For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Psalm 91:11
What are angels? They are created spirits without bodies, lower than God, but higher than humanity. They are immortal, like the human soul and they have intellect and free will as we do. However, they never forget or get confused as we do because their minds do not depend on material bodies.
Medieval Christian theologians, after referencing both the Old and New Testaments, identified the heavenly hosts as consisting of nine "Choirs of Angels". They were grouped as follows:
* The Seraphim. They are the highest order or choir of angels. They are attendants at God's throne. They have six wings: two cover their faces, two cover their feet and two are for flying. They are forever in God's presence and constantly praise Him saying, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8
* The Cherubim. They are ranked the second highest of the heavenly choirs. They are manlike in form but have four faces: a man, an ox, a lion and an eagle. They are the double-winged spirits God placed at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life. There were two cherubim of gold on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. They are closely linked to God's glory.
* The Thrones. Despite their greatness, they are angels of great humility. This attribute allows them to dispense justice with perfect objectivity, without pride or ambition. They are living symbols of God's justice and authority. They come the closest of all angels to spiritual perfection. They are associated with the throne of God the Father and are mentioned by St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians 1:16.
* The Dominions. These are the angels of leadership. They command and control the duties of the lower angels in the name of God. They are believed to look like divinely beautiful humans with a pair of feathered wings. They are also the angels believed to preside over nations.
* The Virtues. These angels are sometimes referred to as "the shining ones". They govern all nature; they control the seasons, the sun, the moon and the stars. They are filled with Divine strength and quickly fulfil the will of the all-powerful God. They are in charge of miracles; they work great miracles themselves and they bestow miracle-working power on God's saints who are worthy of such a grace.
* The Powers. These are the warrior angels defending the cosmos and humans against evil. They fight evil spirits who attempt to influence humans to embrace sin and evil. They are completely loyal to God. Some believe that Satan was the chief of the Powers before he fell. Powers are academically motivated. They are concerned with ideology, theology, religion and documents pertaining to these studies. They are the brain trusts, a group of experts who serve as advisors.
* Archangels. These are the most frequently mentioned angels in the Bible. They are God`s messengers to humans at critical times in history. Gabriel visited Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist and he appeared to Mary to ask her to become the mother of Jesus. St. Michael has been invoked as patron and protector of the Church since Apostolic times. St. Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, as the healer of Tobit's blindness. Archangels are the heralds of great and glorious events; they reveal God's will to people and strengthen them in their faith.
* Principalities. These heavenly spirits instruct the lower angels in fulfilling Divine commands. They direct the universe, protect lands, nations and people. They instruct humans to obey lawful authority, and teach those in positions of authority to fulfil their obligations, not for personal honour or gain, but out of obedience to God and love of their fellow humans.
* Angels. They are the closest to human beings, the earth and the material world. They deliver prayers to God. They bring God's answers and other messages to people. They can access any or all of the other angels at any time. They are the most caring and anxious to help all who request assistance. It is believed that our guardian angels belong to this choir.
Angels are all around us, everywhere, all the time. They are pure spirits so we cannot see them with our human eyes. This is not to say they do not exist. We cannot see love, laughter, peace, joy, warmth, or the aroma of perfume, but all of these certainly exist.
At present, we can only see the angels with the eyes of faith, but someday, and none of us know how long, we will be able no longer have to wonder about the various choirs of angelic beings. If we succeed in staying close to our God and their God, to our Creator and theirs, we'll be able to study them for ourselves.
"Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep".
John Milton, "Paradise Lost
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