Angels, Saints & Holy Souls
Last month we celebrated the Solemnity of the Holy Guardian Angels. God has provided Angels as protectors, guides, and messengers between God and humanity. Many might think that angels are a medieval teaching, but the bible is filled with references to angels. Angels are mentioned over 175 times in the New Testament and over 100 times in the Old Testament. Jesus himself speaks of angels and angels were sent to minister and strengthen Jesus.
Angels are always present. They are spirits, they don’t visibly show their presence, but they use their power to protect us, guide us, offer us wisdom, interceded for us, and work for our salvation.
At the start of November we celebrated the solemnity of All Saints.
The word saint is derived from the Latin “sanctus”, meaning "holy," and in general refers to all the faithful who try to live a life of holiness.
When Catholic Church refers to a “saint” it means a holy soul who is united to God in Heaven. A canonized saint is a person who is officially recognized as having lived a life of heroic virtue while on earth and is now in heaven united with God.
Being a canonized saint doesn't mean that the person was perfect. Only Jesus and Mary were conceived without sin and led perfect lives. Many Saints struggled for years to defeat their sinful passions.
Saints made mistakes just like everybody else. What sets them apart is that they did not stay down when they fell. By God’s grace, these holy men and women got back up, sought the mercy of God and repented, and kept striving for holiness.
That is why today we celebrate all the Saints. We hold them up as holy examples that we should imitate. By honoring the saints, we honor and glorify God through their lives and we honor God, Who made them holy.
Also, the saints and angels pray with us. Scripture says, “Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a participation in the heavenly liturgy, at the Mass there are countless angels and saints worshiping and praying with us and taking our prayers and sacrifice to God.
Saints and angels intercede for us, meaning that they pray for us because they are close to God and care for all of us that are still striving for holiness on Earth.
The Feast of All Souls is celebrated the day after All Saints Day at the beginning of November, and especially during the month of November the whole Church is reminded to remember the Holy Souls and to pray for them. During November we are also encouraged to visit the graves of our loved ones and offer sacrifices for them.
The Holy Souls are all those who died in the grace of God but are temporarily in purgatory.
Purgatory is simply the place where those who are already saved are cleansed of the temporal effects of their sins before they are allowed enter Heaven and are united with God.
The Angels attend to the Souls in Purgatory; it is their desire to help these souls. The angels gather good works performed for the Holy Souls and they move us to pray for them.
St. Robert Bellarmine teaches us, the Holy Souls are close to God – much closer than we are and they have the consolation of knowing they are saved – their prayers for us are very effective. So, as you pray for your departed loved ones and all the holy souls, ask them to pray for you, too!
Deacon Michael Braun