Rev. Father Angelo,
I have a curiosity. We know that the Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus and He is the head. Can it be said that the Angels, their various hosts, also belong to the Church, therefore to this body, or does it only apply to human beings? Likewise, can we say that God is Father also to the Angels and Our Lady is Mother, or only Queen?
Thank you.
Luigia
Response from the priest
Dear Luigia,
1. Yes, Angels are part of the heavenly Church, formerly also called the Triumphant Church.
St. Thomas explains this reason by saying that “both men and angels are destined for the same end which is the glory of divine enjoyment (in other words: enjoyment is the possession of God, ed.).
Therefore, not only men, but also angels are part of the mystical body of the Church.
The head of all this multitude is Christ, (…). Indeed, St. Paul says that “God the Father has made Christ sit at his right hand in heaven, above every principality and authority, every power and domination, and every other name that can be named not only in the present century but also in the future and all submissive at his feet” (Eph 1:20ff).
Therefore Christ is the head not only of men but also of angels” (Theological Sum, III 8, 4).
2. It should be noted that principality and authority, power and domination indicate four categories of angels and precisely according to the language of the Latin text the principalities, powers, virtues and dominations.
3. St. Thomas further states that “on earth the Church is the society of the faithful, but in heaven it is the society of the understanding” (Ib., ad 2), that is, of those who possess God.
4. Mary is the mother of the Church because she was constituted as such by Jesus Christ on the cross because of her singular participation in the work of redemption.
The angels were not redeemed except indirectly as St. Thomas states, because they were given special grace not to fall.
5. The Church has never claimed that Mary is the mother of angels.
In this respect, the great statement of St. Augustine must be kept in mind: “Saint is Mary, blessed is Mary, but the Church is greater than the Virgin Mary. Why? Mary is a part of the Church, a holy, excellent member, superior to all others, but nevertheless a member of the whole body” (Sermon 72/A, 7)
Mary is the Mother of all the Church who has wandered and made pilgrimages on earth and who is now in heaven.
But the heavenly Church consists not only of the Church that has wandered on earth, but also of angels.
6. Of course, Mary’s holiness is superior to that of all the angels and saints combined. And for this reason Mary is their Queen.
The Church applies to Mary the affirmation of Holy Scripture: “The queen, Lord, sits at your right hand”, that is, with an authority as great as that of God. With this difference though: God has this authority by nature, Mary has it by grace, by concession.
According to the probable opinion of some, the rebellion of a portion of angels would have occurred precisely for this reason: because they did not want Mary as their queen.
7. Pius XII in the radio message of May 13, 1946 for the solemn coronation of the simulacrum of Our Lady of Fatima said: “Jesus is the King of the eternal centuries by nature and by conquest. For him, with him, subordinate to him, Mary is Queen by grace, divine kinship, by conquest, by singular election”.
8. Blessed Pope Pius IX in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus writes of Our Lady: “Having a maternal affection for us and assuming the interests of our salvation, She extends her concern to all mankind.
Constituted by God Queen of heaven and earth, and elevated above all the choirs of angels and all the hosts of saints, she stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and supplicates with her most powerful prayers as Mother; she finds what she seeks, and cannot go unheard”.
With the confidence that you will always be heard by God for the intercession of Our Lady, I bless you and remember you in prayer.
Father Angelo
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