What Does the Church Teach About Angels?

I am consistently amazed that, as secularized as our society has become, there is still a fascination which many people have about the existence of angels.  I am often asked about what the Church has to say about angels.  I recently received such a similar question.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Paragraph 328) declares that"the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings which Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of faith."

The Church bases this doctrine on the teachings of both the Bible and the unanimous and uniform magisterial pronouncements of the Church Fathers.

It was Pope St. Gregory the Great who provided the clearest testimony regarding angels.  He declared that, on the authority of Sacred Scripture, we can identify nine classes of angels.

In his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas synthesizes and develops the Catholic doctrine regarding angels and teaches that the Nine Choirs of Angels are composed of the following:  Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels.  He classifies these nine choirs in a hierarchy of three groups, reflecting the nature of the Holy Trinity Itself.

Church doctrine further proclaims the existence of the Guardian Angels, the Angel of the Lord, the Living Beings as well as other titles and names by which the angels have been made known to us.

Church teaching not only encompasses the existence of the Holy Angels but speaks also of Satan or the Devil, once a Holy Angel whose pride corrupted his natural goodness causing him to become evil along with other angels who joined him in his fall from Grace.  These are the fallen angels or demons who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls through sinfulness and pride.

The Church's doctrine regarding angels is ancient and inspiring.  Let us pray that, through the intercession of the Holy Angels, we may humbly seek to do God's Will and, by so doing, denounce Satan and his company of devils who wage war against the goodness and love of the Lord.