Our constant companions.
I’m just going to be a child in my reflections on my Guardian Angel here. I like to think about him like that. We cannot see our angels because they are pure spirit, like God. I do not like the 19th and 20th century images of angels, sort of Gibson-girl images with huge white wings. These images are meant to represent pure spirit, innocence and chastity, even a sort of maternal protection. They are just way too sweet for most guys.
The above icon depicts St. Michael in the miracle at Chonae, which happens to be a favorite image of mine, in so far as the depiction of the angel is one example which comes closest to what I might imagine my angel to look like. See how big he is? That conveys strength and wisdom to me. His face, although a little ‘made up’ appears kind and loving, with the tilt of his head he shows compassion and respect towards his subject. I think of my angel like that. Yet angels do not have bodies, so when I think of them, I often get that “I don’t know what feeling”.
Angels are invisible.
Some saints could ’see’ their angels - Frances of Rome, Catherine Laboure, and others. St. Catherine’s angel took the appearance of a small child. Other saints, such as Bl. Mary of Jesus Crucified knew her angel’s name - her angel’s name was George. Some people like to choose a name for their angel, yet to me this limits him, since his name would be a heavenly name we cannot guess. I don’t really know what my angel looks like, much less know his name, but I know I have an angel. He has helped me in many ways - sometimes in rather tangible ways.
I can’t ‘think’ about him though. I cannot ‘grasp’ him with the senses, and in the end, most representations of angels I see disappoint me - they merely reflect human attributes or idealized human nature - hence they become a projection of self in a way. Therefore, I can’t imagine what my angel looks like, and most depictions of the angels frustrate my desire.
Intimate Companions.
This morning I prayed the Little Office of the Angels. The hymn from Prime impressed me:
For Satan, driven from the happy land
Where once he shone in splendor, ill can brook
The kindly justice of the Almighty hand,
That gives to man the throne he forsook;
And seeks to drag into his own disgrace
Poor mortals thus designed to fill his place. - Little Office
God has given us his angels to help and protect, to lead and guide us in our weakness. That fills me with awe.
I wondered then. The angels were created before us, so after the war in Heaven, and Lucifer and his angels were cast out of Heaven, God determined we would fill their places. So what was angelic society like before the test? What was their test? Did they participate in the creation of the cosmos? Isn’t that cool to wonder about? And what does it mean that they constantly behold the face of God and yet remain our constant and intimate companions?
The angelic life.
The angels abide in perfect charity, therefore I imagine them as living flames of love. Years ago while in the monastery, I made a sketch in my Bible of my angel as a young boy, floating in mid air, his face intently looking into my soul, with a flame above his head, and in his hands was another flame, which he offered to me. I never like anything I paint or draw, yet this sketch still appeals to me.
Contemplative monastic life is often referred to as the angelic life, because it is chaste, hidden and simple, entirely consecrated to the service of God. And since the primary work of the contemplative is prayer and praise, it is considered to be on the level of the angels, who praise God unceasingly.
Francis De Sales, who had great devotion to the angels, suggested that ordinary souls, who practice charity and offer their service to God, without wishing to appear or have their works known, are like the angels who are invisible, yet constantly working in the world.
“In the sight of the angels Iwill sing your praises, O God!”
