The angels: our companions on life’s journey

The Church celebrates the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael on Sept. 29, followed by the feast of guardian angels on Oct. 2.

Father Edward Kolla reports that angels are spirit beings acting as messengers between God and humans. While art often portrays them as delicate, androgynous, or as chubby babies, Scripture describes them differently. For example, the Book of Ezekiel describes cherubim with four wings and four faces resembling a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.

Because they are spirits, angels take on human or quasi-human forms when interacting with people. The Archangel Raphael appeared as a young man to accompany Tobiah, and the Archangel Gabriel likely took a similar likeness during the Annunciation to Mary and the announcement of John the Baptist's birth to Zechariah. Psalm 91 states that God commands his angels to guard people in all their ways.