Angels and Demons

Many Catholics and Christians today are confused about the true nature of angels and demons. Too often, our understanding of these spiritual beings comes from modern movies and TV shows as opposed to Scripture and Tradition. There is a great depth and beauty to the Church’s teaching on angels and we would do well to open our minds and hearts (and imaginations) to what the Church says, not the world, about these ancient, powerful, and very real creatures of God.

Who are the Angels?

The word ‘Angel’ means messenger. St. Augustine says, “’Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit,’ from what they do, ‘angel’” (CCC 329). The angels act as messengers, but they are spiritual beings created by God.

This is extremely important to note, for far too many people mistakenly believe that humans become angels when they die and go to Heaven. This is incorrect. Humans do not become angels. Angels and humans are two different beings. Human beings have both a body and soul, we are both material and spiritual (CCC 364). Angels do not have a body; they are pure spirit (CCC 330). We are human beings; they are spiritual beings. We have bodies; they do not.

This is why it is incorrect to believe that people become angels when they die or to say that Heaven has another angel at the death of a loved one. Heaven receives something much greater at the death of the faithful, Heaven receives a saint.

Going back to Augustine, we see that angels are spiritual beings created by God with the office, or job, of being messengers, intermediaries between God and man. In addition to serving as God’s messengers, the angels also serve as protectors (Ps 91:11), they serve as intercessors (Tb 12:12; Rv 8:4), and most importantly the angels exist to worship and exalt God (Heb 1:6). The angels exist to glorify God, to implement His holy will. And since it is the Lord’s will that all are “saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), the angels play a role in our lives. As the book of Hebrews puts it, angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation” (Heb 1:14).

Guardian Angels

St. Jerome wrote that the human soul is so valuable to God, that the Lord gives every member of the human race an angel to guard and watch over them, from the moment they begin to exist. As St. Basil said, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” (CCC 336). This teaching comes from Jesus Christ in the gospels. We read in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10).

In the eyes of God, you are so important, so loved, so cherished and so desired that our heavenly Father has set aside one of His angels from the beginning of time to wait for you, and from the moment of your conception, to watch over you, guard you, and intercede on your behalf.

Our guardian angels behold the face of God in Heaven and can bring Him our prayer requests. The Book of Revelation gives the following image: “The prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel” (Rv 8:4). There is great power in asking our guardian angels to pray for us and bring our prayers to the Lord. We should also ask them to guide and protect us using this traditional prayer:

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

To whom God’s love commits me here,

Ever this day, be at my side,

To light and guard,

Rule and guide.

Amen.

Our guardian angels are not, however, the only angels that God created. The guardian angels make up just a portion of the great multitude that God created at the beginning of creation.

The Nine Choirs

The Church holds in her tradition the ordering of the angels in a hierarchy of nine choirs. In ascending order the nine choirs are: The Angels, the Archangels, the Principalities, the Powers, the Virtues, the Dominions, the Thrones, the Cherubim, and the Seraphim (cf. Eph 1:21, Col 1:16; Aquinas ST I.108).  Each of these choirs of angels are given specific roles and tasks.

In his book, Angels and Demons, Catholic philosopher, Dr. Peter Kreeft, explains the traditional roles of the different choirs of angels. The following descriptions of the choirs and their roles will draw heavily from his book.

Kreeft explains, “The first three levels see and adore God directly.” The Seraphim (meaning “the burning ones”) contemplate God with the utmost clarity and are the closest to God and so are aflame with His love (cf. Heb 12:29). The Cherubim (meaning “fullness of wisdom”) contemplate God and His plan for the world. The Thrones contemplate God’s power and authority.

“The next three choirs fulfill God’s providential plans for the universe,” says Kreeft. The Dominions command the angels below them. The Virtues, following the directions of the Dominions, guide the universe as a whole. The Powers, following the guidelines of the Virtues, fight against evil influences that oppose God’s plan for the universe.

Finally, “the last three choirs directly order human affairs.” The Principalities care for earthly kingdoms and nations. The Archangels (three are named in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael) carry important messages to humans. The final choir, the Angels, are the guardian angels – one for each human person.

It is important to note that the ordering of the angels into nine choirs and the distinguishing of their roles and tasks in contemplating God, ordering the universe, and guiding humans, is not strict Catholic dogma, rather, it is part of the Church’s tradition, especially coming from St. Thomas Aquinas (known as the Angelic Doctor).

One of the beauties of this hierarchy is seeing how great a multitude of angels there are. If there is a single angel for every human being that has ever, and will ever, walk this planet, and that number only makes up the first of nine choirs of angels – imagine how many more there are! St. John gives a beautiful image in the Book of Revelation: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” (Rv 5:11).

We are surrounded by innumerable angels, by these spiritual beings God created at the beginning of creation, and their goal is to help guide us to join them in worshipping and glorifying the Lord for all eternity. But, Scripture and Tradition are clear, not all angels are good or serve the Lord. Not all the angels want to aid us.

The Fallen Angels

All angels were created good by God – for everything created by God is good. Some, however, chose to reject God, chose not to serve Him; we call the angels who rejected God the fallen angels or demons.

When God created the angels, (Augustine says on the first day of creation) they were all created good and were created to spend eternity in infinite joy, glorifying God, but like human beings, they were created free. The angels were given a choice. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, there was initial disobedience in which some of the angels chose to reject God, to spend eternity without Him.

Traditionally, this rejection took place when Satan and all the demons said: “Non serviam,” Latin for, “I will not serve.” Through the sin of pride, Satan and his fallen angels refused to serve God, refused to honor and glorify Him. The poet John Milton imagined Satan proudly and indignantly exclaiming: “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”

The fall of Satan and his demons is depicted in the Book of Revelation:

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Rev 12:7-9).

Some might wonder if there is any chance for angels to repent. The author Mark Twain went as far as saying that it is the great fault of Christians that they never prayed for Satan. Twain wrote, “But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?”

However, there is no point in praying for Satan and the demons. Unlike the choice of humans, the choice of the angels was irreversible. The Catechism explains, “It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels’ sin unforgivable. ‘There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death’” (CCC 393).

The Spiritual Battle

Finally, just as it is important to note the influence of the angels in our lives, it is equally important to recognize the influence of the fallen angels in our lives. This is why the Church supplies us with prayers to our guardian angel and the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel – see Revelation 12, he has experience beating the Devil.

The Lord’s angels seek to draw us closer to God, the demons seek to snatch us away. There is a very real spiritual battle going on around us. If you watch too many horror movies or TV shows you might be tricked into thinking the demons stand a chance. While it is wrong to doubt the existence of the Devil and unwise to underestimate his temptations and tricks, we do not want to give him too much credit. The Lord has already defeated sin and death, the Devil has no power over us. Jesus Christ and His angels are victorious.

All that remains is that we share in His victory, both now and for eternity. Then, we will join all the angels and all the saints in praising God: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory!