Jesus and the Angels!

I looked again and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. They were countless and they cried out in a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing. Revelation 5:10-12

I’ve been thinking about Jesus. I always think about Jesus, but these last couple of days I’ve been thinking about Jesus and the angels. I’m thinking about Jesus and the angels because I ran across something I wrote on Holy Week a few years ago. Before I wrote it I had been meditating on the Passion. My meditation made me feel so sad, especially when I thought about the horrible mental agony Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. This bothered me very much but I was grateful that angels, comforting angels were with Jesus as he prayed to the Father in the garden. It was of some solace to me to remember that Jesus was not alone. Sadly the apostles could not stay awake and watch with him.

What I wrote at that time was a devotional on the Sorrowful Mysteries. In the devotional I explain how the angels did not leave Jesus when he was arrested. I believe angels stayed with Jesus every step of the way to his death on the Cross. I’m certain Mary saw the angels as well. I imagine our Blessed Mother so full of grace saw these heavenly beings surrounding her Divine Son. How else would she have been able to bear watching Jesus being tortured to death? After reading this devotional on the Sorrowful Mysteries that I had written, I started thinking of Jesus and the angels again.

Over the past couple of days more and more has been coming to me about Jesus and the angels. I think angels were always with Jesus. Always. Certainly angels were with Jesus even before Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary asking her to be the Mother of God. Legions of angels were at his birth to worship, praise, honor, adore and protect the newborn King of heaven and earth. And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2: 13-14

How long did the angels stay? Did the angels leave Jesus and go back to heaven? No! I think not! God the Son came to earth as a helpless infant. God the Father gave Joseph and Mary the job of protecting this exalted yet helpless baby boy. but were not the angels always present to guide these specially chosen holy parents of Our Lord? Surely angels must have guided the holy family as they made the difficult trip to Egypt. I believe angels were always near as this God/Child was growing up. It’s probable that Jesus could see the angels and even communicate with these blessed creatures from heaven. How could this not be? Our Lord might have shared his days with angels, and if this is true, I think Jesus might have kept his heavenly visions in his heart. Still, if Jesus did see and communicate with angels, I’m certain Mary and Joseph knew, and perhaps had visits from angels as well.

There is so much more I could speculate about Jesus and the angels. We don’t know for certain what relationship Jesus had with the angels but we do know that angels came to announce the birth of Jesus, to comfort our Lord when he needed solace from temptation and anguish, and to proclaim Christ’s Resurrection from the dead.

Angels come to us when we need them most just as angels did for Our Lord Jesus Christ.