Angels E-Book

Trouvé Marianne Lorraine

• Herausgeber: anna ruggieri
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Scripture tells us of the angels, but what do we really know about these mysterious guardians and messengers of God? Pulling from what we know of them through the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, the author pens an approachable and intriguing exploration of the angels.
This book contains factual information, along with stories, devotions, and prayers.

Leseprobe

Angels

Angels

Help from on High

Written and compiled by Marianne Lorraine Trouvé, FSP

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Trouvé, Marianne Lorraine.

Angels : help from on high / written and compiled by Marianne Lorraine Trouvé.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 129).

ISBN Print: 978-0-8198-0790-8

ISBN eBook: 978-0-8198-0801-1

1. Angels--Christianity. 2. Catholic Church--Doctrines. 3. Catholic Church--Prayers and devotions. I. Title.

BT966.3.T76 2010

235’.3--dc22

2010018521

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Special thanks to Lynn Geyer of ColorBlindMusic Ministries, Mt. Vernon, NY, for permission to reprint her angel story.

Cover design by Rosana Usselmann

Cover art: Gaudenzi Ferrari (1475–1546). Detail of Panels from an Altar-piece: The Annunciation: The Angel Gabriel, before 1511. © National Gallery, London /Art Resource, NY.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

“P” and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Copyright © 2010, Daughters of St. Paul

Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Pauls Avenue, Boston, MA 02130-3491

www.pauline.org

Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

Contents

Introduction

The Story of the Angels

What the Bible Teaches Us About the Angels

The Testing of the Angels

The Angels Can Help Us

Jesus Christ and the Angels

Three Familiar Angels: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel

Why Three Angels?

Saint Michael: Our Protector and Helper on the Way to God

Saint Gabriel: The Messenger of the Gospel

Saint Raphael: The Angel of Healing

Guardian Angels

Our Life Coaches

The Angel of Peace

The Angel of Repentance

The Angel of Prayer

What Else Do We Know About the Angels?

Thinking About Angels

How many angels are there?

What are the choirs of angels?

Do angels have bodies?

Do angels know the future?

Can angels know our thoughts?

Do angels have free will?

Are angels loving by nature?

What was the sin of the angels?

Did a majority of the angels sin?

Mary and the Angels

Queen of Angels

The Joy the Angel Brings

The Angelus Prayer

The Angels and the Assumption

Walking with the Angels

Devotions and Prayers

The Angelus

The Guardian Angel Prayer

Prayer to the Guardian Angel for Guidance in Life

Prayer for One’s Family

Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Guardian Angel

Prayer for Our Nation in a Time of Great Need

Prayer to the Angel Who Came to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

The Guardian Angel

Prayers to Saint Michael

Novena to Saint Michael and the Angels

To Saint Michael, Protector of God’s People

Prayer in Time of Difficulty

Prayer for Perseverance

Prayer for the Church

Prayer for Police Officers

Prayer for a Holy Death

Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

Prayers in Honor of Saint Gabriel

Prayer for an Expectant Mother

Prayer for the Messengers of the Gospel

Prayer to Find Peace and Joy

Prayer in Honor of Saint Gabriel

Prayers to Saint Raphael

Novena to Saint Raphael

Prayer for Travelers

A Commuter’s Prayer

A Driver’s Prayer

Prayer Before Leaving for a Trip

Prayer for Healing

Prayer for the Choice of a Spouse

Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

Afterword

Additional Resources

Introduction

Angels have gotten some bad press. Artists often depict them as chubby babies with wings, flying lazily around clouds dotting a blue sky. But who would ever turn to such creatures for protection or help? Wouldn’t that be like asking a two-year-old to balance your checkbook or change a flat tire? We can’t see angels, and perhaps this is why artists often come up with the chubby babies. Consider instead this description of a mighty angel:

And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He held a little scroll open in his hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, he gave a great shout, like a lion roaring. And when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded. (Rev 10:1–3)

