The Angels and Their Mission: According to the Fathers of the Church

by Jean Daniélou

Fr. Jean Danielou discusses the mission of the angels by following a historical order, looking at guardian angels, the angels and the sacraments, the spiritual life, death, and the Second Coming.

Genres: Theology, Catholic, Christianity, Religion, Angels, Nonfiction, Philosophy

130 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1956

About the author

Jean Daniélou S.J. (1905–1974) was a theologian, historian, cardinal and a member of the Académie Française.

Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou was born at Neuilly-sur-Seine, son of Charles and Madeleine (née Clamorgan). His father was an anticlerical politician, several times minister, and his mother an educator and founder of institutions for women's education. His brother Alain (1907–1964) was a noted Indologist.

Daniélou studied at the Sorbonne, and passed his agrégation in Grammar in 1927. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1929, becoming an educator, initially at a boys' school in Poitiers. He subsequently studied theology at Fourvière in Lyon under Henri de Lubac, who introduced him to patristics, the study of the Fathers of the Church. He was ordained in 1938.

During World War II, he served with the Armée de l'Air (Air Force) in 1939–1940. He was demobilised and returned to civilian life. He received his doctorate in theology in 1942 and was appointed chaplain to the ENSJF, the female section of the École Normale Supérieure, at Sèvres. It was at this time that he began his own writings on patristics. He was one of the founders of the Sources Chrétiennes collection. In 1944 he was made Professor of Early Christian History at the Institut Catholique de Paris, and later became dean. Beginning in the 1950s, he produced several historical studies, including The Bible and the Liturgy, The Lord of History, and From Shadows to Reality, that provided a major impetus to the development of Covenantal Theology.

At the request of Pope John XXIII, he served as an expert to the Second Vatican Council, and in 1969 was consecrated as a bishop and made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. He was elected to the Académie Française on 9 November 1972, to succeed Cardinal Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant.

His unexpected death in 1974, in the home of a prostitute, was very diversely interpreted. He died on the stairs of a brothel that he was visiting. It turned out he was bringing her money to pay for the bail of her lover. Thanks to a group including Henri Marrou, his reputation was cleared.

Reviews

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a wild ride. Exhaustively researched while concise. I’ve got much to ponder here… some veers into strange and seemingly problematic territory (to this Anglican reader) and yet Danielou shows all his receipts. So what he’s saying is ancient and common in the tradition, even if odd.

I love that he focused less on the ontology of angels and more on their mission. So there’s barely anything about what they are (I do wish he said some things there) but there’s ton about the angels in the history of redemption. Almost every page was eyebrow raising. I was struck by the dynamics between earthly and heavenly angels, eg that the earthly angels ascended with Christ and the heavenly ones didn’t recognize him (Ps 24). On that point, lots of psalm quotes 🤩

As a side note, I wish Heiser had been given this book. It proves that the tradition has been saying what Heiser claimed it missed, so the problems of neglect that he identified are more recent and probably more due to academia than the church! Ironic. In his later years, it seems Heiser recognized this and had someone research what the fathers said about the spiritual realm. Again, I wish he were given this book.

[Adam Carnehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything Jean Danielou published during his life was written with deep erudition and piety; "The Angels and Their Mission" is no exception. I might add that it is one of Cardinal Danielou's most accessible works because of its length and pacing, but there is no sacrifice of scholarship. Everything is meticulously researched, and further reading suggestions are always included in footnotes.

The study is scriptural and heavily Patristic, and examines several key doctrines of Christian angelology across ten chapters:

1) The Angels and the Law (explores the biblical idea that the angels were present at Sinai and delivered the Law to Moses and to the Israelites; then they accompanied the New Moses at His birth and ushered in the New Covenant)

2) The Angels and the World Religions (examines the widespread Jewish and Christian belief that God appointed angels to oversee nations; also lays out the doctrines that many held about angels teaching pagan nations philosophy and learning in preparation for the coming of the Gospel)

3) The Angels of the Nativity (makes the interesting observation that there was a two-fold theological significance for the angels at the birth of Christ: those earthly angels appointed over nations rejoiced to receive the Word while those heavenly angels worshiping at God's throne delighted to descend with the Word and announce to shepherds the Good News)

4) The Angels of the Ascension (introduces the key notion that, as angels accompanied the act which spelled out the Son's kenosis, they also accompanied the act which signified the Son's enthronement; the glorification of Christ is also the elevation of our human nature)

