Is St. Michael the archangel a saint? Is an angel the same as a saint? The word angel (from Greek angelos) does not describe a certain “species” of creature but rather a certain mission from God. The word mission means that something or someone is sent. And the word angel means messenger.
By species, an angel is part of that creation which we say every Sunday in the Creed “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” Angels were created before humans were, and they are more like God than humans are, in the sense that they are pure spirits. They cannot be seen. They have no body, they are not composed of matter, they have no parts. Because they have no parts, there is nothing to break apart. Thus, an angel, like God, can never die. But like a human person, they had a beginning (they were created) but they will have no end (they will live forever).
An angel is neither male nor female. Unlike humans and animals, angels do not have gender and they do not reproduce. They are created directly by God. There is no such thing as a boy angel, a girl angel or a baby angel. But there is such a thing as a bad angel. In the beginning, some of these magnificent creatures rebelled against God.
Because an angel is a pure spirit, it is not subject to space and time. Angels do not have and do not need wings. They simply “go” where they are sent by God “by willing it”. The old philosophy question: How many angels can fit on the head of a pin? The answer is all of them…or none of them. They don’t “fit” anywhere because they take up no space. And all angels are one in mind and in their angelic spirit with God and they serve Jesus, the Son of God. “They are His angels,” the Catechism stresses. Angels have tremendous goodness in them. And their primary mission is to bring messages from God and to protect us, especially from Satan and sin. The Catholic Church teaches, from the Bible (Matthew 18:10) that every person has at least one angel, a guardian angel, to watch over them and to help them get to heaven.
When you think of an angel, if you have in your mind a small, plump cherub floating around somewhere above your head, please check that incorrect vision. St. Augustine writes that an Archangel is like the size and power of the universe! Look across at the ocean and try to imagine a creature “filling” that space.
Light traveling at the speed of 186,000 miles per second would take two hundred years to cross our universe…and our Patron, St. Michael the Archangel, is that big! He is not physically that big; he is spiritually that big. I am feeling safer already.
I could teach an entire course on angelology, and it is fascinating, but I can’t do it in this short column. The early church fathers and some theologians believed that there is a hierarchy of angels: They mention Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones; Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; Principalities, Archangels and Angels.
And yet, St. Michael the Archangel is head of all the angels in heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The whole life of the church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of the angels” and archangel Michael is the most superior of angels. Catholics often refer to Michael as "Holy Michael, the Archangel" or “St. Michael”. Michael literally means in Hebrew “He who is like God.
To be clear, St. Michael is not a saint. A saint is a human person who displayed heroic virtue and service. St. Michael is not a human person. He does not have or need a body. He is not subject to space and time. St. Michael is an Archangel!
Nonetheless, the title “St. Michael the Archangel” sticks well, has long been a popular devotion among Catholics and helps us to seek his powerful intercession when we are in danger. And we are not changing the name of our Church!
What do you “see” in your mind’s eye now when you think of St. Michael the Archangel. The next time you look across the ocean, imagine a creature, so good and God like, spiritually filling that space, with great power, with great love for God and great love and fatherly protection for you. And then say the prayer…
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.