The reality of angels

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St Basil the Great: “Beside each believer stands an angel as a protector and shepherd leading him to life”.

How can this be known? Have you had experiences that confirm the Saint’s words? Can you recommend any good reading or videos on this topic? Interested to hear your thoughts.
 
Thomas Aquinas is a fantastic saint and thinker of the church who had a great deal to say about angels. New Advent maintains his Summa Theologiae on their site. You can find him covering in that work a broad range of questions regarding angels. Highly recommended!
 
ReluctantOptimist said:
St Basil the Great: “Beside each believer stands an angel as a protector and shepherd leading him to life”.

How can this be known? Have you had experiences that confirm the Saint’s words? Can you recommend any good reading or videos on this topic? Interested to hear your thoughts.
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Experience. One receives a protective thought (angels are non-corporeal spiritual messengers) A guardian angel helps a person avoid spiritual dangers and achieve salvation. Also sometimes the angel may help the person avoid physical dangers if this will help the person achieve salvation.
 
The teaching of the Church regarding our guardian angels comes from divine revelation, i.e., the word of God in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. For example, Jesus himself said:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 18:10).

And Psalm 91: 11-12 says:
“For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
The devil quoted this passage in one of his temptations of Christ in the wilderness.
 
Magnanimity said:
Thomas Aquinas is a fantastic saint and thinker of the church who had a great deal to say about angels.
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Questions 50 to 64 of the First Part of the Summa Theologiae (also called Summa Theologica) - I read these questions with curiosity of what Thomas would say about Angels, because I found such a complete explanation in other things of his I read before.

When I finished question 64 I literally said out loud to myself in confident delight, “Wow, angels really are real!”

When I now pray to St. Michael I can all but see him; he is a warrior, and he is intent on taking his charge to defend us from my prayer. He is real; angels are not just “stories for children” to make us feel warm and cozy.

John Martin
 
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