ANGELS 

WE  HAVE  HEARD  ON  HIGH 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Angels We Have Heard On High.”

Since today is the feast of three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, I thought it would be a good idea to say something about angels.

Angels  appear in movies. We’re all well aware of Clarence in the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life.  Hopefully we’ve all seen that movie at least 5 times in full and 25 times in part. Then there are at least 2 dozen other angel movies. Here Comes Mr. Jordan and  Heaven Only Knows has stories about people who weren’t supposed to die so angels help them on their return.  Then there are the movies, Angels in the Outfield, Angels in the Infield and Angels in the Endzone.

It looks like the Los Angeles Angels are going to make the Playoffs while the guardian Angels of the Oriole players must have been asleep.

Angeles can be found not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in various other mid-Eastern religions - Islam etc. etc. etc. Gabriel for example was considered Muhammad’s protector and the one who revealed to him the Koran.

Then there is so much stuff about angels in popular myth today and down through history and religion - that we are not that sure what we can know and believe about angels.

Catholic theologians and Church statements from on high have told us what is essential when it comes to beliefs about angels.

It’s Catholic doctrine that they are not God or gods. They are not to be adored - and that has happened. Only 3 have names officially: the 3 of today’s feast - Michael, Raphael and Gabriel.  We have 2 of them on the Our Lady of Perpetual Help picture: Michael and Gabriel.

When you come up to pray at the O L P H - the Our Lady of Perpetual Help shrine pray for peace in and with Islam.

Angels were around before creation. They are  creations of God. They don’t have bodies. They are spirits.

They are good by nature - but they also have the ability to choose - so there is the possibility of  bad angels - Satan and those who followed him. 

So key to angels - maybe even more to our awareness - is the possibility of demons who give us messages of temptation. At least, at times they are blamed.

Angels are called to worship God - and they help human beings. There are guardian angels. We’re called to do the same: guard others, help others, and worship and give God the glory and thanks.

They appear before the Old Testament, during it, as well as into the New Testament. They bring messages and protect human beings.

Then there is development in thought and imagination about angels down through the history of our religion about angels. They don’t have bodies, yet we picture them and make sculptures of them. For example, it wasn’t till the fourth century that wings appeared. For example, it wasn’t till the Italian Renaissance that little cupid baby faced angels appeared in images. They are masculine, young and move  fast. However, you can’t tell about whether they are male or female - much of the time.

ANGELS IN THIS CHURCH

The title of my homily is, “Angels We Have Heard On High.”

Yesterday afternoon I took an hour and a half to walk around this church and count how many angels are pictured or sculptured in this church.

In the middle ages there was the question about could a million angels sit on the pin point of a pin.

Up here in the sanctuary there are the 4 obvious statues of angels around the old altar and the tabernacle.

There are 3 angels on the sanctuary lamp. There are 2 angels on the OLPH picture Gabriel and Raphael.  Then there are the same two angels on the plaque over there that describes the OLPH picture. There are 2 angels at the end of each section of the communion rail. There are 6 angels on the candles up front up here.  Then there are 8 chubby faced little cutie angels up there on that painting above the altar.

On the stained glass windows there are 24.

On tops of pillars there are 10 - 5 on each side.

In the back there are 2 angels at the holy water fonts.

There are 24 angels in the stained glass windows.

That’s 63 angels.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Angels We Have Heard On High.”

 Find yourself singing that hymn with others if you can sing or alone if you can’t sing and then bring Christ and his Many  Messages to others and maybe someone will give you the message, “Hey, you’re an angel.”