In various human mythologies an angel is believed to be an ethereal creature whose duties are to assist and serve the God or gods of many religious traditions. Latin angelus, itself derived from the Greek αγγελος, ángelos, meaning “messenger” (double gamma "γγ" is pronounced "ng" in Greek). The closest Hebrew word for angel is מלאך, mal'ach , also meaning messenger. [reference.com]

Angelus - Artist statement of intention

Angels are celestial beings made of pure spirit though in their role as messengers, can appear in the form of extraordinarily beautiful humans. On first meeting, these formidable beings can enrapture their host and are more than a puzzlement to behold. Indeed, it was to Abraham [Gen. 18:2] and Gideon, [Jud. 6:12] that angels appeared and where not immediately recognized. Angels are also described as powerful spirit warriors who protect the heavens with their swords of flame [Gen. 3:24], and as creatures with wings who can fly [Dan. 9:21]. Perhaps these occasions of flight have lent themselves to the imagery of wings employed by artists.

In attempting to visualize these mystical angels as messengers to our world, we must appropriate symbols and utilize iconographic devices as metaphors to visually assist us. As beings created of pure spirit, angels are not contained in the physical world, but still manage to take human form. Angels are not meant to give life to bodies (as our souls do) but their pure spirit is able to transform into an appearance which eyes may see. This transcendence between the realm of invisibility in pure spirit and the physical human world is consummated to assist us in our limited understanding of the spiritual world. Indeed their metamorphose is purely for our benefit and nourishment as they deliver their messages from heaven.

Meditating upon the mysteries of these creatures, our purpose in this exhibit of images, is to make visible, to personify and to contemplate, biblical references to God's messengers. It may be unavoidable to ignore the "kitsch" so often associated with popular notions of romantic cherubs and charming cuteness of angels. Perhaps in using children in this visual reflection I have left myself open to criticism, nevertheless, children possess the ethereal qualities not realized in ripened or seasoned adults. Various Christian symbols from shells to seed pods and wings to birds nests are incorporated throughout each image of this exhibit; their own historical significances already being firmly established for centuries.

Angelus - a historic perspective of angels in the Christian tradition and reflections on their importance.

Visions of life beyond the veil of physical world are exceptional, but the spirits of God, Lord of Heavenly Hosts, make corporeal visits under His directive in order to bring messages to mankind. They are one of the instruments by which God communicates his will to men. Though the appearances of angels generally last only so long as the delivery of their message requires, their visitations are distinguished and marked by the extraordinary.

Biblical history tells us it is the privilege of the angels to proclaim the birth of John the Baptist [Lk 1:12], the mystery of the Incarnation to Mary [Lk 1:26], to St. Joseph [Mt 1:23], and of Christ's birth to the shepherds [Lk 2:10]. It was also the angels who first revealed the mystery of the Resurrection [Mt 28:2; Mk 16:3; Lk 24:23] and explained the mystery of the Ascension [Acts 1:10] to the disciples. In the Old Testament they brought the word of God to the patriarchs, to Moses and to all the prophets.[Is 6:6; Zach 3:1-5; Dan 10:8-10, 18] . Their visits to our world are not limited to these incidents, and indeed are chronicled throughout ancient history.

"Angels not only communicate the message of God, but are also sent to purify and strengthen souls to receive and understand their messages properly [opusangelorum.org]." The catechism of the Catholic Church says: "As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness [paragraph 330]."

St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13th Century Dominican Priest holds the title of "Angelicus" and Doctor of the Catholic church for his great works in theology. It was Aquinas' definitive writings on the subject of Angels that we are to understand as much as we do today. Aquinas has taught us that Angels are spiritual creatures who enjoy a closeness to God which surpasses our own because of the limitations of our physical bodies. He explains,

"it belongs to the human soul to be united to a body, because it is imperfect and exists potentially in the genus of intellectual substances, not having the fullness of knowledge in its own nature, but acquiring it from sensible things through the bodily senses" [Summa Theologica, Prima Pars Angeles in comparison with bodies].

Angels, he says, do not have bodies "naturally united to them." He explains:

"Angels need an assumed body, not for themselves, but on our account; that by conversing familiarly with men they may give evidence of that intellectual companionship which men expect to have with them in the life to come. Moreover that angels assumed bodies under the Old Law was a figurative indication that the Word of God would take a human body; because all the apparitions in the Old Testament were ordained to that one whereby the Son of God appeared in the flesh." [Summa Theologica, Prima Pars whether angels assume bodies?].

