Angels

The statues were veiled, even the angel holding the holy water stoup at the door... No Gloria Patri at Mass... Passiontide begins.

At Mass this morning, feeling better but not quite over my cold, having made my confession and said my prayers, I had the luxury of sitting in the pews rather than having to be with the rest of the choir (no offense, guys!), and was able to join in the hymns, the Ordinary, and even the Vexilla regis at the Offertory, without straining my vocal chords to sing the Proper.

Before Mass, of course, the Asperges was sung, with everyone joining in - and I was struck by the collect sung every Sunday, the Exaudi nos Domine, which invokes the guardianship of the angel sent by God from heaven to "this habitation" - to all those gathered in the church.

Had today not been Passion Sunday, but a feria, the commemoration of St Frances of Rome would have been observed, and her proper collect emphasises one peculiar aspect of her life: she was favoured with continual converse with her guardian angel. This is the prayer:

Deus, qui beatam Franciscam famulam tuam, inter cetera gratiæ tuæ dona, familiari Angeli consuetudine decorasti: concede, quæsumus; ut intercessionis ejus auxilio, Angelorum consortium consequi mereamur. Per...

(O God, Who beautified Thy handmaid blessed Frances with the friendly intimacy of an Angel among the other gifts of Thy grace; grant, we beseech Thee, that by the help of her intercession, we may deserve to obtain the company of the Angels. Through...)

(If her Mass had been sung, it would have been from the Common of Matrons, with the encomium of the Valiant Woman - Proverbs xxxi, 10-31 - for the epistle, unless the alternative for a widow - I Tim. v, 3-10 - must be used, as a widow she was.)

This reminded me, in turn, of the essay I once put together for a course I did at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne. Rather amazingly, I had the chance to study angelology there under Fr Anthony Robbie, and - knowing I'd never find such a course offered again - I took it, and wrote the following, which I append in the hope it may be of interest. It is my thesis that, allowing for God's grace in the first place, angelic guardianship is necessary for man's salvation - a corollary of the scriptural texts from Psalm 90(91):11 ("He has given His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways") and Hebrews i, 14 ("Are they not all ministering spirits sent for service, for the sake of those who shall inherit salvation?"). Looking at it now, it appears a rather poor effort, but maybe that is all I was capable of; as previously, I omit most of the footnotes:

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Scripture and Tradition support the veneration of Guardian Angels, but how necessary is their mission?

Introduction

In order to evaluate the necessity for man’s welfare and salvation of the sending to him of angel guardians, the witness of Scripture and Tradition must be evaluated, and from this consideration derive the theoretical and practical reasons for venerating such tutelary spirits. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church, faithful conservator and expositor of Revelation, will therefore be consulted, and then some relevant theologians. To more closely identify the need man has for angelic aid, recourse will be had to the perennially valid teaching of St Thomas Aquinas, and a fine expositor of the same, Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B., former Abbot of Buckfast. In conclusion, the valuable witness of the Roman Liturgy to the mission and veneration of angels will be examined at greater length regarding these issues.

Witness of Scripture and Tradition, Magisterium and Theologians

The revealed doctrine of the divine mission given the angels to assist human beings may be found summed up at the outset of the Epistle to the Hebrews, phrased as a rhetorical question: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” (Heb 1:14). The answer expected in the mind of the faithful reader is an affirmation of the angels, everywhere attested in the pages of holy writ, as dispersed abroad in the world to attend to the needs of those whom God the Lord wills to be saved, that is, the entire human race (cf. 1 Tim 2:4).

Turning to the Magisterium, which handily summarises the deposit of faith, the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that “Angels have been present since creation and through the history of salvation… serving the accomplishment of the divine plan” by protecting Lot from the Sodomites (cf. Gen 19:1-29), saving Hagar and Ishmael in the desert (cf. Gen 21:10-19), giving Israel the law through their mediation (cf. Acts 7:38,53; Heb 2:2), and in divers other ways. Here we see the three main activities of angels as guardians of men: to defend against evil, to illuminate the intellect, and to inspire the will to act. Indeed, as the Catechism goes on to say, “the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of the angels.” “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.’ (St Basil, Against Eunomius, III, 1.)” Again, quoting the Angelic Doctor, “The angels work together for the benefit of us all” (S.T., I, 114, 3 ad 3) and therefore “The Church venerates the angels who help her on her earthly pilgrimage and protect every human being.”

