By Mary Powers
We often go through life unaware of the invisible movements and work of our closest collaborators in our daily trials and work in building the kingdom of heaven. The angels — both our guardian angels as well as other angels — are constantly watching over us, interceding for us and guiding us on our journey to heaven.
“Whenever I begin a talk about angels, I’ll say, ‘How many people are in this room?’” said Dominican Father Michael Hurley, pastor of St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco. “And then everyone says, ‘Oh, there’s, I don’t know, 30, 40 people.’ Then I say, ‘Now, at least, double it.’”
In honor of the feast of the Archangels on Sept. 29 and Guardian Angels on Oct. 2, I spoke with Father Michael, who has written about angels, to learn more about our spiritual friends and allies.
Angels 101
Angels are spiritual beings with intellects and wills. They were created with the ability to know and the ability to love. Referring to St. Augustine’s reading of Scripture, Father Michael said the angels were created at the moment when God said, “Let there be light” (Gn 1:3).
The name “angel” refers to their office, not their nature. With their whole beings, the angels are servants and messengers of God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 329)
“So, it’s like the mailman, right?” said Father Michael. “The mailman is Bob. Bob is who he is; dropping off packages is what he does. When we talk about angels or choirs of angels, we’re referring to their God-given job of messaging. They are spiritual creatures who ‘angel.’”
The angels are placed within a hierarchy traditionally referred to as the “choirs of angels” whose names come from Scripture. Traditionally, the hierarchy of angels includes nine choirs: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels and angels.
Does an angel of a higher choir such as the thrones mean they are more important? Not necessarily. According to Father Michael, the higher an angel is, the greater capacity the angel has to know and to love God, just like any other created being.
“Are they higher than others? Yes. Does that mean they’re morally better? Not necessarily. St. Thomas Aquinas argues that Lucifer was one of the cherubim and Lucifer fell,” said Father Michael.
Saints and the angels
Many saints are said to have interacted with the angels. St. Francis of Assisi received the stigmata through a seraphic angel. St. Padre Pio received prayer intentions from the angels, and it is believed that St. John Bosco’s guardian angel appeared as a dog to protect him as walked the streets of Turin, Italy. Bernini’s famous statue of St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy depicts a
scene from her life when an angel appeared to her and pierced her heart, leaving her on fire with love for God.
St. Thomas Aquinas is known as the “Angelic Doctor” of the Church because of his writings on angels and because of a key encounter he had with them. St. Thomas’ family did not want him to join the Dominicans, so they locked him in a tower. One night, his brothers tempted him to break his vow of chastity by bringing a prostitute to his room. Chasing her out, St. Thomas closed the door and branded it with a cross. He then fell into a mystical sleep while praying and had a vision of two angels tying a cord around his waist to protect his purity and chastity for life.
Daily life with the angels
When thinking about angels and our guardian angels, Father Michael has a simple formula to interact with them — the triple A’s: to be aware, ask and appreciate.
First, we should be aware of the spiritual realm and most especially the angels.
“St. Paul said very clearly that it’s not just flesh and blood that’s part of daily struggle,” said Father Michael. “There are principalities and powers at work that seek to both support and undermine our spiritual journey to God. It’s not supercilious or too dramatic to say that we really need to be attentive and aware of the spiritual world on a daily basis.”
Next, we need to ask for their help and protection. And most importantly, we have to appreciate them.
“I think our guardian angels like to be thanked,” said Father Michael. “So, ask yourself the question, when’s the last time you thanked your guardian angel?”
Prayers and devotions to the angels
Prayer to your guardian angel
The famous prayer to our guardian angels appeals to them to “light and guard, to rule and guide.” Angels can enlighten us to see or bring clarity to God’s will in our lives. The guardian angels protect us both physically and spiritually and guide us in our life as we make decisions.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael is the “prince of the heavenly hosts” and a powerful defender of the Church.
“I will absolutely say the No. 1 prayer you can pray for bedevilment, no matter what you’re struggling with, especially for addictions and habitual sin, you have got to be praying to St. Michael,” said Father Michael.
The prayer to St. Michael the Archangel was written by Pope Leo XIII in 1898 after he had a vision during Mass of a demonic attack on the Church. He asked that the prayer be prayed after low Masses.
Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel
Servant of God Antonia d’Astonaco, a Portuguese Carmelite nun who lived in the 18th century, received a vision and private revelation from St. Michael requesting that he be honored through nine special invocations, leading to the chaplet of St. Michael. Prayed on a similar set of beads to the rosary, the reflections on virtues and the choirs of angels are followed by an Our Father and three Hail Marys, ending with four Our Fathers for the archangels and our guardian angel and a concluding prayer.
Angelic Warfare Confraternity
An apostolate of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) is the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, a spiritual community dedicated to the pursuit and promotion of the virtue of chastity. Men and women are enrolled to receive assistance from God in living a chaste life under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas and Our Lady. Imitating St. Thomas’ story, each member wears either a blessed cord or the medal of St. Thomas and says daily prayers to receive the special graces that the Lord pours out through the confraternity.
Mary Powers is the assistant director of communications and media relations for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
