Each day during the week of October 8 through 12, you'll find a new question and answer. Check back every weekday for the new question and scroll down to see previous day's entries! Let us know what you think--or question!--by emailing us at tcanswer@osv.com

Question of the Day for Friday, October 12, 2007

What Is a Guardian Angel?

This week so far we’ve answered a general question about archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. Today we’ll focus on the guardian angels.

It’s a part of our Catholic faith that angels exist and have a general role as our appointed guardians. But the doctrine that each individual human being has his own individual guardian angel has never been formally defined by the Church.

Even so, the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites approvingly St. Basil’s statement that this is true (see below). The famed Spanish Jesuit theologian Francisco Suarez (1548–1617) put it this way: “Although not expressly contained in Holy Scripture, nor yet formally defined, [this doctrine] is received by universal consent in the Church and has such a solid foundation in Scripture, as interpreted by the Fathers, that it cannot be denied without temerity and even error” (De Angelis, 6:17).

Throughout Scripture we find passages hinting or implying that individual souls have angels who guard and protect them. “God commands the angels,” the psalmist says, “to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11, quoted by Jesus). “The angel of the Lord, who encamps with them, delivers all who fear God” (Psalm 34:8). Abraham sent out his steward to seek a wife for his son Isaac with the promise, “He will send His angel before you” (Genesis 24:7).

    Jesus’ words echo these passages: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Matthew 18:10).

These biblical texts and others (for example, 1 Kings 19:5; Acts 12:7–11) don’t spell out the doctrine that every individual has a guardian angel. But as Suarez noted, Christians since early times have drawn that conclusion from these passages.

Origin (d. c. 254) taught: “Each of us, even the lowliest, has an angel by his side.” St. John Chrysostom (347–407) insisted: “Each faithful Christian has an angel.” St. Jerome (c. 342–420) declared: “The dignity of a soul is so great that each one has a guardian angel from its birth.” St. Ambrose (c. 340–97) counseled: “We should pray to the angels who are given to us as guardians.”

I’ve taken to heart St. Ambrose’s advice ever since I entered the Catholic Church fourteen years ago, praying to my guardian angel every morning. And I’ve taught my children to do the same. If you’re not familiar with the traditional prayer to your guardian angel, check it out here.

Also, here’s a prayer to your guardian angel asking his assistance as you spend a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Click here to view prayer.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church sums up the matter this way: “From infancy to death human life is surrounded by [the angels’] watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life’” (par. 336).

Question of the Day for Thursday, October 11, 2007

Who Is St. Raphael?

This week so far we’ve answered a general question about archangels, St. Michael and St. Gabriel. Today we’ll look more closely at a third archangel, St. Raphael.

Raphael means literally “God has healed.” In Scripture he appears by name only in the Book of Tobit, where he speaks of himself as “one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord” (Tobit 12:15; see also Revelation 8:2). His activities as described in that book (see chapters 5 through 12) include healing, interceding, testing hearts and battling demons.

The “angel of the Lord” mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of John 5:3 had a role in healing the sick. For that reason, many scriptural commentators have speculated that he was in fact St. Raphael.

Here’s a prayer to St. Raphael asking his assistance as you spend a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Click here to view prayer.

Question of the Day for Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Who Is St. Gabriel?

This week so far we’ve answered a general question about archangels and St. Michael in particular. Today we’ll look more closely at a second archangel, St. Gabriel.

    Gabriel means in Hebrew “man of God” or “might of God.” Several of his appearances are noted in Scripture. In Daniel chapters 8 and 9, he explains the meaning of the prophet’s visions. In Daniel 10, he is presumably the angel who tells Daniel how St. Michael came to his aid in answering the prophet’s prayer.

Gabriel is best known to Christians, of course, through his role in events surrounding the birth of Our Lord. According to St. Luke he foretold to Zachariah the birth of St. John the Baptist. Then he announced to Our Lady the Incarnation of the Son of God in her womb (see Luke 1:5–20, 26–38).

Gabriel is never identified by name in the Gospel of Matthew. But because of his role in the Annunciation, many Christians have assumed that he was also the angel who, according to that Gospel, appeared to St. Joseph in a dream (see Matthew 1:20–24).

In both Old and New Testaments, then, Gabriel seems to have a role as God’s special herald or messenger — which is, in fact, what the Greek word angelos literally means.  

Here’s a prayer to St. Gabriel asking his assistance as you spend a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Click here to view prayer.

Question of the Day for Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Who Is St. Michael?

Yesterday we answered a general question about archangels. Today we’ll look more closely at one of the archangels described in Scripture, St. Michael.

