I was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and was just about to celebrate Mass with a few friends in the little chapel overlooking the Sea of Galilee, when two middle-aged English women came hurrying up to join me. “This is Edith,” said one with a heavy Liverpool accent. “She can see angels.”
After Mass they took me out to lunch and told me a whole collection of delightful angel stories. Edith had seen a healing angel in the hospital. She’d seen the guardian angels of children. She dialogued with her guardian angel regularly and often looked out her kitchen window to see representatives of the heavenly host going about their business.
A rationalist skeptic would have written off Edith as a harmless eccentric at best and a poor, insane, religious kook at worst. I’m happen to believe that what we consider “reality” (the day-to-day physical world) to be somewhat spongy. That is to say, it is far more flexible and porous than we would like to believe. I believe the spiritual, invisible realm interacts with this physical, visible realm all the time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some folks — like Edith — who can see what’s going on.
The Scriptures speak of angelic appearances in a matter-of-fact way. Like Edith, the authors of the Bible assume that angels exist and don’t mind telling stories of their interactions with people on earth. Angels are God’s messengers, and there are four particular angel encounters that can inspire and enlighten our Advent.
St. Michael the Archangel is the first angel of Advent. We meet Michael in the Book of Daniel. He is the princely patron and advocate angel of the people of Israel, and in the Book of Revelation, we’re told that there was “war in heaven” and Michael and his angels fought the great dragon. Because of his role as protector of God’s people, he is seen as a great warrior against Satan, and at the point of death, ancient Church teaching says, Michael meets the departing soul and is his advocate before Christ, the great Judge. So we see Michael pictures in armor trampling down Satan or with scales, indicating his role as an advocate for justice and peace.
Advent is a time when we’re reminded of the four last things — death, judgment, hell and heaven. So, as an angel of Advent, Michael reminds of these four last things. He reminds us that we are engaged in spiritual warfare. There are ranks of angels and demons called principalities and powers, and as St. Paul writes in Ephesians, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” In this battle Michael fights by our side so that, as St. Paul writes to the Romans, “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come will be able to separate us from the love of Christ.”
The second angel of Advent is the angel that comes to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah was taking his turn to minister as a priest in the Temple when the angel appeared to him and announced that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son, despite their advanced years. Zechariah doubted the truth of the message and asked for a sign. The sign he was given was that he was struck dumb until John the Baptist was born. St. Michael reminds us that we are caught up in a spiritual battle, while the second angel of Advent encourages us to have faith.
Zechariah may have doubted the angel’s word, but the experience strengthened his faith. He went on to believe fully and uttered the magnificent words of the Benedictus which look forward to Christ’s coming: “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness.” Because of his renewed faith, Zechariah entered the spiritual battle with renewed zeal, and an ancient Church tradition suggests that he may have been the Zechariah who met a martyr’s death (Matthew 25:23) because he refused to tell Herod’s murderous soldiers the whereabouts of the Christ Child.
The third Advent angel is the heavenly messenger to St. Joseph. Joseph was betrothed to Mary when it was discovered that she was pregnant. St. Joseph was going to divorce her quietly, but the angel appeared to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. This third Advent angel who came to Joseph gives us a third word of encouragement for the spiritual battle: “Be not afraid.”
Jewish law dictated that a girl who became pregnant outside of marriage could be stoned to death. St. Joseph was a just and honorable man. He had every reason to fear — not only for Mary, but also for his own fate. If the girl was pregnant, as her betrothed, he was the obvious culprit. To marry her would be an admission of guilt. This honorable man would have to live the rest of his life under the cloud of a bad reputation. But he heard the angel’s word — “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife” — and responded immediately with courage and fortitude.
The fourth Advent angel is Gabriel, who appears to the Blessed Virgin. Mary’s simple response to God’s invitation is the climax of the angel messages. At the Annunciation, the three previous messages come together as one. The Blessed Virgin realizes she is part of a spiritual battle. She hears the words of the angel — “Do not be afraid” and “With God all things are possible” — and her response is one of instant obedience, which requires faith and courage.
If we are to be caught up in the drama of Advent, then we too will hear these four angelic messages. First, with St. Michael, we will realize again that as children of God we are engaged in a spiritual combat. Second, with Zecharias, we will respond with faith. Third, with St. Joseph, we add courage to our faith. Fourth, knowing that “with God all things are possible,” we will respond with the Blessed Virgin in a life of loving and joyful obedience to God’s will.
Father Dwight Longenecker
is the pastor of Our Lady
of the Rosary Parish in
Greenville, South Carolina.
Read more of his writing at
DwightLongenecker.com.
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Thank you for this article. I think it is good to be reminded of the presence of the angels as we all to easily forget about them. I would like to offer a comment on St Joseph if I may.
