The Holy Scriptures are so full of angels that we should not be surprised if our Bibles suddenly sprout feathery wings and flutter into the air. And at this time of year, the Church’s liturgical calendar is replete with angelic feasts. To the annoyance and inconvenience of the Oratory Parish Magazine’s poor editor, this letter is being written on the feast of St Michael the Archangel, days after the deadline designed to ensure the arrival of the printed editions in time for the beginning of October. On 2nd October we celebrate the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. The 24th of the month is the feast of the Archangel St Raphael, who according to the Book of Tobit guided young Tobias by the hand on his perilous journey into Persia, along with Tobias’ dog. This inspired Fr Faber to make St Raphael the patron of the London Oratory’s noviciate, so that he might accompany the novices through their three-year journey towards becoming full-fledged Oratorians. For complicated logistical reasons the Archangel was later replaced in this role by St Wilfrid, but at least St Raphael remains patron of the fund which pays for the training of our candidates for the Sacrament of Holy Order.
We know of the existence of angels with certainty through Divine Revelation. Even without the Gospel, however, we might have guessed at their presence. In Creation we observe a clear hierarchy of being. At the base of the pyramid is inanimate nature, from which we progress to plant and then animal life, eventually reaching the pinnacle of the physical universe where we find man, who combines within himself both the material and the spiritual. It would seem to make sense that the immense gulf between man and God, Who is pure spirit and infinite, should be occupied by created finite spirits ordered within their own divinely appointed hierarchy. And so we find references to angels even in the false religions, and especially today in New Age superstition.
Those of us who have been blessed with the benefit of true religion know that we must be discriminating in our dealings with the angelic realm, divided as it is between the Holy Angels who worship at the Throne of Grace and those rebels who fell with Lucifer in revolt against the Creator. Any gift must be freely given and freely received and so, like us, the angels needed an opportunity to accept or decline Sanctifying Grace and freely to embrace the ultimate gift of Glory in Heaven which, once received, can never be forfeited. Lucifer & co seem to have become indignant at the prospect of God mixing messy matter with glorious spirit in the creation of man, and to have taken an even dimmer view of the Incarnation, in which the Divine Nature itself would be “contaminated” (in the devil’s opinion) by union with human flesh. Realising that he would be required to bow before and adore the Incarnate Word, Lucifer cried “I will not serve”, and that howl of “Non serviam” has reverberated from the deepest caverns of hell ever since.
We thank God, then, that St Michael, who cast Satan and the rebellious angels out of Heaven before the creation of this world, has also been given the power to imprison the demons in hell for eternity at the Final Judgement when Our Lord returns in glory. Meanwhile, we occupy a battlefield in which the enemies with which we must contend consist not only of the temptations and trials presented by this fallen world around us and the vagaries of our own human nature wounded by Original Sin, but also of principalities and powers made up of spiritual beings that regard us with profoundly malicious loathing. The outcome of this war, however, has already been secured. We must just make sure that we are allied to the side to which victory in the final conflict is assured.
The Holy Angels are a great example to us of humility. They are closer to God than us and considerably higher in the hierarchy of nature, and yet in perfect obedience to God’s will they exercise themselves in the service of our well-being. Thus we find St Raphael guiding Tobias, St Gabriel visiting the Blessed Virgin to announce God’s plan for our redemption, and St Michael flying to our assistance whenever we invoke his protection. Thus we are each accompanied throughout this life by a holy Guardian Angel, whose company and friendship we do well to cultivate. The fallen angels have no direct access to the hidden secrets of our hearts. Confident that our Guardian Angels know what is good for us better than we do ourselves, we can grant to them a distinct advantage over our spiritual foes by inviting them to read our hearts.
In our October Devotions, the Litany of Loreto also reminds us of the extraordinary privilege that has been given to one human creature, when we invoke the Mother of God under Her beautiful title “Queen of Angels”. May we imitate the Holy Angels in their humility, and invoke their aid and protection in all the circumstances of our lives. And may the intercession of Our Lady gain for us a place with them at the Throne of Grace in eternity.
Father Julian Large