Much of this material in the Catechism may be found enunciated in two General Audiences of the late Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, given on the 30th of July and the 6th of August 1986, noting the care and solicitude of the angels for human beings as their part in the history of salvation, as witnessed by the Scriptures, and therefore why the Church venerates them and recommends recourse to their protection.

The so-called Roman Catechism, or Catechism of the Council of Trent, deals at greater length with both the mission and the veneration of angels. The Fatherly Providence of God is excellently manifested in his sending us angels to be our guardians, who care for each person from birth till death, though in most cases their ministrations are hidden. The role of each such tutelary spirit is to defend his ward against demonic incursions, and to guide him to keep to the narrow path that leads to salvation. This teaching is illustrated by examples from both Testaments – from the history of Tobias (cf. Tobit, passim), featuring Raphael, and the rescue of Peter from his chains by “his angel” (Acts 12:15; cf. Acts 12:1-17) – which are given to show what type of works these angels most commonly work unseen.

From consideration of these very real helps, veneration of the Guardian Angels is aroused in the hearts of the faithful. This veneration and invocation is both licit and well-pleasing to God, just as paying reverence to one’s parents and elders, to priests and monarchs and leaders, is commanded in the Decalogue, and as in general it is fitting to acknowledge the powerful, since all power comes from God (cf. Rom 13:1-7). Angels are God’s potent emissaries, of more power than princes, “by whose aid, though we see them not, we are every day delivered from the greatest dangers of soul and body”. Likewise, to invoke them, who love us so much, invites them to pour out their ready prayers for mankind; just as Jacob efficaciously begged a blessing of the angel with whom he wrestled (cf. Gen 32:24-29), as also he asked of his unseen angel companion: “the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads” (Gen 48:16a) – that is, may he intercede and obtain of God a blessing for them.

According to Ott, coming at the end of the preconciliar manualist tradition, the teaching that the good angels have as their secondary task the guardianship of men, so as to effect their salvation, must be regarded as de fide on the ground of general teaching – that is, it is a doctrine held always, everywhere and by everyone (quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus), as the Vincentian Canon expresses it. The view that every single human being has a special guardian angel may be considered a certain teaching, since the generality of the Fathers, scholastics, and theologians have held this to be true. As a corollary to their care of us, and even more because of their primary occupation, the ceaseless worship of Almighty God, they are worthy of veneration. Haffner, too, a contemporary lecturer in dogmatic theology at the Roman pontifical universities, insists upon the Scriptural doctrine that each individual has an angel guardian, and that:

A measured devotion to and veneration of them is encouraged by the Church, since from birth to death human beings are aided by their protection and intercession… The guardian angel is one expression of God’s merciful Providence to assist people on their way to salvation, and to protect them from all evils both material and spiritual.

Dom Anscar Vonier and St Thomas Aquinas

Abbot Vonier considered angels in his The Human Soul and its Relations with Other Spirits. He makes the surprising point that Our Lord identified eternal loss with exclusion from angelic society (and with inclusion in demonic company), and hence it is the aim of guardian angels to make their charges worthy of being one day their fellow citizens. Each man “will have an angel reigning with him in heaven or a demon to punish him in hell.” (S.T., I, 113, 4, resp.) More boldly still, “we are intended to be their companions” and “Man has been made for the Angels”. The pagan philosophers of old hoped for nothing more than entry into the society of what may be identified as angelic spirits (immaterial intellectual substances) after death; and, given that man has an immortal soul, leaving aside any supernatural elevation by grace, and the question of salvation or damnation, upon separation from the body every soul enters into the spirit-world, though, being unequal to comprehending what is higher than itself, it only has a vague and generalized understanding of this realm, in which the higher spirits pour knowledge down into the disembodied soul.

