He will send His angel before you

~Genesis 24    

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ANGELS

The concept of angels can be vaguely uncomfortable for some Anglicans, even though a 2003 Fox News/Opinion Dynamic poll found that 78% of Americans believe in them.  Roman Catholics have given far more thought and study to them than we, and the literature reflects that.  The syrupy presentations sometimes seen on greeting cards or television has not helped the situation, and often the representations are completely unsupported by Scripture or reason.  There is, for example, no Littlest Angel, and there never will be.

We don't know a whole lot about angels, but what we do know comes from the Bible, mostly through St. Thomas Aquinas.  He gave a great deal of study to angels and is sometimes called the Angelic Doctor.

Angels are God's messengers and our companions in the way.  Your guardian angel will incline your heart.  If you learn how to listen, your life will be easier and richer.

Some quick facts:

You don’t need to know anything about angels for salvation.	All you need is the knowledge and love of God through Jesus Christ.  Like the saints, angels are there to help that process along and will do so whether you acknowledge them or not.
Everybody has a guardian angel.	This comes from Jesus himself, in Matthew 18:10.  It is also something that the Church has always taught.  Silently acknowledging the presence of each person's guardian angel can change the way you look at the world and other people.
Angels are not cute and cuddly.	They’re immensely powerful, and fearsome when they allow themselves to be seen.  Notice when they appear in the Bible, they usually say “Fear not.”  Still, the good ones are full of boundless love and kindness.
Angels don’t have wings.	They have no bodies, so have no more need of wings than they do of a bicycle.  Wings are merely an artistic convention to denote their ethereal nature, but if it helps you to think about them with wings, that’s okay.
We don't become angels when we die.	People and angels are two different species.  You will never be an angel, but, mercifully, you will never be a cockroach either.
Some angels are good, some are bad.	In the end, the bad angels (demons) will lose, but that won’t stop them from winning some battles along the way.   Make sure you know which angel is inspiring your actions; it can be hard world out there.
There are more angels than people.	Every person has a guardian angel.  Add to that the legions of cherubim, seraphim, thrones, and other orders, and evil angels (demons).  Humans are a minority in God's world.
Angels have the power of bilocation.	Wherever they are sent by God, they also remain simultaneously in His presence, face-to-face.  If you ever find yourself  touched by an angel, just think how close to God you are at that time.

Some angel books in St. Paul's Library:

Atemose, Charlene What You Should Know about Angels.  Liguori, 1996, 85 p. If the author's credentials as a nun are to be listed on the back cover of this book, the reader is entitled to believe her training will be made manifest in the work.  Mostly one is given the author's tepid personal and sentimental speculations about angels.  These are neither inspiring nor authoritative.  She makes occasional biblical references, but does not quote the actual verses, as though chapter and verse alone will cause you to genuflect and cross yourself.  Since the title is What you should know about angels, one can only conclude that the author feels we should know nothing, because  that is what is to be found between the covers.  If you seek some spiritual cheerleading about angels, read Billy Graham’s Angels: God’s secret agents, which despite the hokey subtitle, has some fire and grit.  Forgive this reviewer Sister Charlene, but you and your publisher should embarassed for this effort, or lack thereof.  Go forth in peace and waste paper no more.  If our rector were not so tender-hearted toward books, this would be weeded from the library. *****

Graham, Billy Angels: God’s Secret Agents.  Guideposts, 1975, 175p. If you subscribe to the notion that, ultimately, Christianity is caught, not taught, then there may be something for you in this book.  The scholarship may be a bit weak, but Graham has a gift for conveying his enthusiasm and love for God and the angels.  Nothing wrong with that, even for Anglicans.  Half the verbiage would have sufficed, but that wouldn't have been enough to publish as a book, or at least garner that sales that they did with this format.  Graham gives biblical quotes so you can relate them to his message, but he quotes from many different translations of the Bible.  This is  playing games with words in translation, and The Rev. Dr. Billy ought to know better.  There can be a profound difference between mere words, and The Word.  Like the Rio Grande, this book is a mile wide and an inch deep.  For all that, it's a fairly good inch in its own particular niche, and Billy's an entertaining preacher. *****

Huber, Georges My Angel Will Go before You.  Christian Classics: Allen, Texas; 1995, 128 p. [Translated from the French]  This slim volume was written by a Roman Catholic for his confreres and is prone to all the faults one associates with that.  Statements such as the Roman Catholic Church being “the reliable interpreter of Revelation,” or “no Catholic with clear ideas would deny that angels exist,” can be offputting to Anglicans who bridle at such bland statements of authority.  Further, this book is written as a “defense,” which can be a tiresome form in the best of hands.  Still, just when you're rolling your eyes and ready to put it down in exasperation, a provocative statement will lift itself off the page and give you cause for profitable reflection.  Did you ever consider communication between guardian angels as an explanation of love at first sight?  That a blessing or consecration by the Church places an object under the protection of a guardian angel?  That angels gather up your prayers and present them up to God?  If you're only going to read one book on angels, read Peter Kreeft’s Angels and demons: What do we really know about them?, which is a good deal more thorough and reasoned. My angel will go before you can provide additional insights, but you should feel free to skim until you come to the good parts.  *****

Kreeft, Peter Angels and Demons: What do We Really Know about Them?  Ignatius, 1995, 154p. If you're only going to read one book on angels, this is the one.  Orderly, tightly reasoned, methodical, and succinct, it quotes the Bible and Church Fathers, and explains the reasoning of theologians for why the Church believes as it does.  It is hard to put down.  But take note, it seems that the popular image of a guardian angel sitting on one shoulder encouraging you to do right, and a devil sitting on the other shoulder tempting you to do wrong is not far off the mark.  Kreeft has a gift for clear convincing exposition, and at times it is easy to see his good angel is guiding his pen.  At other times, the devil grabs him like Turette’s syndrome and makes him blurt out knee-jerk romanisms that will put your Anglican back up.  After winning you over with reason, he may suddenly say that you don't have to buy his argument anyway since the Roman Catholic Church tells you that it is so, and you must accept it if you are to call yourself a [Roman] Catholic.  Puh-leez!  Worse, he sneaks in gratuitous comments about that great Roman Catholic bête noire, abortion.  Under that felicity of expression, that erudition, and that scholarship one gets glimpses of a strident stiff-necked fundamentalist banging on the pulpit and telling you that you'd better damn well believe what he says or you're going straight to hell.  Which Peter Kreeft do you believe?  Dear Reader, avoid the whispered advice of the demon, and hear your guardian angel.  Sort the wheat from the chaff, for there far more of the former than the latter.  ***** A little editing would make it ***** and a classic of angelology.