5) The Angels and the Church (returns to the frequent connexion in the Early Church between the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the angelic reality: the 99 are the angels which far outnumber humans, but which rejoice when the Shepherd rescues the one lost sheep - humanity - and brings him back into the fold)

6) The Angels and the Sacraments (perhaps my favorite chapter - illustrates the notion also presented in the Epistle to the Hebrews that our earthly worship is accompanied by heavenly worship, and that what is visible also has an invisible aspect; the angels worship along with us, and the Trisagion at the Eucharist is a participation with the seraphim's song as Isaiah 6 shows)

7) The Guardian Angel (a beautiful and eye-opening chapter; it presents the scriptural and patristic reading of passages such as Genesis 48:16, Matthew 18:10, and Acts 12:15, demonstrating that as each nation has an angelic general appointed for its protection and governance, each human being has an angelic protector appointed for his guidance, education, and well-being)

8) The Angels and the Spiritual Life

9) The Angels and Death (explores the notion that angels accompany souls after the death of the body, following the Lord's words in Luke 16:22)

10) The Angels and the Second Coming (notes that more passages - and sayings of our Lord - explain the role of angels at the Parousia than any other angelical ministry; the angels will witness the Second Coming as well as aid the Lord in sorting the righteous from unrighteous and accompanying the righteous to Paradise)

Danielou works across a wide-range of patristic and early Church texts - from apocryphal works to Apostolic Fathers, from Apologists to the great, 4th century theologians, from Pseudo-Dionysius to Thomas Aquinas (with even a few references to Ignatius of Loyola). The only glaring omission might be Augustine who is not referenced in the book. Most attention is given to the writings and sermons of Origen, Hilary of Poitiers (interestingly), John Chrysostom, and the Cappodocians (especially Gregory of Nyssa).

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting examination of the place angels have in the life of the christian according to the early church fathers. From the beginning to the resurrection all aspects are covered with extensive quotes from the likes of Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Psuedo-Dionysus and many others. This is a small book but it contains a great amount of important ideas.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outside of the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, by far the best book on angelology ever written, going back to the sources of all we know about angels. Not personal stories of angel encounters, but a thorough collection of the writings of church fathers and the books and people that influenced their thoughts. If you're looking for soft and fuzzy, look elsewhere.

[Withinthegarden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good summary of Patristic commentary on the role of angels in God's labors (creation of the material realm, ministry of Jesus, resurrection/ascension of Christ, Church activity, etc).

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

Angels and their Mission by Jean Danielou

This is a comprehensive and insightful survey of angelology from a Catholic perspective.

Reading this book made me realize how much we've lost in our modern world. We have lost quite a bit. Angels are an important subject for Christians. Jesus believed in angels and made angels an essential part of some of his teachings. Jesus's worldview was predicated on a worldview where angels not only existed by were intimately involved in the affairs of men. Every person and every nation had a guardian angel. God delegated his power through angels.

And, yet, angels remained distant. The Bible names only three angels apart from the fallen angel, namely, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. The Catholic Church discourages Christians from giving names to their guardian angel and, yet, guardian angels watch us and protect us.

Danielou's text is mind-expanding. Here is an example of the wealth of details expressed in a concise way:

"This assistance of the angels with respect to Israel concerns not only the communication of divine goods but also their conservation. St. Hilary speaks of the custodia, the spiritual watch that was entrusted to them. For him, not only is the communication of the Law made by the angels, but even its administration is in their hands.32 Thus, there was an angel who watched over the Law and, until the time of Christ, assured its authentic interpretation. This is also true of the Temple. Origen tells us that the "Ark of the Covenant, and, the mercy seat, the Cherubim, and even the temple itself" were given to Israel through the angels.33 Besides that, an angel watched over the holiness of the Temple. Perhaps it was he who flogged Heliodorus when he tried to force his way into the Holy of Holies." This angelic protection is accorded the Temple as long as the presence of God abides there and is withdrawn when, at the death of Christ, the Temple becomes a thing of the past and the veil is lifted. Meliton of Sardis alludes to this truth,35 and St. Hilary are is even more explicit: "And then [at the Crucifixion] ... the honor of the veil together with the watch of the protector angel is withdrawn."

There is a lot in this one paragraph to think about and follow up on.