Given this high calling to participate in the spirit-world, lower only than that of partaking of the divine nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:4), it is but natural that angels and, alas, demons should pay attention to human kind: “the human soul is worthy of the attention of a spirit” not so much for what it is as for what it shall be. But because God’s Providence directs his loyal angels who delight in fulfilling his plan, by being creaturely agents of his, there is a divine reason also for their interest in us, particularly as the fallen angels oppose this salvific will – hence even Adam in Paradise needed an angel, since he was threatened (all too potently) by demons even there (S.T., I, 113, 4 ad 2). Angels ever guard men, from birth onwards at least (so Aquinas - S.T., I, 113, 5 ad 3) – Anselm thought that they guard each individual soul from the moment of ensoulment, and this seems more reasonable to this writer, given the inestimable dignity of the soul.

The office proper to an angel guardian depends upon having knowledge of the human he guards, upon a determination of his will to help that man, and then upon performing helpful actions, which constitutes angelic presence (angels not being localized except insofar as they choose to act in a given place). Angels cannot touch the will nor the intellect directly, but only through the senses, which they can stimulate. Given this restriction, there is much they can accomplish: they keep dangers away and bring about happy circumstances, with superhuman forethought and care, by reason of their power to affect all merely material objects by a simple act of will. Regarding the human person, by stimulating the senses they can illumine the intellect, giving it new and fruitful ideas, and likewise inspire the will to tend toward some good, thereby eschewing evil. Angels also assist by altering for the better the lower appetites of human beings, lest the stormy passions sweep men away. No one, not even Antichrist, is or will be bereft of a guardian angel, who at least prevents the sinner sinning worse; this shows how necessary such spirit tutelage is. This is in accord with Aquinas (S.T., I, 113, 4 ad 3), who noted that they never completely forsake their charges, but may, due to the divine decrees, permit them to suffer tribulations (S.T., I, 113, 6, resp.).

Abbot Vonier concludes his disquisition by asserting that:

All this goes to show that we are here face to face with a great moral law of creation, admitting of no exception, universal, unending in its applications and its resourcefulness. It is not the effect of a special providence, a providence of privilege; for whatever was special providence, was lost through the fall. It may therefore be safely asserted that man is simply incapable of attaining his spiritual end without the cooperation of his guardian Angel; that co-operation is as absolute a necessity, as are the physical laws that maintain his bodily life.

As the Common Doctor asserts, Providence ordains that changeable and variable things are directed by the unchangeable and invariable; so too, as human knowledge and feeling can deviate from the good, angels are deputed to guard men (S.T., I, 113, 1, resp.). By reason of the passions, and the lack of prudence to apply the inborn principles of the natural law, people fall in many ways, and so need angelic aid (S.T., I, 113, 7,ad 1). It may be wondered why then some men are lost, if they have angels to help them; Thomas replies that the hidden promptings of angels can be resisted, which is imputable to the wickedness of men, not to any negligence on the part of the angels(S.T., I, 113, 7, ad 3).

The Roman Liturgy as Locus Theologicus

The sure guide in matters of angelic veneration is the prayer of the Church, the lex orandi. For popular use, the Church commends such prayers for daily use as the ever-popular Angele Dei, and also two collects from the liturgical books – the Exaudi nos, and the Visita quæsumus, the latter from Compline:

Exaudi nos, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: et mittere digneris sanctum Angelum tuum de cælis, qui custodiat, foveat, protegat, visitet atque defendat omnes habitantes in hoc habitaculo. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

(Hear us, holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God: and deign to send your holy Angel from heaven, that he may guard, foster, protect, visit, and defend all who dwell in this house. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Visita, quæsumus, Domine, habitationem istam, et omnes insidias inimici ab ea longe repelle, angeli tui sancti habitent in ea, qui nos in pace custodiant; et benedictio tua sit super nos semper. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Visit this house, we pray you, Lord: drive far away from it all the snares of the enemy. May your holy angels stay here and guard us in peace, and let your blessing be always upon us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Angele Dei, qui custos es mei, me tibi commissum pietate superna [hodie / hac nocte] illumina, custodi, rege, et guberna. Amen.

