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Messengers of the Glory of God: Newman and the Angels
September 25, 2026
Messengers of the Glory of God: Newman and the Angels
Fr. Brian W. Geary
The curtain slowly closes on the liturgical year’s final act. A change of color and temperature brings tidings of the end. Often, this realization dawns on me only a few weeks before the Solemnity of Christ the King – usually when I’m preparing a homily and the apocalyptic nature of the readings wakes me out of the slumber of my daily routine. On a good year, the dual celebrations of All Saints and All Souls remind me to prepare.
Certainly the Sunday readings and the solemnities of early November all serve as reminders. But often overlooked is the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and the memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, celebrated on September 29th and October 2nd respectively. When celebrated intentionally, these days serve to lift our minds not only to the coming end of the liturgical year, but also the end to which the liturgical year points – the coming of Christ, and our eternal contemplation of his glory.
Newman calls the neglect of angels one of the sins of the modern age. If in previous times, an overdue emphasis was placed on angels, even to the neglect of our Lord, the modern era has grossly overcorrected. Such is the result of an empiricism that holds only matter is knowable and real. And yet we know such a view is mistaken. Philosophy – namely metaphysics, points us to a world transcending this one. And revelation makes known to us a personal God who not only creates and sustains us in love, but wants to make himself known. Angels (the very name means messenger), do precisely this. They make the infinite God known to finite man.
An angel’s first task is to adore. They behold the face of God; they contemplate; they cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy!” Such is their supreme privilege – a privilege forfeited by Lucifer and his demons in their pride. Out of this contemplation, God’s holy angels reveal to us mortal creatures here below the infinite, eternal glory of their creator. Scripture tells us that nature is not some cold, impersonal force. On the contrary, we are invited to see in it, on many occasions, the work of God’s messengers. The fires of Sinai, the agitated waters in the pool of Bethesda, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – the list goes on – reveal the workings of an all-powerful, all-just God. This God rules and intervenes not just at points in history, but is truly the Lord of history. And in the end, this same God will come as judge, with all his angelic hosts, to judge history itself.
Announcing the Lord’s final coming is St. Michael, that “champion high Of Heaven’s imperial Bride.” In a special way, St. Michael is given the job of defending and guarding the Church. He who had the privilege of casting Satan down from God’s presence is now given the task of defending the Church on earth as she makes her pilgrimage back to her divine Creator. Indeed, it is St. Michael’s awe-inspiring task, in a particular way, to help prepare the Church for the coming of Christ the King:
“And thou, at last,
When time itself must die,
Shalt sound that dread and piercing blast,
To wake the dead, and rend the vaulted sky.
And summon all to meet the Omniscient Judge on high.”
As Christians we are also aware of the presence of our Guardian Angels. Beholding the face of God, they are given the (often arduous) task of bringing us through the trials of this life, that we too may behold our Lord in Heaven. In a beautiful poem to his own guardian angel, Newman salutes him as “My oldest friend.” Our angels are given us precisely so that under their protection, we might become friends of God. That we might be kept safe during the trials of this life, both physical and spiritual, until the day we draw our final breath. But Newman shows that our guardian angels’ tasks do not end at the moment of death. Truly, they are there to greet us, and wrap us in their proverbial arms. But they will not rest until we finally see the face of God. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Newman’s epic poem, “The Dream of Gerontius.” After his final agony, Gerontius is met by his angel and given a glimpse of heavenly glory, but yet must still undergo the cleansing that purgatory effects. Even here, our angels guide us, and it is by his angel’s hands that Gerontius is lowered into Lake Purgatory, to be retrieved in due time:
“Farewell, but not for ever! brother dear,
Be brave and patient on thy bed of sorrow;
Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial here,
And I will come and wake thee on the morrow.”
May all the holy Angels and Archangels intercede for us now and for ever! Gazing on the face of God, may they lead us to that same glory, that when Christ comes again as King we may rule and reign with him. May the upcoming feasts of the Archangels and Guardian Angels stir in us an awareness of the graces held in store during the end of this liturgical year, that we may find ourselves watchful and ready to meet the Lord.
