The saints will take the place of the fallen angels, Angels: Day 070

The saints will take the place of the fallen angels, Angels: Day 070 September 29, 2016

angels_augustine_2The saints will take the place of the fallen angels

When Satan and his followers were cast out of Heaven, it reduced the number of angels. The saints, says St. Augustine, will replace the angels who were lost, so that Heaven will have its full number of citizens, and maybe—in  God s generosity—even more.

Some of  the angels, in their wicked pride, deserted God, and were thrown out of the brightness of their heavenly home into the lowest darkness. But the remaining angels stayed in eternal bliss and holiness with God.

These faithful angels were not all descended from one single angel, fallen and condemned. The original evil thus did not bind them all in the shackles of inherited guilt, and it did not turn the whole group over to just punishment, the way it happened with humans. Instead, when the one who became the devil first rebelled with his wicked company and was then defeated, the rest of the angels stayed obedient to the Lord. So they received what the others had not had: a cer- tain knowledge of their everlasting security in God’s unfailing steadfastness.

Since not all the angels had perished in this desertion of God, it pleased God that those who had perished would remain lost forever, but those who had stayed loyal in the revolt would go on rejoicing in the certain knowledge that they would have eternal bliss.

The other part of the rational creation, mankind, had completely perished through its own sins, both original and personal, and the punishments for them. But God decided that a part of mankind would be restored, and would make up the loss that the disaster of the devil had made in the society of the angels. For this is the promise to the saints: at the resurrection, they will be equal to the angels of God (Wis. 11:20).

Thus the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother and the commonwealth of God, will not be cheated of her full number of citizens. Instead, she may end up ruling over an even larger number. –St. Augustine, Enchiridion, 28-29

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

Right now, am I making myself ready to take my place among the angels? Will I be fit for citizenship in the heavenly Jerusalem?

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, make me ready to praise you in the new Jerusalem, with the heavenly assembly and the church of the first-born that are written in Heaven; spirits of the just and of prophets; souls of martyrs and of apostles; Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Authorities, and dread Powers.

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