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On the eve of the feasts of the holy archangels and guardian angels, the secretary of the International Theological Commission provides a sound theological clarification about the nature and mission of our celestial companions.
Color modification of an 1867 image by Gustave Doré, of Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari gazing into the Empyrean Light surrounded by angels. (photo: Gustave Doré and Kalki /Wikimedia Commons 29, 2020)
After disappearing from most theological and philosophical think tanks of the modern era, the questions related to angelology have recently made a comeback in the West through postmodern spiritual movements like the New Age.
This growing interest towards angels in contemporary societies, however, is giving rise to dangerous distortions of the Christian metaphysical conception of the world.
Alerted by the numerous perversions of this important element of the Christian faith, Father Serge-Thomas Bonino, secretary of the International Theological Commission and dean of the faculty of philosophy of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, applied himself to provide solid theological foundations to the belief in the existence of angels through his book Angels and Demons: A Catholic Introduction.
Padre Pio tirelessly reaffirmed the importance of prayer to one’s own guardian angel, and for his part Father Bonino is convinced that the angelic figure gives human creatures a foretaste of the beauty and greatness of God. According to him, the estrangement of many Christians from their celestial companions, combined with the current climate of spiritual confusion, highlights the urgent need to speak about these intermediary spirits between the human and divine realms as an avenue for evangelization.
At the approach of the feast of the holy archangels, Sept. 29, and that of the guardian angels, Oct. 2, the Register sought his valuable insights into this too-often-neglected spiritual subject.
You often denounce a “hijacking” of angelology by New Age movements, while Christians themselves have been gradually turning away from it. How do you explain such a phenomenon?
First of all, it is important to say that angels are not central to Christianity; the central question is the mystery of God and that of Christ. Their existence is nevertheless a fact that the Scripture and the Tradition of the Church have always maintained, deepened and supported. Thus, this is not an optional truth, although it is not an essential one.
Continued below.
Renowned Angel Expert Explains Amazing Facts Every Catholic Should Know About Angels
Color modification of an 1867 image by Gustave Doré, of Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari gazing into the Empyrean Light surrounded by angels. (photo: Gustave Doré and Kalki /Wikimedia Commons 29, 2020)
After disappearing from most theological and philosophical think tanks of the modern era, the questions related to angelology have recently made a comeback in the West through postmodern spiritual movements like the New Age.
This growing interest towards angels in contemporary societies, however, is giving rise to dangerous distortions of the Christian metaphysical conception of the world.
Alerted by the numerous perversions of this important element of the Christian faith, Father Serge-Thomas Bonino, secretary of the International Theological Commission and dean of the faculty of philosophy of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, applied himself to provide solid theological foundations to the belief in the existence of angels through his book Angels and Demons: A Catholic Introduction.
Padre Pio tirelessly reaffirmed the importance of prayer to one’s own guardian angel, and for his part Father Bonino is convinced that the angelic figure gives human creatures a foretaste of the beauty and greatness of God. According to him, the estrangement of many Christians from their celestial companions, combined with the current climate of spiritual confusion, highlights the urgent need to speak about these intermediary spirits between the human and divine realms as an avenue for evangelization.
At the approach of the feast of the holy archangels, Sept. 29, and that of the guardian angels, Oct. 2, the Register sought his valuable insights into this too-often-neglected spiritual subject.
You often denounce a “hijacking” of angelology by New Age movements, while Christians themselves have been gradually turning away from it. How do you explain such a phenomenon?
First of all, it is important to say that angels are not central to Christianity; the central question is the mystery of God and that of Christ. Their existence is nevertheless a fact that the Scripture and the Tradition of the Church have always maintained, deepened and supported. Thus, this is not an optional truth, although it is not an essential one.
Continued below.
Renowned Angel Expert Explains Amazing Facts Every Catholic Should Know About Angels