To understand angels in a little less philosophical approach than the teachings of Aquinas, we can further our understanding in a catechesis on the Holy Angels, by the late Pope John Paul II. He taught in a general audience how to understand these spiritual creatures of God:

"We recognize above all that Providence, as the loving Wisdom of God, was manifested precisely in the creation of purely spiritual beings, so as to express better the likeness of God in them who are so superior to all that is created in the visible world including man, who is also the indelible image of God. God who is absolutely perfect Spirit, is reflected especially in spiritual beings which by nature, that is by reason of their spirituality, are nearer to him than material creatures, and which constitute as it were the closest "circle" to the Creator. Sacred Scripture offers abundant explicit evidence of this maximum closeness to God of the angels, who are spoken of figuratively as the "throne' of God, as his "legions", his "heavens". It has inspired the poetry which present the angels to us as the "court of God". [Pope John Paul II - Catechesis on the Holy Angels 1 Creator of all things, seen and unseen General Audience of 9 July 1986]

Pope John Paul II goes on further to say:

"The angels have no "body" (even if, in particular circumstances, they reveal themselves under visible forms because of their mission for the good of men), and therefore they are not subject to the laws of corruptibility which are common to all the material world.

Jesus Himself, referring to the condition of the angels, will say that in the future life, those who are risen "cannot die any more, because they are equal to the angels" (Lk. 20-36)." [Pope John Paul II - Catechesis on the Holy Angels 4 Angels Participate in the History of Salvation: General Audience of 6 August 1986]

In the writings of Eusebious of Ceasarea (c. 265-c.340) this early Catholic Church Father poetically and prayerfully exhorts his own interpretation of Gods heavenly messengers :

"His ministers are the heavenly hosts; his armies the supernal powers, angels, the companies of archangels, the chorus of holy spirits, draw from and reflect his radiance as from the fountains of everlasting light. Yea every light, and specially those divine and incorporeal intelligences whose place is beyond the heavenly sphere, celebrate this august Sovereign with lofty and sacred strains of praise. The vast expanse of heaven, like an azure veil is interposed between those without, and those who inhabit his royal mansions: while round this expanse the sun and moon, with the rest of the heavenly luminaries (like torch-bearers around the entrance of the imperial palace), perform, in honor of their sovereign, their appointed courses; holding forth, at the word of his command, an ever-burning light to those whose lot is cast in the darker regions without the pale of heaven. [Oration in Praise of Constantine]"

Angelus - final thoughts...

In this essay of photographic images entitled Angelus, we are concerned with traditional Christian symbolism and iconography as it relates to interpreting these messengers of God in the bible. I wish to explore visually the symbols of doves, seeds, wings, nests, shells, etc., and to analyze how these physical items may be used to tell the stories of these spiritual messengers from heaven. In his last audience, shortly before his death, Pope Pius XII paternally admonished the pilgrims "to awaken and sharpen your realization of the invisible world about you, ... and to foster a certain familiar acquaintance with the Angels, who are so constant in their solicitude for your salvation and holiness." [Pope Pius XII - Oct 3,1958, at Castelgandolfo].

My hope is that this "glimpse through the veil of invisibility" may stir the mind and soul to ponder our invisible, spiritual world. I hope it may contribute to allowing ourselves to enter into solitude and peace of recollected spirit.

I will end with some thoughts of St. John of the Cross, a co-founder of the Discalced Carmelites and Doctor of mystic theology in the Catholic Church , who writes about the value of these messengers from heaven in his spiritual classic, Dark Night of the Soul:

"Another deduction is that this very wisdom of God, which purges and illumines these souls, purges the angels of their ignorance and gives them understanding by illumining them on matters they are ignorant of. This wisdom descends from God through the first hierarchies unto the last, and from these last to humans. It is rightly and truly said in Scripture that all the works of the angels and the inspirations they impart are also accomplished or granted by God. For ordinarily these works and inspirations are derived from God by means of the angels, and the angels also in turn give them one to another without delay. This communication is like that of a ray of sunlight shining through many windows placed one after the other. Although it is true that of itself the ray of light passes through them all, nevertheless each window communicates this light to the other with a certain modification according to its own quality. The communication is more or less intense insofar as the window is closer to or farther from the sun.

Consequently, the nearer the higher spirits (and those that follow) are to God, the more purged and clarified they are by a more general purification; the last spirits receive a fainter and more remote illumination. Humans, the last to whom this loving contemplation of God is communicated, when God so desires, must receive it according to their own mode, in a very limited and painful way. God's light, which illumines the angels by clarifying and giving them the sweetness of love - for they are pure spirits prepared for this inflow - illumines humans, as we said, by darkening them and giving them pain and anguish, since naturally they are impure and feeble. The communication affects them as sunlight affects a sick and bleared eye. This very fire of love enamors these individuals both impassionedly and afflictively until it spiritualizes and refines them through purification, and thus they become capable of the tranquil reception of this loving inflow, as are the angels and those already purified. With the Lord's help we will explain this state later. In the meantime, however, the soul receives this contemplation and loving knowledge in distress and longing of love. [Book Two - Chapter 12 Dark Night of the Soul, John of the Cross]

So it is my hope that by visually exploring these angelic spiritual beings within this Angelus exhibit we may stir our own intelligence and imagination. By our own participation with the grace of God , may these images be a starting point of meditation which may lead to a prayerful and silent contemplation of the mysteries of the beatific vision experienced for eternity by these Angels in Heaven.


Lisa Johnston
November 2005