25 Quick & Fascinating Facts about God's Angels

Since ancient times humans have been fascinated with angels and how they work. Much of what we know about angels outside of Sacred Scripture is taken from the Church Fathers and Doctors, as well as from the lives of the saints and the experience of exorcists.  Listed below are 25 interesting facts you may not know about God's powerful heavenly ministers!

1. The angels are entirely spiritual beings; they do not have material bodies, they are neither male or female.

2. Angels have an intellect and a will, just like humans.

3. God created the complete hierarchy of angels altogether in one instant.

4. The angels are ordered into nine "choirs" and are ranked according to their natural intelligence, far above human intelligence.

5. The highest angel in rank of natural intelligence is Lucifer (Satan).

6. Each individual angel has its own unique essence and is therefore a distinct species, as different from one another as trees, cows, and bees.

7. Angels have personalities that differ from one another, similar to humans.

8. Angels are infused with a perfect knowledge of all created things, including human nature.

9. Angels do not know particular events to occur in history, unless God wills that knowledge for a particular angel.

10. Angels do not know what graces God will give to certain humans; they can only infer it by observing the effects.

11. Each angel was created for a specific task or mission, of which they received instantaneous knowledge at the moment of their creation.

12. At the moment of their creation angels freely chose whether to accept or reject their mission, a choice forever locked into their will without remorse.

13. Each human being from the moment of their conception has a Guardian Angel assigned to them by God to lead them to salvation.

14. Human beings do not become angels when they die; rather, the saints in heaven will take the positions of the fallen angels who forfeited their place in heaven.

15. Angels communicate with one another by passing concepts mind to mind; the higher intelligence angels can empower the intellect of the lower ones to grasp the concept being communicated.

16. Angels experience intense movements in their will, different from but similar to human emotions.

17. Angels are far more active in the life of humans than we realize.

18. God determines when and how angels can communicate with humans.

19. Good angels help us to act in accord with our created nature as rational human beings, fallen angels the opposite.

20. Angels don't move from location to location; they instantaneously act where they apply their intellect and will, which is why they're depicted with wings.

21. Angels can prompt and guide the thoughts of humans, but cannot violate our free will.

22. Angels can take information from your memory and bring an image into your mind in order to influence you.

23. Good angels bring to mind imagery that helps us do the right thing according to God's will; the fallen angels the opposite.

24. The degree and kind of temptation from fallen angels is determined by God according to what is necessary for our salvation.

25. Angels don't know what is happening in your intellect and will, but they can surmise it by watching our reactions, behavior, etc.

Scripture tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1) and suggests that we may be unaware of how angels are interacting with us at times (Heb. 13:2). Knowing these few facts about the angels and how they work can help us be more aware of their influence over our lives.

We should pray to be able to recognize more clearly the promptings we receive from our Guardian Angels, so that we will choose the good with confidence and avoid that which is bad for us.

Read next The Holy Archangels: Their Identity & Mission

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