The name “Michael” means in Hebrew “Who is like God?” The Book of Jude identifies St. Michael specifically as an archangel — that is, a “first” or “principal” angel (Jude 9), where he is engaged in a dispute with the devil. Other biblical references conform that he is “one of the chief princes” of the angels, the “guardian” of God’s people who does spiritual battle on their behalf, especially in the days leading up to the end of the world (see Daniel 10:12–13, 20–21; 12:1–3). He is also depicted in the Book of Revelation as battling, with his angel troops, against Satan and his fallen angelic allies, finally casting them out of heaven (12:7–9).

Some of the Church fathers speculated that Michael might have been the angel God set at the gates of Eden to guard the tree of life (Genesis 3:24); the angel through whom God delivered the Ten Commandments (Exodus 23:20–23; Acts 7:53); the angel who stood in the way of Balaam (Numbers 22:22–35; and the angel who routed the army of Sennacharib (2 Kings 19:35).

In light of these biblical texts, Catholic tradition has spoken of four offices of Michael: to fight against Satan; to rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death; to be the champion of God’s people; and to bring souls to judgment.

Opinions have varied about where exactly St. Michael ranks among the angels. St. Basil and other Church fathers, as well as St. Robert Bellarmine, believed that he is prince over all the angels. Others concluded that he is prince of the seraphim (the first of the nine angelic orders). St. Thomas was convinced that he is prince of the lowest celestial order, the angels.

Whatever the exact nature of his rank and function, St. Michael is a magnificent protector, worthy of our honor and gratitude. Given the present state of the Church and the world, he is no doubt extremely busy these days! I recognize my personal need for his assistance, so I pray the traditional St. Michael Prayer every morning (click here) and then thank him for his labors on our behalf.

You might also consider using this prayer to St. Michael asking his assistance as you spend a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Click here to view prayer.

Question of the Day for Monday, October 8, 2007

What Is an Archangel?

Q. In the last couple of weeks we’ve celebrated the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (Sept. 25), and also the guardian angels (Oct. 2). What exactly is an archangel? What do we know about each of these three? And what are guardian angels?

    A.M., Emmitsburg, MD

A. Let’s take these questions one at a time this week. Today, we’ll talk about archangels.

The term archangel occurs in Scripture twice: In Jude 9 (“the archangel Michael”) and 1 Thessalonians 4:15 (“the voice of an archangel”). The prefix “arch-” means “first” or “principal.”

Ancient Christian tradition, drawing in part from even earlier Jewish tradition, holds that the angels form a hierarchy — that is, they are organized in higher and lower ranks, with each rank having distinctive functions. Various descriptive terms are used for angels in Scripture, so Christian writers have attempted since the early centuries of the Church to discern the hierarchical arrangement implied by these terms.

The Old Testament refers to angelic beings called in Hebrew cherubim (singular, cherub) and seraphim (singular, seraph). God stationed cherubim to guard the Garden of Eden after the fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:24). They are described at length in the prophetic visions of Ezekiel (according to the intriguing form in which they appeared to him; see chapters 1 and 10).

God commanded the ancient Israelites to make images of the cherubim to adorn the Ark of the Covenant (see Exodus chapters 25, 26, 36, 37) and later the temple (see, for example, 1 Kings chapters 6 through 8). The Psalmist speaks of God as “riding” the cherubim and being “enthroned” upon the cherubim (see Psalms 18:11; 80:2; 99:1).

The seraphim are mentioned only in the Book of Isaiah (chapter 6). In the prophet’s vision, they surround God’s heavenly throne and take a form with faces, feet and six wings.

In the New Testament, St. Paul seems to speak of angelic ranks (Ephesians 1:21) when he says that Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand far above “every principality, power, virtue and dominion” (using the older English terms). Again, in Colossians 1:16 among the things “invisible” he names “thrones or dominations, or principalities or powers.”

Finally, we have biblical references to seven angels whose special function it is to “stand before God’s throne” (see Tobit 12:15; Revelation chapters 8 through 11). Raphael identifies himself as one of these seven, and Gabriel appears to do so as well (see Luke 1:19). Tradition counts Michael among these as well, and the ancient Book of Enoch (which is not a part of Scripture) claims to identify the other four as Uriel, Raguel Sariel and Jeramial.

The ancient author now known as Pseudo-Dionysius wrote extensively about the heavenly ranks or “choirs,” as they came to be called. Later, St. Gregory the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote about them. St. Thomas concluded that there are nine orders of angels, arranged within three hierarchies, distinguished by their proximity to the throne of God.

In the first hierarchy (closest to God) Thomas places the seraphim, cherubim and thrones. In the second, he envisions (again, using the more traditional English terms) dominations, virtues and powers. In the third are principalities, archangels and angels. Thus he taught that the archangels are the next-to-the-lowest rank, just above the angels.

Keep in mind that though the existence of angels is binding on our faith, the existence of the nine orders of angels and their ranks is not. In addition, great Christian teachers have disagreed about where an archangel such as Michael might actually rank within this arrangement.

Perhaps the best way to understand what might distinguish archangels is to examine what we know about particular ones. So tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at St. Michael.