More Than Meets the Eye

Homily 511 | 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time | Year B

You have probably seen an angel before, like on a greeting card. They look so cute with their adorable faces and little wings. Ya, those aren’t angels. You see, angels can’t be seen, at least not usually. Most people don’t even really know what an angel is. An angel is a person, created by God like human beings, but without a body or any material “stuff” at all. Angels are pure spirit. Therefore, by definition, they cannot be seen by us mere mortals who need material stuff to see.

In today’s homily I talk a bit about the angels and their arrangement into a traditional hierarchy of nine “choirs” of angels. That’s what all that “thrones and dominions” stuff is about at Mass. Those are the names of two of the nine choirs. There are also, seraphim, cherubim, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and your average garden variety “just angel.” Of the archangels, we know three of their names, the famous Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. We celebrated their feast last Wednesday. But it is that last choir of “just angels” that we’re probably most familiar with. It is from this ninth choir of angels that each of us receives our own special angel, known as our “guardian angel.” We celebrated their feast day yesterday.

Sometimes, God allows angels to take on a visual appearance so we can see them, like when the angel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Padre Pio could see and even talk with his guardian angel. One day, Padre Pio was being attacked by a demon (a fallen angel) and he saw his guardian angel standing in the corner. After the beating, Padre Pio asked his angel, “Why didn’t you help me?” to which his angel replied, “You didn’t ask.” Padre Pio never failed to ask his angel for help after that, and we should do the same.

Angels remind us that there is so much more to creation than merely the things we can see. I end today’s homily by applying this to marriage, something that goes way beyond what we can see and control. We human beings have really made a mess of marriage, our families, and society, by ignoring the invisible but powerful reality of what happens in marriage. We need the help of the angels here, and not just for their prayers. The very existence of the angels reminds us that, when it comes to what is real in this world, the truth is indeed more than meets the eye.