Archbishop of Sydney

His Eminence,
Cardinal George Pell
Cardinal Priest of the Title of S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello

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Home > Our Archbishop > Sunday Telegraph Column 2001 > Article	Printable Version

Angels

By + George Pell
ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY
11 November 2001

Not so long ago, a little boy I know fell off the bike he was learning to ride and landed with a great thump on the nature strip. As he picked himself up he assured those fussing around him that he was quite alright, saying "it was lucky my angel was looking after me. Otherwise I might have landed on the concrete."

Most parents are happy for their children to believe in the tooth fairy, perhaps because he does not exist. It is a different matter when it comes to a guardian angel. For some people, this is to take childish openness (or nonsense) a step too far.

One of the surprising features of the last few years is how angels have come back into fashion. Not too long ago angels were not talked about much even by religious people. It seemed that angels were treated as one of the more ridiculous aspects of religion which we had all quietly agreed to let fall into the dustbin of history.

Today, however, most bookstores carry a range of books on or about angels. Some of these are art-books, others are about the New Age, others are serious works of history or theology. Whether or not more people actually believe in angels now, the market for these sorts of books clearly indicates a renewed curiosity in the subject.

The word "angel" comes from the Greek word for messenger, and this is the traditional role that angels fill. The Bible is replete with references to the angels. Angels closed the Garden of Eden after the Fall, wrestled with Jacob, stayed the hand of Abraham as he prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and later on, announced the birth both of John the Baptist and Jesus. In the New Testament, they appear at all the important points in Jesus' life, often to help and support him.

We do not know how many angels there are, but we do know the names of three of them: Raphael, who restored Tobit's sight (Tob 3:17); Gabriel, whose first appearance in the bible is to help Daniel interpret a vision (Dan 8:16); and Michael, who helped Daniel overcome the Persians (Dan 10:13).

Christians believe that angels are purely spiritual beings. They are not gods. They are immortal and personal, and possess free will and great intelligence. They can influence us and can act on the material world to help us, but they cannot read our thoughts and we have to make our needs known to them in prayer.

The feast-day of the Guardian Angels is one of the oldest in the Church's calendar. The belief that every person, even a non-believer, has a guardian angel to help him, is not just a Christian belief. It was also shared by Plato and by the ancient Jewish world.

Some will say that if you believe in angels you will believe in anything. If fact, exactly the reverse is true. If you believe in angels as the messengers of the one true God, you are far less likely to believe in crystals, astro-travel or re-birthing. You are also less likely to be duped by things like political ideology, consumerism, or natural selection. Genuine scepticism cannot exist in a vacuum, and faith continues to provide one of the best foundations for seeing clearly.