God , have no free will and can only do what God orders them to do , e . g . testing individuals by granting them wealth or curing illness . Many are named in the Qu ’ ran , including Jibrail ( Gabriel ) and Mikail ( the angel of nature ). The Christian tradition inherited Jewish understanding , which in turn may have been partly inherited from the Egyptians . The Christian concept of ‘ angel ’ is ‘ messenger of God ’. Individual angelic messengers were named Gabriel , Michael , Raphael , Uriel and Lucifer ( the fallen angel ).
St Augustine says that ‘ angel ’ is the name of their office , not their nature . Their nature is Spirit , they are spiritual beings who do not eat or excrete and they are genderless . Nevertheless , there is some Jewish tradition ( written in the Old Testament , but I cannot remember where ), that women must cover their hair by scarves or hats during divine services , since the angels , looking down on them from above , might be sexually aroused . In art angels are sometimes depicted as male or female , distinguished by their dress . The exhibition at St Mungo also contained a little white feather , which would indicate to the person who found it the presence of their guardian angel , since in art angels are usually depicted as humanoids with bird like wings . But this is nowhere to be found in the Bible . The interaction between angel and man seems to be that angels appear in human form , therefore we might meet them in another human being who can have the task to communicate God ’ s message to us or perform another task which God intents him to do .
By the late 4 th century church fathers agreed that there were different categories of angels with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them . The Jewish angelic hierarchy counts ten ranks of angels , beginning with the highest ( Chayot Ha Kodesh as written in the book of Ezekiel .) Some of those we know from Christian liturgy , like the Seraphim , the Elohim = Godly beings , and the Cherubim . . - The ‘ Te Deum ’ tells us : “ To thee all Angels cry aloud , the heavens and all the powers therein / To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry / Holy , Holy , Holy ’ -Their different missions include to be intermediaries between Heaven and Earth , protecting and guiding human beings , bringing hope at difficult times or giving warnings of future events . ..
Angels are important because they provide people with an articulation of the conviction that God is intimately involved in human life . ( Brazilian Father Thomas Rosica ). Or , as Pope Francis said on the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels 2 / 10 / 14 :
“ No one journeys alone , and no one should think they are alone ”.
Brigitte Williams
StOM Page 11