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Would an Angel of the Lord ever take on a frightening form? Thanks, Tim
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MarcoPolo
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I guess that’s subjective. Often those who saw angels were frightened (Matthew 28:4), although it seems in similar instances, the person is frightened more unexpectedly, not because of the form.
In Luke 1:29, Mary appears perplexed, not frightened. Nor does Tobias seem frightened when the angel Raphael appears to him in Tobit 5:5-6…he doesn’t even recognize Raphael as an angel.
Off the top of my head, however, an unnamed angel (speculated as St. Michael from Numbers 22:22 frightens Balaam’s donkey 3 times throughout Numbers 22:21-31 because he has a sword drawn. Balaam finally sees him and kneels repentently. His level of fear is a little vague, at least whether the fear is due to the appearance of the angel, but I would think with the sword drawn, the angel must have had a purposeful demeanor of power.
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water
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I understand your question correctly, but here something that came to my mind, Tim.
It depends on how one defines “frightening form”. When I was a kid, I thought a homeless person, a deformed person was the most frightening one. Thanks be to God, I am no longer a kid, and my angel could be in the form of the most frightening figure that I used to see.
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Hastrman
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Hmmm…
A nonhuman entity with no feelings, as high above me as I am above an ant?
Nope, nothing scary about that.
A nonhuman entity with no feelings, as high above me as I am above an ant?
Nope, nothing scary about that.
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swariffin
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I suggest you to read the book “Angels and Demons” by Dr. Peter Kreefts.
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Hastrman
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Or “The Angels and Us” by Mortimer Adler.
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Thanks for your response’s. I’ll have to look into those books. Tim
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St_Gabriel
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I have never seen an angel, but Jacob wrestled with one. That’s got to be frightening.
Genesis 32:25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
Genesis 32:25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
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I spoke with a Priest Saturday afternoon about a possible encounter I had 1 1/2 years ago. First, Can angels “speak” through people? What if the person is not Catholic and seems unaware? Could malicous intensions of the host be a venue for the demonic?. This person literally said 1: “Do you believe in demons?” I said “I believe IN Christ”. 2: “you have something following you”. 3: “you think you are something your not”, I agreed and the response was “now we can be friends”. This was their response to my questions about God and possible visions I had. Then out of the corner of my eye , this person appeared to take on “typical” demonic features. I ended up in the hospital for a couple of days for observation and had a head scan done because of a cancer history, then released. The Priest response to my inquiries was that this is very rare and I should approach this with mistrust, stressing that this was a non catholic. This whole encounter was completely contradicted in the confessional once before this Lent. It was a random Priest at a penence service. Besides me being nuts, what do you think about an encounter that leaves one questioning their own state of salvation or possiblilty of ever reaching sainthood? It feel like I was deceived, but don’t want to ignore a possible warning. Thanks for putting up with this crazy sounding story, but it is REALLY bothering me. IM me if you like, Please,Tim
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FCEGM
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I would imagine that the Angel of the Lord would be extremely frightening to the Lord’s enemies - both human and angelic. But even in appearing to the faithful, most would be unprepared for an incursion into their (our) lives of the obviously supernatural. The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke has some words on this:
If one of them suddenly
Held me within his heart, I should
fall dead
At his too mighty being, because
beauty
Is the beginning of the terrible.
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FCEGM
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Tim, I’m not clear as to whether the second priest confirmed your encounter as having been with the demonic - which is what I think happened. If someone such as the person you met was truly turned toward evil, then yes, a demonic angel could very well have used that person (whether that person was supposedly religious or not) to intimidate and frighten you.
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The second Priest said in a face to face confession that I was in more then good shape so to speak. Me and him really clicked and he gave me much hope. He recommended that I wear a Benedictine crucifix and showed me his 4 inch version of the exact one I was wearing on my neck and still wear. That whole confession was very insightful and I am now trying to find him through the church he came to just for the service and confessions. I only have his first name. So if the Lord reunites us, then I think I will have a much needed adviser. I’ll have to see. This person in question was an ex JW and did not like the CC, but his knowledge of spiritual warfare was why we where on this topic. He claimed to have experienced the same type of encounters. There is so much more to the story that I have to consider. At the time I was trying to go it alone without the Church and was looking at the JW’s. This , I think is why it happened. Just discerning this is something I can’t do and most Priest haven’t dismissed it as a deceitful spirit. They just don’t know. It’s a bold thing to do. But, by this encounter, I was led to believe I was unworthy to ever become a Saint. When I asked Father about this, he responded, we are all unworthy to preach the gospel. I’m getting nowhere, but I still hope and believe we are all called to be Saints and I have not yet been excluded from that one day possibility. No matter how much the Lord shows me, it still comes down to faith and hope. Thanks for your response, Tim
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I have the name and parish for the Priest I saw on Holy week. This is a good thing. He’s 50 miles away in Front Royal , VA. Maybe this will become something. Thanks, Tim
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MarcoPolo
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Tim, your story is interesting. If the above quote is any indication, it sounds devlish to me. It almost sounds like something Father Corapi once said, that the devil would try to convince him he could never be good. Sounds like the same tactic to you.
To me, if this trickery is designed to discourage you from trying to become saintly, then you probably have the potential to become a great Saint!
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FCEGM
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I think it is my family. There is six of us and the enemy was POed when he lost his grip on me as the leader of the family. Yeah, take away the trimmings and the encounter doesn’t seem right. But how convincing it can be when it can use the world, know what I mean. I would love to talk to Fr. Corapi for five or six hours. Thanks for the boost though, Tim
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I’m blessed that my parish Priest is so practical. He keeps me grounded and in line, but himself having an encounter with the Blessed Mother and St Anne Seton up in Emmitsburg, PA, he won’t get into these things. This other Priest has no problem in this area and seems gifted in particular. I hope we can meet on a regular basis. Thank you all who have responded. I think this has been fruitful and resolved the best as possible online. Tim
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Graing
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Tim,
I agree with MarcoPolo above. In light of this subject, the prayers to St. Michael seem… timely
I agree with MarcoPolo above. In light of this subject, the prayers to St. Michael seem… timely
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johnstown_johnn
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At the Annuciation didn’t Angel Gabriel say, “…fear not, Mary for you have found favor with God…”
Perhaps she was somewhat frightened?
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