Wondering how God is calling you? Are you curious about how your job or set of relationships is really a vocation? Do you want some awesome discussions around faith in real-life and more? Think hanging out with Catholic sisters and a fun thoughtful, faith community is cool? Then you are in the right place! Welcome! Explore and be sure to visit with us every weekday at 6 pm CT in our chat room.
What exactly are Angels?
Joan: It’s probably easier to explain what they aren’t. Angels are NOT the spirits of people who have died, nor are they “earning their wings….” Often you will hear people saying, “My dad is in heaven and now he’s our family’s guardian angel.” It’s a beautiful thought. However, angels have never been human, and human beings do not turn into angels when we die. The Bible says we will become “LIKE angels,” which usually is interpreted that we will become spirits.
Angels were the very first creation God ever made. They are pure spirits, although they can take on human form (our towtruck driver) when necessary to carry out God’s plan. They predate humans by however many years old the world is. In the Book of Job it says that angels sang and celebrated when they saw what God had made. And of course when the Garden of Eden was closed, God posted an angel at the entrance. In Revelations it explains that there was an enormous fight in heaven, long before anything else existed, and fully 1/3 of all the angels God had created were driven out of Paradise. These are the demons that “roam the world, seeking the ruin of souls.”
But… (there’s always a but) this does not mean that your loved ones in heaven can’t watch over you, and do beautiful things for you. The same God who made the angels made humans, and when we get to heaven, we are simply a different group than angels, and we are usually referred to as saints. I have tons of stories about little hugs from heaven and other comforting events that people have experienced from their loved ones in heaven. It’s just important to define our terms so we are all talking about the same thing.
Previous post: Conversation with Joan Wester Anderson
Next post: Can we give names to our angels?
Get your nun schwag! -- We've got cool nunly items including this awesome mug at 
{ 3 comments }
i’ve searched the Holy Bible front to back and find no book entitled “Revelations”. one would expect a nun to know this.
“Revelations” or it’s more proper title “The Revelation to John” is the last book of the Bible.
(or sometimes it is called the Apocalypse.)