Angels

What do we as Catholics believe about angels? What does the word angel mean? Do angels really protect us from evil? Do angels really guide us? Are there different kinds of angels or different levels? Can we ever become angels? Are demons really angels who sinned against God? These are all great questions about angels. Let's look in scripture to find these answers.

What does the word "angel" mean?  The word angel means "messenger". A messenger of God to the humans. Angels were created by God and do not have physical bodies. They are pure spirits.

Do angels really protect us from evil?  Yes, St. Michael is the prince of heaven and is an Archangel. St. Michael fights for us against Satan. Jude: 9 = yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" This shows that St. Michael an archangel fought for the body of Moses just as he will fight for us.
Psalms 91:10-12= No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, (11) for to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. (12) Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. This shows that the angels do protect us from evil.
Matthew 18:10= "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. We have angels in heaven.

Do angels really guide us? Yes, as we see in Exodus 23:20-22= If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. (23) "My angel will go before you and bring you to Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. Here we see that if we follow our angles voice, God will be an enemy to our enemies. They will also guide us as we seen in Psalms 91:10-12.

Are there different kinds of angels or different levels? Yes, as we seen in the previous verses, there are angels and archangels. All are angels but different levels of angels, or should we say they have different jobs. The different levels are called choirs. There are nine choirs of angels. They are Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and angels. The archangels named in scripture are Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. Michael means "Who is like God?" Gabriel means "God is my strength" and Raphael means "God is my healer".

Can we ever become angels? No, we can become a saint which means a person in heaven, or a person who followed God. Angels were made without bodies, humans were made with bodies.

Are demons really angels who sinned against God? Yes, every angel had a choice to follow God or rebel with Lucifer (Satan's angel name) One third of the angels rebelled and left God as we see in Revelation 12:4= Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. We can see also see in 2 Peter 2:4= for if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but condemned them to the chains of Tartarus and handed them over to be kept for judgment. We can see the angels sinned. We can also see in Psalms 103:20-21=Bless the Lord, all of his angels, you mighty in strength, who do bidding, obeying his spoken word. (21) Bless the Lord, all you his host, his ministers who do his works, everywhere in his domain. Bless the angels with strength who do bidding and obeying his spoken word.
We do not worship angels in any way, as we seen John fall to his knees in Revelation 22:8-9, and the angels tells him to get up and not worship him, but worship God alone.

Why did John fall to his knees and worship? Due to the fact the angels are with God, his glory is poured on them and they carry the glory of God with them wherever they go, demons can't stand the sight of angels cause of this glory poured on them. So as humans if we would see an angel with God's glory poured out on them, we might also think to worship due to God's glory surrounding us.

For more info on this topic you can also look in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, (CCC), 1352, 525, 559, 331, 336, 311, 391-93, 414, 328, 954.
-AVM