Could the mystery of the angelic mission fittingly have come into its own in the Church before the declaration of the Dogma of the presence of their Queen, body and soul into heaven, thus confirming her capacity to exercise her regal office in the economy of salvation as Mediatrix and Mother in the Order of Grace over and through the angelic choirs? Herein we may behold the heavenly ladder of grace properly articulated: it flows down from the Blessed Trinity over the God-Man Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and man. Interestingly enough, each came into existence during the papacy of the “Angelic Pastor” about the time of the declaration of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother into Heaven. In fact, two such charisms exist with precisely these goals in mind. Given therefore that “the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of the angels,” one might well expect that there be special charisms properly dedicated to the angels and their ministry within the Church, drawing our attention, on the one hand, to this powerful source of help, and subsequently, soliciting a reciprocal response of collaboration together with our “fellow servants”. And accordingly, the angels cooperate towards our every good (action).” Thomas: “Man cannot progress to merit except by the divine help, which is extended to man by means of the ministry of the angels. We may infer this truth from another statement of St. Francis de Sales notes, “The means of inspiration that God uses are infinite.” Such actual graces are also largely mediated to us by holy angels. Similarly, in the individual life of souls when it comes to actual graces St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that all the extraordinary gifts of grace in the Church are appropriated to the Holy Spirit Who communicates them through holy angels. Unseen, they are everywhere active in the life of the Church. How rarely the faithful advert to the importance of these supernatural ministries exercised by the holy angels. Pope John Paul II does not hesitate to affirm that the angels carry out a “messianic ministry” under Christ and in the service of the Church. In the panorama of the Apocalypse, indeed, throughout Holy Scripture the holy angels exercise a vast array of ministries. There we behold the significant but largely invisible mission of the holy angels, Christ’s servants, sent out to invite us and prepare us for the coming of the Lamb. The Apocalypse offers us a prophetic vision of the progress of the Pilgrim Church upon earth as it is cleansed and purified through time in preparation for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The Holy Spirit has poured out innumerable charisms upon the Church, both decorating the Spouse of Christ and preparing her for every good work. As such it is a spiritual gift of God to the Church, one, however, which occasions special joy in heaven inasmuch as it promises to facilitate greatly the salvific mission of the holy angels. The Work of the Holy Angels is a recognized spiritual movement within the bosom of the Holy Catholic Church which aims at fostering an intimate collaboration with the holy angels for the glorification of God and for the sanctification (salvation) of souls.
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