DAY 19: Catholics and Angels

This post will be mainly based on the information I recieve from Al Kresta's book Why do Catholic's Genuflect?  

Angels- incorporal beings without physical bodies. They are invisible spirits that are not composed of energy, matter, light, or any other material substance. They are " visitors from beyond this materisal universe" who are heavenly messengers. They are task-oriented and "purely spiritual creatatures that have inteligence and will." (Thus we get Lucifer, the devil, who broke off from God and became a fallen angel.) We know that they exsist for many reasons: a. "through divine revelation" b. the teachings of the church c. the stories of those who claim to have seen them, and d. Those people in the bible, like Mary and Joesph, who have talked with these messengers personally. By the way, angels are not, as many people suppose, the disembodies spirits of the deceased... we do not become angels when we die. We, humans, need a body to enclose our spirits. Angels do not becuse they are pure spirits. They are not capable of lying or sin.... we are "two different species."

The Catholic Church has feast days. Feast days are set aside for the saints, the holy family (Jesus, Mary, and Joesph) and others, such as the Feast of the Guardian Angels on October 2nd. This feast day, Kresta says, is to remind us that "every indivdual has a guardian angel, and awareness of our guardian angel can be a comfort and aid in our spirtual growth." There are so many passages in the Bible that support the exsistance of these creatures. One example is Satan tempting Jesus in the desert in Matthew. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Angels are found in both the Old and New Testaments. Some examples are Judith, Hebrews, Luke, Acts, and Revelations among others.

Just as God gave Humans free choice, He also gives us our guardian angels to help guide us back to Him.
So, maybe that's something you can thank Him for: the protection and guidence we find in our own personal angels. I'm going to go back and edit the post on how to become a saint, so I suggest you go back and check that out sometime in the near future.