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom his love commits me here;
Ever this day (or night) be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

To this and other approved prayers in honour of one’s angel guard the Church attaches a partial indulgence. The collects beseeching God to send angels to guard and defend all in the home bespeak the urgent need of their help, and this the Church teaches the faithful through her prayers. Another such quasi-liturgical petition, stark and emphatic, is the short invocation Sancti Angeli custodes nostri, defendite nos in prœlio, ut non pereamus in tremendo judicio (Holy Angels, our guardians, defend us in battle, that we may not perish at the tremendous judgement).

The liturgy of the Church is rich in doctrine relating to the Guardian Angels, for she celebrates a memoria in their honour each passing year, on the 2nd of October. This festal day was extended to the universal Church in 1670, prior to which date all the angels were venerated together with St Michael Archangel on his feast day of the 29th of September; he has been venerated since Old Testament times, with commemorations allotted him in Eastern and Western calendars since the 4th and 5th centuries. Through the Mass and Office of the Guardian Angels, Sancta Mater Ecclesia inculcates in her faithful children two sentiments: awareness of the signal aid received by mortal men from the watchful care of these angels, and consequent increase of love and devotion toward them.

The Roman Martyrology gives the following eulogy for the Guardian Angels in the appointed reading for the 2nd of October (which is read, as per usual, on the preceding day, to as it were alert the faithful to the coming celebration):

Memoria sanctorum Angelorum Custodum, qui, primum ad contemplandam in splendore faciem Dei vocati, a Domino etiam apud homines commissi sunt, ut iis invisibili sua, sed sollicita, præsentia adessent ac consulerent.

(Memoria of the holy Guardian Angels, who in the first place are called to contemplate the face of God in splendour, but who are also commissioned by the Lord to be with men, that by their invisible yet watchful presence they may visit and have regard for them.)

Their worship of God and care for men are the twin emphases for their commemoration.

As part of the Liturgy of the Hours for this celebration, the Church proposes a passage from the 12th sermon of St Bernard of Clairvaux on Psalm 90(91) Qui habitat, wherein verse 11 is considered at some length; this is the same psalm chosen for use as the responsorial psalm at Mass on this memoria, and this very verse is used as the response therefor, so that this reading can be considered as a commentary on part of the day’s lectionary. In this extract, the Mellifluous Doctor adduces cogent arguments for venerating angels who so help mortal men. He writes,

‘He has given his angels charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.’ [Ps 90(91):11] …that no being in heaven may rest from the work of caring for us, you [the Lord] send those blessed spirits to minister to us, you assign them to watch over us, you bid them be our guardians. …

They are present, and present to you, not merely accompanying you but watching over you. They are present in order to protect you, in order to help you. …

Though we are children and the road that lies ahead of us is so long, and not only long but dangerous, what have we to fear with such guardians? They cannot be vanquished, nor led astray, still less can they lead us astray, these beings who guard us in all our ways. They are faithful, they are wise, they are powerful; what have we to fear? Let us but follow them and cling to them, and we shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. [Cf. Ps 90(91):1]

St Bernard emphasises not merely the mission given the angels by the Lord, but the need that humans have of their guidance and protection. He alludes to Hebrews 1:14 – “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” (which is likewise chosen by the Church for the Benedictus antiphon at Lauds for this memoria) – and insists that these angels are present, are on the watch for dangers, from which they guard their charges, and help them, leading whoso will follow their promptings to safety through the manifold perils of this mortal life.

