The Return of the Angels

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Before the 17th century, before the separation of religion and science, angels and other signs of the divine, were possible for all people, everywhere. With humanity’s increasing confidence that we could analyze and totally define anything, we moved away from a sense of wonder and toward a sense of mastery. We could not only dominate our world but the heavens also. Who needs the divine, or messages from the divine, when we can manage on our own?

Matthew Fox, theologian, and Rupert Sheldrake, biologist, note that we are now discovering the limitations of knowledge and the vast unlimited potential for change and learning within the universe.

When we read the bible stories of angels, we note several things. The first is that although they begin by looking like people, they quickly become the voice of the divine. Often they begin their message by offering the assurance, “Don’t be afraid.” Usually, the task or the message that follows is challenging at the least. Abraham packs up his home and family. Moses leads a group of people out of slavery. Mary gives birth to a baby who will break her heart and change the world forever. 

To talk about angels is to talk about a world brimming with import, waiting for us to make meaning, weave history, make connections between intuition and knowledge, trust and hope. To think of the angels is to invite the Spirit to open us to a dimension of reality that we can experience with our souls and bodies. In this reality, all things are possible. In this dimension, life is eternal because there is no separation of beings. Life is one vibrating, passionate whole.

Angels are gateways between the mundane and the cosmic. They are a way of saying things like, be well, or be safe, or get up and walk, but with support, with love. I have never encountered an angel, but I have often felt a comforting presence that has infused my soul with hope and resilience. Moreover, I know people, sane people, who have no other explanation for their experience, but that they experienced an angel. Now that angel may be a projection of our own energy and longing, or it may be our ancestors,  or it may be like prayer, a way to connect to the divine, but not everything needs a microscope to be real. 

Matthew Fox says, “Awe and wonder and the kind of power that angels represent… call us to be greater beings ourselves.” In our time, when hope for the health of the earth, peace and tolerance, seem elusive, we need the angels to fill us with the humility to embrace change, the courage to give thanks even in this dangerous era, and the compassion to hold out our hands in love, holding in them our prayers for all creation and all the creatures, even the human ones.

It is time for us to witness to mystery and wonder. It is time to open ourselves to the winnowing of the Spirit of Compassion. It is time to be filled with the voices of angels and to think about the messages that are everywhere we look.

Here is a poem by the late John O’Donohue, “A Blessing of Angels”:

May the Angels in their beauty bless you.
May they turn toward you streams of blessing.

May the Angel of Awakening stir your heart
To come alive to the eternal within you,
To all the invitations that quietly surround you.

May the Angel of the Imagination enable you
To stand on the true thresholds,
At ease with your ambivalence
And drawn in new directions
Through the glow of your contradictions.

May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes
To the unseen suffering around you.

May the Angel of Wildness disturb the places
Where your life is domesticated and safe,
Take you to the territories of true otherness.

Where all that is awkward in you
Can fall into its own rhythm.

May the Angel of Eros introduce you
To the beauty of your senses
To celebrate your inheritance
As a temple of the holy spirit.

May the Angel of Justice disturb you
To take the side of the poor and the wronged.

May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you
In worth and self-respect,
That you may live with the dignity
That resides in your soul.

May the Angel of death arrive only
When your life is complete
And you have brought every given gift
To the threshold where its infinity can shine.

May all the angels be your sheltering
And joyful guardians

  1. This image captures the essence of motion and color, as feathers of various hues appear to be caught in a gentle but lively whirlwind. The spectrum of red, yellow, green, blue, and hints of other colors blend effortlessly, creating a vivid display that seems to celebrate the very idea of freedom and lightness. The background’s muted tones provide a stark contrast, emphasizing the feathers’ bright colors. It’s as if we’re witnessing a magical moment where nature’s softest elements are swept up in a fantastical dance, inviting viewers to let their imaginations take flight on wings of color.
    Image source: https://stockcake.com/i/colorful-feather-whirlwind_200314_35980 ↩︎