One thing I was fascinated about was how the early church fathers believed that the Incarnation elevated human status vis a vis the angels. Thus, prior to the Incarnation, humans would bow down to angels, while afterwards, humans were recognized as fellow workers in God's plans with a greater dignity:

"Thus, the mystery of the Ascension completely amazes the angels of heaven. For what it reveals to them is really a mystery, hidden up to then, an entirely new reality, disconcerting at first glance. The cosmological presentation of the descent and ascent must not deceive us. The true mystery of the Nativity is the self-abasement of the divine Person of the word, a "little lower than the And the true mystery of the Ascension is the exaltation of human nature above all the worlds of the angels. That is the real double mystery which is dramatically represented by the descent and ascent in the midst of the choirs of angels. But this "dramaturgy," as St. Gregory Nazianzen calls it, must not conceal the reality it bears beneath it. It represents an overthrow of the natural order of things resulting from the revelation of a reality absolutely new and That is why it throws the angels into a state of astonishment."

And:

"If the mystery of the Nativity inaugurates the work of Christ, that of the Ascension completes it. Just as the angels were entrusted with the secrets of the first, they are the open admirers of the second, after having assisted Christ throughout the interval that separated these two events, from the temptation to the Resurrection. Gregory Nazianzen shows Christ entering into heaven, after having recovered the lost drachma and "calling together the friendly Powers to share His joy with them just as He initiated them to His incarnation.""' And John Chrysostom, speaking of the Ascension, compares the participation of the angels in the two mysteries:
When our Lord was born according to the flesh, the angels, seeing that He was being reconciled with man, cried, "Glory to God in the highest!" Do you want to know how they rejoiced in the Ascension? Listen to the account in the Bible: "They rise and descend continuously." That is the behavior of those who want to contemplate a very special sight. They want to see the unheard-of spectacle of man appearing in heaven. That is why the angels are constantly showing themselves: when He is born, when He dies, when He rises into heaven.107"

This is not a book of inspirational stories. This is solid theology.

Read it and add a depth to your theology.

[Analia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐

“A propósito de la resurrección, los ángeles exultan, los arcángeles se regocijan, los querubines y los serafines celebran con nosotros la fiesta de hoy…”

🪽 ¡Qué libro difícil! En un principio mí nota era 3⭐ pero contiene dos apéndices que están muy bien narrados y me supieron a poco. El primero refiere a las lecturas apócrifas y el segundo es sobre los Padres de la Iglesia y otros autores que menciona el autor.
🪽Me ha gustado pero lo que comprendí fue muy poco porque su lectura se vuelve pesada; Es cierto que yo hice una lectura, no rápida, pero es teología angelical y requiere reflexionar, analizar y la teología a mi me cuesta. De todos modos, como primer acercamiento estuvo muy bien para mí.
🪽En “La misión de los ángeles, según los Padres de la Iglesia” NO VAMOS A ENCONTRAR una explicación de los ángeles que vemos en estampitas los cuales son tiernos y dulces. La sinopsis del libro dice: que: “La devoción a los ángeles ha crecido desmesuradamente sin ninguna referencia a Cristo ni al compromiso cristiano. Estas expresiones, signos indudables de una búsqueda de lo espiritual, han derivado en la mayoría de los casos en prácticas que rozan con lo supersticioso y lo ridículo. El ángel es convertido en una especie de amuleto para poder sentirse bien o satisfacer la fantasía personal. Esta obra de Jean Daniélou muestra la forma en que la tradición cristiana ha entendido el papel de los ángeles en la historia de nuestra salvación.”
🪽Por lo tanto Jean Daniélou, francés, sacerdote religioso ordenado jesuita, luego obispo y cardenal, no se propone desarrollar un tratado completo de angeología, sino un estudio sobre la misión de los ángeles y ésto basándose en las fuentes patrísticas. No es tampoco ambición del autor renovar la interpretación de la angelología de los Padres, sino simplemente enriquecer la documentación que la concierne.
🪽 Su tema es el estudio de la misión de los ángeles junto al género humano, lo cual nos da derecho a dejar de lado a los ángeles del cosmo. Sólo en la medida en que asisten al hombre en la búsqueda de su fin ��ltimo son ellos a la vez, para él, ministros de los dones de Dios tanto en el orden natural como en el sobrenatural.
🪽Los tres temas que más me gustaron fueron el de los ángeles y la iglesia, los ángeles y los sacramentos, aunque con deseos de saber más de la relación de éstos con la eucaristía y AMÉ el capítulo referido al ángel custodio dejando entrever la importancia del bautismo. Éste capítulo, dentro de todo, me pareció “el más fácil de comprender”.
🪽Para todo lector curioso, ojalá puedan conseguir éste libro y descubrir el verdadero significado de los ángeles y aprender brevemente sobre los Padres de la Iglesia.

