Each Sunday we profess to believe in a God who made things “visible and invisible.” We often forget that the saints are invisibly present at every Mass. Another forgotten and often misunderstood group present all around us is the great multitude of invisible angels. How are we to understand or have relationships with angels? At least the saints were once visible people like everyone else on earth, but not angels. Contrary to popular confusion, we will never become angels. You’ll sometimes hear people talk when someone dies that “heaven as gained another angel.” This is not at all correct. Angels are created begins like you and I but, unlike you and I, angels have no bodies. They are pure spirit. Just like people don’t become animals or rocks, people also don’t become angels.
In today’s gospel, Jesus confronts an angel. This angel St. Luke refers to as “the devil.” He is also known by the designation Satan, Lucifer, the serpent, etc. We sometimes forget that he is an angel and that not all angels are good. For a reason known only to God, some of the angels, created good by God like you and I, chose to rebel against God and live in opposition to him. Satan is one of these fallen angels that we sometimes call devils or demons. Just like we see in the gospel, there really are fallen angels out there trying to tempt us and lead us away from God. We have a real enemy.
But we also know that there are good angels… lots of them. Ultimately the good angels are way more powerful than the fallen angels because they are empowered by God. We know the names of three of the angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. In addition to these famous archangels, each of us also has our own angel assigned to us by God. We often refer to these angels as “guardian angels.” As we enter these 40 days of Lent, we are given the opportunity to be tested like Jesus was. We will test ourselves with penance: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As we engage more fully in this battle, let us remember that we have a real enemy we are fighting against. But let us also remember that we do not fight alone. Let us remember that there are angels among us, and we know which side wins in the end.