The Office reiterates these themes, by (for example) using Exodus 23:20-21 as the short reading at Lauds, which is part of the longer passage appointed for use at Mass on this day. This passage, which in its literal meaning describes the Angel of the Lord as the guard and guide appointed for Israel in the desert wilderness, is interpreted by accommodation as referring to the guardian angel of each person. This angel is sent by God to guard each person on their journey through life, and why? – “to bring you to the place which I have prepared”, that is, heaven. The mission appointed to the angel must therefore be considered as most important, since it is one of the secondary causes under God of the achievement of salvation. The faithful are exhorted to heed and hearken to this angel; that is, to respond to all angelic illuminations and inspirations, to all the thoughts suggested by their respective angelic guards, to will and act in the manner likewise suggested to them.

In the Latin original, the memoria of the Guardian Angels is enriched with two hymns by St Robert Bellarmine, sung at Lauds and Vespers. These contain a number of striking passages; in both, the thought is that God sends his angels to guard against the attacks of demons, who seek to lead the faithful astray into sin. Two stanzas (first and third) of the Vesper-hymn, with a translation attributed to Neale, follow:

Custodes hominum psallimus Angelos,
naturæ fragili quos Pater addidit
cælestis comites, insidiantibus
ne succumberet hostibus.
…
Huc, custos, igitur pervigil advola,
avertens patria de tibi credita
tam morbos animi, quam requiescere
quidquid non sinit incolas.

The Guardians of our race, our Angel Guides we hail;
our Father sendeth forth to aid our nature frail
these heavenly friends, lest we should suffer overthrow
through cunning of our subtle foe.
…
Then, watchful Guardian, spread thy wings and cleave the air,
haste hither to our home committed to thy care;
drive thence each noxious ill that might the soul infest,
nor suffer danger here to rest.

Only with the aid of these angelic guardians vouchsafed mortals by the Lord can people hope to do battle against the forces of evil; for, as the Apostle warns, “we are not contending against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual hosts of wickedness” (Eph 6:12). It is therefore most fitting that God should give us the help of unfallen, graced, immortal spirits, more than able to rout their eternally damned unhappy counterparts. God always provides a more than adequate way of escape when temptation comes (cf. 1 Cor 10:13), and it is pleasing to God to work through secondary causes at all levels: against evil spirits who seek to harm human beings, he interposes good spirits to protect them.

The Collect in honour of the Guardian Angels is as follows:

Lord God of hosts,
in your all-wise providence
you send angels to guard and protect us.
Surround us with their watchful care on earth,
and give us the joy of their company for ever in heaven.

Deus, qui ineffabili providentia sanctos angelos tuos ad nostram custodiam mittere dignaris, largire supplicibus tuis, et eorum semper protectione defendi, et æterna societate gaudere.

(God, who by [your] ineffable providence deign to send your holy angels to our guard, give to your supplicants, both to be ever defended by their protection, and to rejoice in [their] eternal company.)

The providential dimension of the mission of the Guardian Angels is herein emphasised. God, who disposes all things in accordance with his all-wise plan, chooses to send angels to assist human beings; and God does nothing frivolously, nor without good reason. These angels both defend men here and now, and, with those who come to be saved, will rejoice evermore.

Likewise, the prayer after communion at Mass of the Guardian Angels includes the God-addressed petition for the communicants angelico ministerio dirige in viam salutis et pacis (direct [them] into the way of salvation and peace by angelic ministry), while in the prayer over the oblations the priest prays:

Suscipe, Domine, munera,
quæ pro sanctorum Angelorum tuorum
veneratione deferimus,
et concede propitius,
ut, perpetuis eorum præsidiis,
a præsentibus periculis liberemur,
et ad vitam feliciter perveniamus æternam.

(Receive, Lord, the gifts that we bring in veneration of your holy Angels, and favourably grant, that by their [eorum, i.e., the Angels’] perpetual protection, we may be delivered from present perils, and happily come to eternal life).

