Christ is the center of the angelic world.
They are his angels: ‘When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all
the angels with him.’ They belong to him because they were created through and for him: 'for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all
things were created through him and for him.' They belong to him still more because he has
made them messengers of his saving plan.
From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the
life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of
angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: 'Let all
God's angels worship him.' Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not
ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the
highest!" They protect Jesus in his
infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden,
when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel
had been. Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by
proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ's return, which
they will announce, to serve at his judgement. In the meantime, the whole life of the
Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.
In her liturgy, the Church joins with the
angels to adore the thrice-holy God. Already here on earth the
Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united
in God.
Paolo
Veronese, Rest on the Flight into Egypt, c. 1572, Italian, active in Venice and
Verona, 93 x 63 1/2 in., oil on canvas, The Ringling Museum. Excerpts from The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