I am no a semitic scholar but I understood that the bethrothal period was like our modern engagement only stronger and would not normally be broken or terminated except for very serious reasons. In other words, the couple were effectively husband and wife but they were not living together. Although they did not have marital relations until the actual marriage, it was not unknown for this to occur.
When St Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, I don’t think he was going to divorce her because he thought she had done the wrong thing. I think he wanted to do so because he recognised that there was something very special going on here and he did not consider himself worthy to be involved. After all, in the relatively small and close knit community in which he and Mary grew up, they would have known each other and he would have had a very good idea of her holiness.
I think the divorce was so that he would deflect any suggestion of misconduct from Mary onto himself. To the outside world it would seem that he was going to marry Mary, he got her pregnant and then he effectively abandoned her. So he would have been considered to have done the wrong thing and Mary would not have been accused of adultery and stoned. Of course, once the angel told him that it was God’s plan for him to marry Mary he obeyed and, as you point out, would have lived under the cloud of a bad reputation.
Anyway, that’s just my interpretation of the events and I am sure there are many others. Thank you for your enlightening and thought-provoking articles.
So true. Why do we so willing accept accounts of the angels from the Bible but we become so doubtful when anyone says they seem them today?
I wish I could see them too.
You said: “Because of his renewed faith, Zechariah entered the spiritual battle with renewed zeal, and an ancient Church tradition suggests that he may have been the Zechariah who met a martyr’s death (Matthew 25:23) because he refused to tell Herod’s murderous soldiers the whereabouts of the Christ Child.”
I looked at the quoted passage and what I get is: ““His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Have I misunderstood or missed something? I don’t see anything about soldiers, Herod or deaths. Or is it a typo?
Since angels are angels and people are people, and the Catholic Church teaches us that people do not become angels, how can Joseph or Zechariah be angels?
Elaine, re-read the article. It does not state that Joseph or Zechariah are angels, the article refers to the angels who appeared to Joseph and Zechariah in the books of Matthew and Luke.
Actually, there are only three angels of Advent, since the Archangel Gabriel appeared to both Zechariah and Mary. The angel who visited Joseph was not named in the Bible.
Thank you for the excellent article. Yet another excellent source on angels and how they interact with us, is a book written by Jan Connell. Since reading her book, I am much more aware of the prayers in our Catholic faith which invoke them. Your article reinforces that belief. Two of the more popular prayers are the Prayer to St.Michael The ArchAngel and the prayer to our guardian angel.
I have seen St Michael the Archangel a few years ago and another angel sitting on the alter during mass. When the priest consecrates the communion and is about to break the bread; Our Lord and two angels come down behind him and Our Lord steps into place to help the priest break the bread.It is so sacred and holy to see.
What saddens me about the Catholic church is that they do not and will not listen to mystics and what they have to say from God. True, they have to be treated with discernment but if the priests taught the mystics like I have been taught - to discern every single thing given to me; the Vatican wouldnt have this problem. I will gladly give priests alist of what to watch for in mystics and their visions and mystics but my own priest rebukes me. Our Lord recently gave me messages to give my bishop about priests wearing colars, nuns wearing habits and the fiddly things about the service and yet, the bishop chooses to ignore me. No skin off my nose but Our Lord said he will account for his sin of ignorance and deal with him shortly. All I say is God have mercy on the bishop’s soul.
Want to learn more about angels? Read about them in a book titled “The Mystical City of God”. It describes how Mama Mary interacted with angels and what St. Michael’s role was during the nativity. The stories were dictated by the Blessed Mother herself to a Spanish nun who wrote the book. How sad that many people are not aware of the life of Mama Mary.
Priests and Bishops have to be extremly careful with mystical and apparitions reported to them. Without proper dicernment, we would all be fooled, and it is the responsibility of our Priests and Bishops to interpret these things as belivable or otherwise. The woman who is upset at her Priest and her Bishop, may be all there or perhaps not. It is not the job of lay people to instruct our clergy on these matters.
Father Joseph at the blog Making All Things New (http://wordincarnate.wordpress.com/) has described how he is the Spiritual Director of a woman that describes regularly seeing Guardian Angels as well as similar experiences described by Maree during consecration. Father Joseph is extremely reliable and he seems to place great credence in this woman that sees Angels.
@Roy Banes - I myself always discern everything I see and hear as a mystic of God many times over then I contact my spiritual advisor and speak to her about it. Be it a miracle or whatever, I still will not tell my priest or bishop per the Vatican. The Vatican have completely sucked the mystical side out of the Church, out of God and everything He stands for and they will be held accountable for it. As someone who frequently prays and speaks with God and has friends who are spiritual battle consultants, mystics (NOT psychics - they are the ones that will go to Hell); exorcists, prayer warriors etc - I guarantee you that God completely allows lay people to speak with Bishops and Priests about many matters that Our Lord wants them to qanda over. Most religious refuse to open their ears and eyes to the messages but it is them who will be punished. We the mystics get rejected a million times over but we still forgive, obey and pray for them.
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