The Mass of the feast of the three archangels (on the 29th of September) similarly concludes with a petition in the prayer after communion that sub Angelorum tuorum fideli custodia, fortes, salutis progrediamur in via (under the faithful guardianship of your Angels, we bravely may advance along the way of salvation). Thus, even when offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice or giving thanks for the benefits of Holy Communion, the Church does not desist from imploring such secondary helps to salvation as those provided by the Guardian Angels. God ever prefers to work through secondary causes, and therefore the marvellous fruits of the Mass – deliverance from dangers, entry into eternal life – are, in the case of the memoria of the Guardian Angels, explicitly impetrated to be granted as effects of the ministry of angels.

The collect of the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels, similarly underscores the importance of the mission of “all ministering spirits sent forth to serve” (Heb 1:14):

Lord God of hosts,
in your all-wise plan
you assign to angels and to men
the services they have to render you.
Grant that the angels who adore you in heaven,
may protect us here on earth.

Deus, qui miro ordine angelorum ministeria hominumque dispensas, concede propitius, ut, a quibus tibi ministrantibus in cælo semper assistitur, ab his in terra vita muniatur.

(God, who in marvellous order dispose the ministry of angels and men, favourably grant, that by those always present ministering unto you in heaven, by these [our] life may be guarded on earth.)

The Church prays that God work out his plan of salvation precisely by providentially sending the angels, who worship and serve him in heaven, to guard and defend all people on earth. The need for angelic assistance is made explicit by referring to the miro ordine whereby the service of angels and of men is co-ordinated.

A most direct example of the dulia paid to angels occurs in the prayer over the offerings from the Mass of the Guardian Angels quoted above: the Church openly states that she brings her oblations of bread and wine in veneration of these holy spirits (munera, quæ pro sanctorum Angelorum tuorum veneratione deferimus). The veneration due these ministering angels is also expressed in the Divine Office of the Roman Liturgy, in the words again of St Bernard:

‘He has given his angels charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.’ [Ps 90(91):11] What reverence this saying should instil in you, what devotion it should stir up, what trust it should inspire. Reverence for their presence, devotion on account of their loving care, trust in their protection. …we should not be ungrateful to them, for they obey with such love and help us in such great need.

Let us then be devoted and grateful to such guardians; let us return their love and honour them as much as we can and ought. But let all our love and honour be referred to him from whom alone both we and they derive whatever enables us to show love and honour, or become worthy of love and honour ourselves.

In him therefore, brethren, let us love his angels with sincere affection: they will be our co-heirs at some future time and in this present time are the guardians and trustees placed in charge of us by the Father. [Cf. Gal 4:2.]

Reverence, devotion, gratefulness, love, honour: these are the sentiments of veneration that St Bernard, and seconding him the Church who quotes him, considers that all should have toward their angel guardians. Their holy presence ought engender reverence; their tireless watch over men, reciprocal devotion; their freely-accepted mission to us, grateful thanks, love and appropriate honour. This dulia is due the angels, not – as the saintly monk of Clairvaux carefully distinguishes – that latria or adoration that is due solely to God, to whom all love and honour must be ultimately referred. As St Paul writes, no one can rightly insist upon worship of angels (cf. Col 2:18), and the angels themselves are anxious to dissuade their misguided would-be worshippers, though one such be even a seer, apostle and evangelist (cf. Rev 22:8-9).

The recent Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy reiterates Magisterial teaching about the angels, and characterizes proper devotion to them as fruitful of thanksgiving to God for sending such powerful guardians, devotion to these angels arising from knowledge of their invisible presence, and confidence in difficulties born of trust in their divinely-appointed ministrations. However, it warns against deviant forms of devotion, which would see man as a helpless pawn in a dualistic cosmological struggle between good and ill, or which would childishly attribute every banal event, good or bad, to either an angelic intervention or a demonic attack. Neither attitude becomes mature, faithful Christians.

Conclusion

An examination of Scripture and Tradition, especially in Magisterial teaching and the Scholastic writings of Aquinas as mediated by Vonier points out the absolute necessity, under God, for the angel guardianship he is pleased to allot to man. The Roman Liturgy likewise testifies to this, and exhorts the faithful to have the appropriate devotion to the Guardian Angels that is consequent upon such knowledge.

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