Angels

 There is a good article on the America site by Fr. Jim McDermott, S.J. on angels :  People don’t become angels when they die. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t watching over us. | America Magazine

"Believe it or not, trying to write about angels is actually pretty hard. Most images we have of them—naked babies with wings; dudes with fire swords; a shirtless Patrick Swayze—come not from Scripture but from pop culture across centuries. Take one of the most popular stories about angels, the war in heaven and Satan’s fall. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament describes a war kind of like that, but the description is just three verses long, and it is actually a depiction of a final good-versus-evil war in heaven to come, not a past event. Meanwhile the story of Lucifer’s fall that we all think of probably comes mostly from John Milton’s 1667 epic poem “Paradise Lost.”

"Cherubim as adorable little babies with wings are similarly a creation of Renaissance artists drawn from ancient Greece and Rome, which liked to represent the “spirits” or instincts that influence our decision-making, like attraction, as winged children (ergo Cupid). In Scripture the cherubim are mentioned more than any other kind of angel—91 times; but the only time they are described, by Ezekiel, they have wings, four faces (of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle) and are definitely not toddlers. Also they are either carrying God around on a throne or protecting Eden with a flaming sword. Try making that adorable, Donatello."

....The ways angels offer their messages can vary widely. In Luke the angel Gabriel just shows up to tell Mary what’s what; meanwhile, in Numbers, an invisible angel keeps spooking Balaam’s donkey until finally he starts punishing it, at which point the angel reveals itself and says it is displeased with Balaam, which causes him to change his ways. (And yes, this does seem like an awful lot of work to relay a message.)"

"The burning bush that Moses sees in the wilderness that sets him on his path—that voice was an “angel of the Lord.” So are the young men in white at Jesus’ empty tomb, who tell the mourning women that Jesus is gone."

"Biblical angels do sometimes help people. They grab Lot and get him out of Sodom when he dawdles in escaping. They free imprisoned disciples in the Acts of the Apostles. They take care of Jesus in the desert. But there is no biblical basis for the idea that people have guardian angels, strictly speaking."  (Actually there is, more about that later.)

"n some cases in Scripture angels are so closely identified with God, in fact, that it is not clear if the reference is actually to God. In Judges 2 an angel talks of bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and having taken them to the land it swore it would. Likewise in Genesis 18 we are told that “The Lord appeared to Abraham,” but then it is actually three men who show up. Yet when they speak, the speaker is again identified as the Lord."

"This seeming lack of distinction between God and God’s angels is not some kind of translation error, says Sister Brink. It is the way messengers were understood in the ancient world. “In the Greco-Roman period, when ambassadors or emissaries spoke to people, they were in persona of whoever sent them. That is certainly how biblical angels function. They were God’s mouthpieces.”

"So according to the Bible, angels are messengers. They are mouthpieces. But you know what they’re not, ever? Our dead relatives (or any other human beings, for that matter)."

"...Maybe this question of humans and angels comes down to semantics. No, we do not believe that human beings can become literal angels. From a scriptural point of view that is like asking, Can human beings become zebras? They’re a whole different kind of being from us."

As a personal aside, there actually is a scriptural reference to guardian angels.  It is Matthew 10:18  "Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you, their angels in heaven ever behold the face of my Father." "Angel of God, my guardian dear..." was one of the first prayers I learned as a child. And one of the first ones I taught to my children.  Guardian angels are mysterious, as are all angels. We don't quite know what their function is. It is perhaps more as spiritual guardians, than physical ones.  Though it does seem at  times that there was an intervention.  But the question remains, if that were true, why aren't they always guardians against physical harm?  However, I think it is always appropriate to pray to them when help is needed.  I know that I prayed many prayers to the guardian angels of my sons when they were learning to drive!

I loved the story of Tobias in the book of Tobit, one of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament.  It is pretty much accepted by scholars that it is a novella, a work of fiction.  But still is inspirational; the idea of the Angel Raphael as a companion on a journey, and a help in the healing of Tobias' father.

But my favorite biblical account of an encounter with angels is that in Luke's gospel:  (Luke 10:8-13)

 8"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And [c]behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a [d]manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

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