Angels: Our Invisible Friends

Do you believe in angels?  Do you believe that you have an angel that watches over you and listens to you, loves you, and wants the best possible experiences for you?
 
So much is written in Scripture about how the angels are watching over us, and how often people in the Old and New Testament were able to actually see them.  In the Bible alone angels are mentioned over 250 times, but they still remain a mystery.
 
We do know that, according to the words of Christ, each of us has a guardian angel.  When He spoke in reference to children He said, …see that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. *
 

---

People throughout the ages have believed in angels and they are acknowledged in almost every culture and spiritual tradition in the world.  One of the many authors that have written about this is Tricia McCannon in her book Dialogue with the Angels.  She indicates that angels are found in Christian, Moslem, Jewish, Persian, Hindu, Buddhist, Native American, Greek, Roman, Mayan, Incan and Aborigine cultures. 
 
From childhood I have heard that there are nine choirs of angels.  Recently I was reading Father Paul O’Sullivan’s book, All About Angels and there he named the nine choirs of angels as Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers, Principles, Archangels, and Angels.
 
My understanding is that each of these groups of angels has a specific function such as being our companions and guides, keeping the stars and planets on course, being healers or messengers, or simply surrounding the throne of God and regulating the movements of the Heavens.

But are they only heard about in the distant past or in Scripture?  Through reading the lives of the saints I am aware that many of these holy people were able to see and talk with the angels.
 
For instance, in Fr. Alessio Parente’s book, Send Me Your Guardian Angel, he says that the stigmatist, Padre Pio (Saint Pio of Pietrelcina), was able to see and was in constant communication with his angel.  Padre Pio called his angel his little companion or “the companion of my infancy”. 
 
It was obvious that Padre Pio’s guardian angel was essential to his work.  In his book, Fr. Alessio calls him an “Angel of all Trades.”  He writes that this celestial being would run errands for Padre Pio, be his interpreter when a person was unable to speak Italian, console him, wake him up in the morning to say Mass, sing with him, and counsel him.  His angel even drove a car for a man who, coming from a long distance to see Padre Pio, was falling asleep at the wheel. 
 
It isn’t just the recognized saints that see angels though.  I recently heard that 20 percent of the population has said that they have seen and communicated with angels. This example recalled by Ariel Wolfe in Doreen Virtue’s book, The Miracles of Archangel Michael, is one of many examples:
 
Recently I had to have a series of MRIs done for a health condition.  I always ask that Michael and Raphael accompany me, so as I lay completely still in the MRI tube, I enjoyed the energy of these two angels as I told them how I was ready to be healthy.
 
Then I saw Michael and Raphael begin to dance around me:  The archangels were doing a circle dance over my midriff area while I was lying motionless on the narrow table in the narrow tube.
 
Suddenly, the nurse’s voice came through a speaker inside the MRI tube and announce, ‘We’re detecting some motion in there!  Remember, you have to lie quietly.’
 
‘I swear I never moved a muscle!’ I said, so happy to know that the angels’ movement had been detected on the MRI.
 
While in Italy my husband Greg and I visited the cave where Archangel Michael first appeared in the year 404 AD.  The story is told that there was a nobleman who lost his prize bull, and three days later he saw the bull kneeling down in front of a cave.  He was frustrated when the bull refused to move from the cave so he tried to shoot the bull with an arrow, however, the arrow whirled around and came back at him. 
 
When he went into the cave to see what was going on, he saw the angel who told him never to shed the blood of a bull again.  Eventually the Bishop built a Basilica in the cave upon the angel’s request.  *
 
There have been many miracles attributed to Michael the Archangel since then.   I believe that I was one of those recipients.
 
As I sat in the cave talking to Michael, and asking him to guide and protect my family, in my minds eye I suddenly saw the image of an angel flying and I heard the words, “give the statue to Patiance”. 
 
I had bought a statue of Michael in the cave earlier, but this message seemed bizarre, as I knew my granddaughter Patiance had no special interest in spirituality let alone angels.  But when I returned home I gave it to her anyway. 
 
Patiance had been trying to have a child for over five years before our trip to Italy.  Nine months after I saw the image of the angel and heard the inner voice, her son Ethan was born.  I like to think Michael the Archangel was watching over her and fulfilled her desire.
 
Also, I had scratched the cornea of my eye earlier that morning.  It was very painful and I was unable to see out of that eye. While I was in the cave I realized the pain had left and I could see out of that eye again. 
 
I love these stories of how we are being protected and guided throughout our lives by these mysterious beings! 
 
What is pertinent about angels at this time of the year as we celebrate the birth of Christ is that the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would have a child and would call him Jesus.  The angel said, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” *
 
We know from Scripture that the Angels accompanied Jesus throughout His life.
Actually, our celestial companions are watching over all of us.  We can ask them anything and they are there for us. 
 
So, as we celebrate this time of the year I encourage us all to remember and be grateful to our guardian angels for the guidance and help they provide for us now, and throughout the year.
 
Hope you enjoy the Holidays (Holydays)!
 
Love and Peace,
Mary
 
*Matthew 18:10. 
*Taken from The Shrines of Italy Blog (archives June 12, 2017)
* Luke 31-32.