Angels of Christ and His Body

Last Updated on November 7, 2022 by GMC

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Revelation 12:7-12a; Psalm 138

As I watched:
Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened, and the books were opened.

As the visions during the night continued,
I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14).

The unseen world is full of mysteries too deep for words, mysteries radiating from the all-holy Trinity—“a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere” (St. Augustine). 

“Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 331). 

“I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20).

As the angels surround and interpenetrate Christ, they surround and interpenetrate St. Paul and every child of the Father in whom Christ lives.

As the Body is inseparable from the Head, the Body of Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are our angels.

The battlefield of heaven is the human heart, for the kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21). Christ came to conquer our hearts with unconditional, self-emptying love. He sent the Holy Spirit to possess us—body, soul, and spirit—and to transform humanity with his deifying grace. 

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them” (Revelation 12:7-12a).

All external wars with bombs and tanks, words and diatribes, arguments and debates, begin and end in the human heart. The lack of physical war or argumentation is not yet peace, for peace can only be found in hearts free of malice and envy.

St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and all the myriads of angels in the circle of the Trinity “whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere”—come to our aid and draw us into communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name (Psalm 138:1-2).