Truth & Mercy Series - October 4th 2026

Truth and Mercy series (More on Angels)

“He will put you in his angels charge to guard you wherever you go. They will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone; you will tread on lion and adder, trample on savage lions and dragons.” (Psalm 91:11-13)

Just last Monday a lady joined us in the Spanish OCIA class. She asked a very good question regarding the angels. She had assumed that all angels are good from their names. To which I replied, the word angel comes from the Greek word “Angelos” meaning messenger. The angel brings messages normally from God to the recipient of the message. It is usually tied up to a MISSION from God to an individual. In ancient Greek, the angel could be a person, an envoy, or a human courier who delivers news. 

That is why Saint Gabriel the archangel brought the greatest news to Our Lady about the birth of Jesus Christ. Saint Gabriel is named the angel of GOONEWS. This is where the prayer of the ANGELUS gets its name from. Saint Gabriel is no human messenger; he is a supernatural messenger from God Himself. He is to unveil the coming of the MESSIAH, the long-awaited Infant King. He is sent to Mary to deliver this great message which will reverberate throughout the entire world. This is the same angel sent to Saint Joseph to help him in his ordeal regarding the pregnancy of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20-25). Saint Gabriel is the angel at the royal treasury. He keeps tabs on all miracles emanating from the TREASURY of God. Miracles by their very nature bring happiness and joy to their recipients. He is the scribe taking note of all of them. 

Going back to the question above, we can have evil angels based on their influence or the message they carry. An example would be Lucifer, who tried to kill the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant child to be born in Revelation 12: 1-17. This angel is identified as Satan. He was able to lead a revolt against God’s plan and mission for the world and all of humanity. During this context, Saint Michael rose with many angels to fight against Lucifer and his allies and defeated them all. Because of this, the fallen angels lost their place and position of closeness to God. They were hurled down to earth, limiting their capacity and influence. Though they roam the earth, they are like dogs on a leach. They cannot go beyond their space, so to speak. In the same light, we should not go too close to them or they can bite or attack us. 

This is the precise reason we have our guardian angels to watch, and protect us. They enlighten our path and give us guidance in this world, they assist us on our pilgrimage towards heaven. God desires them to be our best friends, to whisper and seek their help. We need to send them on errands and ensure we listen to their advice. They have the power and strength to defeat the enemy of our souls, who comes to steal, kill and destroy. We only need to have recourse to them. God’s love gave them to us to protect us from birth to delivering our souls to heaven. It will be really unfortunate to ignore such a powerful helper provided by God. It is an act of disobedience to God and His Divine provision for us. Saint John Bosco said, “When tempted, invoke your angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped! Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him: He trembles and flees at the sight of your guardian angel.”

In union of prayers,

Fr. Nicholas Akindele, JCL