A Study of Angels & Demons

Angel Prayer

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.

Angels Defined

What are angels?

Angels are messengers for the Lord. They have intellect, free will, and were created by God before He made the material world. Angels have a role as ministering spirits and are organised into choirs/orders.

An innumerable number of angels reflect God’s sovereignty over creation, reminding us of God’s presence. Angels praise God - our praises during Mass are joined with the angels’ praise in Heaven.

Nine Choirs of Angels:

1. Angels - messengers, guardians

2. Archangels - carry major messages, lead angel armies

3. Principalities - oversee groups, nations, institutions

4. Powers - warriors against evil, maintain cosmic order

5. Virtues - channels of God’s grace, miracles

6. Dominions - Govern lower orders, administer divine will

7. Thrones - symbolic of God’s justice, support His throne

8. Cherubim - Guard God’s glory, presence, and throne

9. Seraphim - closest to God, continual worship of Him

The higher order serves God directly. The lower order serves in creation and humanity.

The archangels are well known and the only named angels: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

Guardian Angels

• Assigned at conception to each individual

• Protect children and help with human tasks

• Do not get names from humans, but from God only

• Act by divine command, not independent power

• Deliver messages

• Ascend and descend from Heaven - i.e., Jacob’s ladder

Angels in Catholic Liturgy

• Play a role in worship

• Accompany Christ in the Eucharist

• Tradition holds that they are present at every Mass

• Present the prayers of the faithful to God (intercessory role) Tobit 12:12

• Foster a deeper prayer life in the human they guard

• Assist in the administration of the sacraments

  • Guide the baptised

  • Strengthen the faithful (confirmation)

  • Rejoice over repentance (confession)

  • Associated with healing (extreme unction)

  • Protect and guide those entering vocations (Holy orders and matrimony)

• The Sanctus in every Mass are Angels glorifying God (Isaiah 6:3)

Demonology

• Demons are fallen angels that fell due to pride and envy. Satan is referred to as a “Dragon” and is the head of the fallen angels.

• All angels were created good, had free will, and underwent a trial of obedience during which Helel (“shining one”, “Lucifer”) became Satan through sin

• Unlike humans, who have imperfect knowledge and can repent, angels had perfect knowledge, a spiritual nature, and cannot undo their choice. They were unable to return to God and expelled from Heaven, envious of God’s creation of man in His image

• Desired supernatural glory separate from God (pride & envy)

• Tradition says that Archangel Michael said to Satan, “Mi-cah-el” which means “You want to be like God?” or “Who is like the most High?”

• The good angels who perservered were able to see God’s Beatific Vision

Demons in the Bible

• Try to show authority, take dominion, and tempt humans via deception, possession of people, and engage in spiritual warfare

• Christ has defeated them and restored humanity through grace

• Sacraments & sacramentals protect against demonic influences

• Idol worship is demon worship

• Hebrew for “devil” or : demon” is “Shedim” (false gods), “Se’irim” (goat-like demons), “ruach ra’ah” (evil spirits)

• Serve Satan, associated with sickness and sin

• Casted out in the name of Jesus

Attributes and Limitations

• Lacks independent power

• Can only act within God’s permissive boundaries

• Can tempt but not force humans to sin

• Power will be nullified in the final judgement

• Only here to help us become saints

• Have limited knowledge

• Can remember

• Can see humans receiving sacraments, but have to watch patterns from outside

• Can’t compel free will

Demons in Catholic Mysticism and Visions

• Tactics

  • Physical torment

  • Psychological warfare

  • Counterfeit visions and false mystical gifts

  • Beasts, shadows, serpent imagery

  • Attempts to cause despair, pride, self-deception, worship of anything other than God

• The number one sin that invites demonic possession is occult activity

• Be able to discern clean from unclean

• By right of baptism, the soul belongs to God. Engaging in occult, addiction, and perversion is granting permission to Satan

• Go to confession to get clean

• All sacraments are sacraments of healing

• Inanimate things can convey power (holy water, ark of the covenant)

• The devil hates virtue and wants to keep you in spiritual complacency

• Cannot separate yoga from spiritual practice. Every body position has meaning - it’s like liturgy, an offering

  • Catholics have their own prayer positions (kneel, pray, genuflect)

  • Cannot separate meaning from the thing itself - not just stretching

  • When anyone crosses themselves (Catholic or not), they can’t do it without it being Catholic

  • “Yoga” = yoked with divine

  • Spirituality is not divorced from the body - fasting, incense, prayer, baptism

  • People are hungry for spiritual movement, and rather than experiencing Mass, they fill the hole with yoga

• Soak children in purity so when they come across the impure, they can tell, otherwise introducing them to falsity too early confuses them

• Our memories feed our imagination. Give children good literature that helps form good imaginations, good memories lead to good adult formation

• Bad childhood memories often lead to a sinful/difficult adulthood

Day of the Dead

• All Souls’ Day is a meditation on death, judgement, heaven, hell

• There are elements of truth to pegan practices, but this is not a reason to follow them

• Mary came in the 1500s to evangelise the Aztecs (Our Lady of Guadalupe), stepping on the serpent, which was the primary Aztec god

• The point is to focus on the souls that are preparing to meet God and pray for them

• Everything anti-Catholic has a fascination with death (usually child sacrifice too)

• Demons blind poorly formed minds and the minds of unbelievers

• Renounce, rebuke, and reject them in Jesus’ name

• Churches are less holy now and thus an exorcism takes longer

• No sin is private. They all affect the sanctity of the body

• For protection, live as sacramentally as possible

• Guardian angels care for our souls, not just physical protection

Protection From Evil Snares

• The church is a retaining wall that holds humanity back from collapse

• All good things come from the altar

• The altar is veiled, same with the Eucharist

  • “Eucharist” means “thank you” in Greek

• Priests wore veils (vestments)

• Mary is veiled

  • Women are valued because they create life