Now that’s an angel to reckon with! The imagery in the Book of Revelation is not meant to be taken literally. But it does help us realize that angels are mighty beings. Anyone who can snap the seven thunders to attention gets our respect. And God has given the angels to us as our helpers, protectors, and friends. They’re on our side. They’ll help us in all the difficulties that may creep into our lives. Their main job is to help us spiritually, but they also help us in all of life’s problems. When the heat of temptation starts to burn, the angels come to our aid. When our relationships spin out of control like a jackknifed eighteen-wheeler, the angels come to our aid. When we have to mark another week of unemployment on the calendar, the angels come to our aid. No matter what upheavals we face, we can count on the angels.

But who are the angels? We can’t see or hear them, because they don’t have bodies like we do. They are neither male nor female. As completely spiritual beings, they are shrouded in mystery. But our faith lifts the veil and lets us peek in, at least a little.

The official Church teaching about the angels is actually quite limited. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, apart from incidental references and summarizing articles, the major teachings about the angels are found in only fifteen out of a total of 2,865 articles—about two pages out of a two-inch-thick book. Yet over the centuries Christians have written many books and scholarly treatises about the angels. For example, the great medieval theologian and saint Thomas Aquinas devoted a large section of his Summa Theologiae to the angels. Much of what Saint Thomas wrote about the angels is theological speculation, but it makes for fascinating reading. (More on that later.)

Not only religious writers but also thinkers of all types have spent many hours pondering the angels. For example, in The Angels and Us, the philosopher Mortimer Adler recounts how he insisted that angels be included among the important ideas treated in the Great Books of the Western World series, which he edited.

For believers, though, angels are not ideas but persons and friends. In this book we’ll get to know them better and deepen our friendship with them. We’ll explore who and what angels are, what Scripture says about them, how they help us, and how the Church prays to them and with them. Along the way, we’ll find out some interesting facts about the angels. This book also includes some true stories of people who believe they have been helped by an angel. While these accounts are not matters of faith, the testimonies show us the many ways that angels, like good coaches, help us in tough situations. All we need to do is ask them!

The Story of the Angels

Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

obedient to his spoken word.

— Psalm 103:20

What the Bible Teaches Us About the Angels

If you open a Bible at random, chances are you won’t have to read too far before you come across an angel. If you start at the beginning, you’ll find the cherubim with the fiery sword guarding the way to the tree of life (see Gen 3:24). If you flip to the end, you’ll find angels blowing trumpets, carrying prayers to heaven, and overseeing the “river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:1). And angels are everywhere in between.

Filled with symbols and imagery, the Book of Revelation contains revelations given through the medium of angels. The visionary, John, is overwhelmed with all he has seen. It seems to him that the angels he sees were worthy of worship. The book tells us, “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’” (Rev 22:8–9). A few verses later the text adds, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates” (Rev 22:14).

The first and last references to angels in the Bible have to do with the tree of life. This tree symbolizes the salvation God has prepared for us. As we walk the way of salvation, the angels are “fellow servants” who aid us along the way. Although the angels can help us with the material needs we have in this life, their main role is to help us spiritually and to guide us to salvation.

The vivid imagery found in the Bible can give us some idea of what angels are like, but these images describe something we can’t see. Angels don’t have wings, and they don’t have bodies at all. They’re entirely spiritual beings. It’s hard to describe an invisible reality, which is why the Bible uses imagery. But the angels are very real even if they are invisible to our eyes.

That shouldn’t surprise us. Even in the physical world we find natural forces that we cannot see but we know are real. How many of us know exactly what happens when we turn on a computer and are connected via the Internet with events happening around the world? How is it that electrical impulses beamed through space via satellite can bring such sharp images to our screens, whether a figure skater gliding on the ice, people digging out of rubble after an earthquake, or the pope presiding at a Mass? The geeks among us may know how it all happens. But I certainly don’t.