328 The existence of the spiritual,
non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls angels" is a
truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of
Tradition.
Who are they?
329 St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their
office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is
'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what
they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel.'" With their whole beings
the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they
"always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the
"mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word".
330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have
intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures,
surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their
glory bears witness.
Christ "with all his angels"
331 Christ is the center of the angelic
world. They are
his angels: "When the Son of man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him.” They belong to him because they
were created
through and
for him: "for in him all things
were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were
created through him and for him." They belong to him still more because
he has made them messengers of his saving plan: "Are they not all
ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are
to obtain salvation?"
332 Angels have been present since creation and
throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar
or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed
the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed
Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People
of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just
to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth
of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.
333 From the Incarnation to the Ascension,
the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and
service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he
says: 'Let all God's angels worship him.'" Their song of praise at the
birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory
to God in the highest!" They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in
the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could
have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had
been. Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good
News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at
Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgment.
The angels in the life of the Church
334 In the meantime, the whole life of the
Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.
335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with
the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance
(in the funeral liturgy's
In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May
the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic
Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain
angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the
guardian angels).
336 From its beginning until death, human
life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. "Beside each
believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."
Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed
company of angels and men united in God.
350 Angels are spiritual creatures who glorify God
without ceasing and who serve his saving plans for other creatures: "The
angels work together for the benefit of us all" (St. Thomas Aquinas,
STh I, 114, 3, ad 3).
351 The angels surround Christ their Lord. They serve
him especially in the accomplishment of his saving mission to men.
352 The Church venerates the angels who help her on her
earthly pilgrimage and protect every human being.
II. THE FALL OF THE ANGELS
391 Behind the disobedient choice of our
first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them
fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in
this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil". The Church
teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil
and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they
became evil by their own doing."
392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these
angels. This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created
spirits, who radically and irrevocably
rejected God and his
reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to
our first parents: "You will be like God." The devil "has sinned from
the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies".
393 It is the
irrevocable character
of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy that
makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the
angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after
death."
What is a saint and who are they?
61 The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old
Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all
the Church's liturgical traditions.
828 By
canonizing some of the
faithful, i.e., by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic
virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church recognizes the
power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of
believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors.
"The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the
most difficult moments in the Church's history." Indeed, "holiness is
the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and
missionary zeal."
The Communion of Saints
946 After confessing "the holy catholic
Church," the Apostles' Creed adds "the communion of saints." In a
certain sense this article is a further explanation of the preceding:
"What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints?" The
communion of saints is the Church.
947 "Since all the faithful form one body,
the good of each is communicated to the others. . . . We must therefore
believe that there exists a communion of goods in the Church. But the
most important member is Christ, since he is the head. . . . Therefore,
the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the
sacraments." "As this Church is governed by one and the same Spirit, all
the goods she has received necessarily become a common fund."
948 The term "communion of saints" therefore
has two closely linked meanings: communion in holy things (
sancta)"
and "among holy persons (
sancti)."
Sancta sanctis!
("God's holy gifts for God's holy people") is proclaimed by the
celebrant in most Eastern liturgies during the elevation of the holy
Gifts before the distribution of communion. The faithful (sancti)
are fed by Christ's holy body and blood (sancta) to grow in the
communion of the Holy Spirit (koinonia) and to communicate it to
the world.
960 The Church is a "communion of saints": this
expression refers first to the "holy things" (sancta), above all
the Eucharist, by which "the unity of believers, who form one body in
Christ, is both represented and brought about" (LG 3).
961 The term "communion of saints" refers also to the
communion of "holy persons" (sancti) in Christ who "died for
all," so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears
fruit for all.
962 "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of
Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being
purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church;
and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his
saints is always [attentive] to our prayers" (Paul VI, CPG § 30).
2683 The witnesses who have preceded us into
the kingdom, especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints,
share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives,
the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They
contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have
left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were
"put in charge of many things." Their intercession is their most exalted
service to God's plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us
and for the whole world.
2684 In the communion of saints, many and
varied
spiritualities have been developed throughout the history
of the churches. The personal charism of some witnesses to God's love
for men has been handed on, like "the spirit" of Elijah to Elisha and
John the Baptist, so that their followers may have a share in this
spirit. A distinct spirituality can also arise at the point of
convergence of liturgical and theological currents, bearing witness to
the integration of the faith into a particular human environment and its
history. The different schools of Christian spirituality share in the
living tradition of prayer and are essential guides for the faithful. In
their rich diversity they are refractions of the one pure light of the
Holy Spirit.