GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) - When we contemplate the nearly endless gifts of grace and love our God has given us, we are left awe struck. Just a short time ago, each one of us did not exist. Now we live; not simply for a time, but for ever as the result of God's free gift of an immortal soul and the promised resurrection of our bodies.

Just a short time ago, we were lost. Now we have been found; for our Lord Jesus Christ stretched out his arms upon the cruel Roman cross, allowed himself to be brutally nailed to that unyielding wood, fixed there until death, and thus laid a new horizon of salvation before us: A road of Love stretching from here into eternity.

In the Mass and the Eucharist, in our parishes and families and homes we are surrounded by God's gift of himself and his love. From the farthest reaches of the cosmos to the depths of the sea, all of material creation has been given to man. We should think that enough. It is not enough for God. In our Lord's infinite love, compassion and tenderness, he sends us each our very own guardian angel, an invisible, spiritual creature who, magnificent and powerful, carefully guides us as we travel along in the midst of what is often a dangerous world.

"The Lord will send his angel to accompany you and to guide you safely on your way." -- Memorial of the Guardian Angels, Morning Prayer antiphon.

Angels: The Good And The Bad

We have not to look long nor far to find out something about angels. The question is, is that something accurate or inaccurate? Is it true, or, on the other hand, is it downright false? Whether it be a glance into the darker recesses of the Internet or a trip to the local bookstore -- whose shelves are often laden with dozens of pounds of printed material concerning the angels -- both will yield a bewildering array of conflicting information.

This problem of discord is due to many factors, which we will not go into here. However, it is important to remember that our knowledge of the angels is not a matter of natural revelation (what can be known by human reason), but rather is a matter of supernatural revelation; that is, God himself has revealed what we know of the angels' existence, who and what they are.

So, the question arises, how do we access what God has revealed about these powerful spiritual beings, sorting out what is true from what is false? In order to do that, it is necessary to turn to the authoritative institution God willed should exist: The Catholic Church. It is through the Church that, founded by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, we receive the fullness of truth that is faithfully transmitted to the nations.

It is necessary to here mention that some will think it trivial to speak of the need to turn to the Church's authority concerning the angels. It is not, however. For   in our contemporary society we find people who insist they have communicated with angels, and who, against the teaching of the Church, make wild claims about spiritual and eschatological realities.

For instance, it is not unusual to find people who insist that, according to the messages they received from angels, hell does not exist, as a final separation from the Love of the God who is Love. Such false claims are obviously due to an lack of awareness of the aspirations of the fallen angels, those diabolical spirits we know as demons, and their evil intent. The guardian angels, however, do not bring us messages opposed to God's revelation, for their intellect thrives on God's truth, and their will is fixed on love of that same Truth.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that Satan and the other "demons are fallen angels who have freely refused to serve God and his plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They try to associate man in their revolt against God" (CCC No. 414). St. Peter warns us: "Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

The point is, the devil and his cohorts intend not only to destroy our belief in God and his Church, but also pollute our understanding of God's revelation with every sort of error. Thus it is necessary to turn to the Church whose divine Founder is Jesus Christ in order to properly understand what God has revealed about the angels and, in fact, all of created reality.

Who Are The Angels?

The word "angel" comes from the Greek word angelos, which means "messenger." The chief source of Divine Revelation about the angels is Sacred Scripture, and in both the Old and New Testaments there are many references to these incorporeal beings. For instance, we find in Acts that angels opened prison doors for the apostles, delivered Peter from chains, and accompanied Paul during a storm at sea.

The Catechism ...