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, that their Angels in heaven always see the face of My Father Who is in heaven.
They are present in the Old Testament and the New, and prominent in the Apocalypse. There are stories from various saints and their relationship with their Guardian Angels being very real and personal.
We don't know, from reading Genesis, at what point the angels were created. In the narrative of the six days of creation, they aren't mentioned by name.
St. Augustine has an interesting idea of their creation. In his City of God, Book 11, Chapter 9, he says, "When all things, which are recorded to have been completed in six days, were created and arranged, how should the angels be omitted, as if they were not among the works of God, from which on the seventh day he rested?"
He goes on to say, "For when God said, 'Let there be light, and there was light,' if we are justified in understanding in this light the creation of the angels, then certainly they were created partakers of the eternal light which is the uncahngeable Wisdom of God...."
So this answers the question about the bible verse that says "Let there be light," and there could be no light on that first day if the sun and stars didn't exist until the fourth day. On the fourth day "God divided the light from the darkness; and God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night."
Augustine also notes that the creation of angels and the fall of Lucifer and the demons would all have happened on the first day of creation.
St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, has much to say about angels. He notes that God willed that there should be pure spirits because they were to be the highest, most perfect and most beautiful part of His creation. They can never have a body like ours, but only take on the form in external appearance when interacting with men. They are God's messengers (shown visually with wings to designate their speed in doing God's will), our protectors and guides.
Michael the Archangel, is most honored by us here on earth. He is the one who, as the leader of God's heavenly army, cast Lucifer into Hell. There are stories of his interventions in the doings of men. One, in our time, deals with his saving the life of a young marine in battle who was devoted to him. The story is compelling and no other explanation is possible. A marine named "Michael" saved the young man. There was no one by that name in the outfit and he could never be found. The young marine said a desperate prayer to St. Michael that he had said since childhood, and was saved by this other "Michael."
A prayer we say after Low Mass, at the request of Pope Leo XIII many years ago, is for the intervention of St. Michael on our behalf.
St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and thou,
O prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits
Who roam about the world, seeking the ruin of souls.
I for one, hope that my Guardian Angel hasn't been too disappointed in me. I know he will be with me until my last breath, and I hope will lead me to that place of indescribable peace and beauty, our true home, Heaven.
Oh, and St. Augustine wasn't all doctrine and seriousness. There is a quote attributed to him that I find interesting. He said, "Learn to dance, otherwise the angels won't know what to do with you."
9/30/11
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