[Gab Nug · Rating 3 out of 5]

This work was good, but I admittedly wanted more from it. Danielou synthesizes so many of the patristic writings in order to discuss the various roles of the angels, and that's great. But he frequently made the same point over and over from a number of different Church fathers, that this text felt very repetitive. Additionally, I think I wanted some mind-blowing revelations from this book, and that's just not really what I got.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've long had the sense that there was a more substantial history in the Church of reflection on the angels, but frankly they're not a subject that elicits sustained theological treatment these days. I was delighted to find Cardinal Danielou's summary of patristic writing on the subject. He is very thorough, and I found his digest to be very helpful. I was mildly distracted by the translator's use of old-style Catholic names for biblical characters (e.g., Noe, Isaias)--but that's a trifling reservation in my otherwise enthusiastic reception of Danielou's book.

"On that day the joy of the friends of the Bridegroom (i.e., the Angels) will be complete. They have sighed for His coming during the long preparations of the covenants with Noe and Abraham. They have greeted His appearance with a great joy and exalted His glorious Ascension. They have put themselves at the service of His redemptive work throughout the time of the Church, to convert, illuminate, and unite mankind to God. They have led to paradise the souls of the just who were entrusted to them. They have kept watch over their mortal remains. But they still await the day on which the Bridegroom will come to look for His Bride, when her beauty is finally perfect, in order to lead her into the House of His Father for the eternal wedding feast."

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is its frequent lyrical quotations from the Church Fathers. Angels brought forth some of their most adorable prose, as you might expect. Lots of warm fuzzies here-- almost too many. The oddest thing is definitely how many of the random cultural myths about angels out there (e.g. the whole shoulder angel thing) actually go back to the first centuries of Christianity, if not farther. It might be better as a slow, devotional read, maybe for Ascensiontide, than knocked back for class the way I just did.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept trying to read this, but I just couldn't. It was very difficult to read and it wasn't what I was looking for. I wanted to read a book that explained the different kind of angels to me. This was a book that referenced all the times angels were mentioned in the bible and their roles, but it was so wordy and I kept having to reread to find any meaning. Disappointed, but I'll look for another book about angels.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuninating discourse on the roles of angels in human history and each human life. Chapters are 1) The Angels and the Law; 2) The Angels and the World Religion (paganism and the nations); 3) The Angles of the Nativity; 4) The Angels of the Ascension; 5) The Angels and the Church; 6) The Angels and the Sacraments; 7) The Guarian Angel; 8) The Angels and the Spiritual Life; 9) The Angels and Death, and; 10) The Angels and the Second Coming.

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angels are a tricky topic to think through reasonably. We either gloss them up as saccharine cupids, obsess about them as the foot soldiers in spiritual warfare a la 'This Present Darkness' or watch Della Reese and Roma Downey visit troubled souls on 'Touched By An Angel.' But in 'The Angels and Their Mission: According to the Fathers of the Church' Roman Catholic theologian Jean Daniélou mines the writings of the church fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, etc...) to exposit how thoroughly angels are involved in earthly affairs. According to the fathers, the angels are intimately involved in the Law, in world religions, in the Church and the sacraments (and in the spiritual life overall), at our deaths, as our guardian angels, and finally, in the Second Coming.

Daniélou explores the mission of the angels before the Incarnation, noting that the church fathers saw the angels as the means of giving philosophy to pagans and working towards their good despite pagans' lack of revelation (pp. 17-18). With Isaiah 63:1 as its inspiration, Daniélou relates the tradition that at Christ's Ascension he was joined by an entourage of earthly angels but that the heavenly hierarchy did not recognize him because he was not only divine but had now glorified human nature (pp. 38-39). Another allegorical tradition interprets mankind as the one lost sheep and the angels as the 99 who rejoice when the Good Shepherd recovers the straying creature (p. 49). Yet another tradition sees bad and good angels as "custom officials" who weigh the merits and demerits of souls after death with the good angels judging the acts of the human being to ascertain the place in heaven fitted for their soul (Daniélou states this belief has its genesis in paganism though it is still held in the Oriental Church, p. 100). Origen states that angels:

"prepared the path of Christ in the Old Testament; they are the friends of the Bridegroom whose joy is perfect when they hear the voice of the Bridegroom and who leave the Bride along with Him...They draw the soul to good by noble inspirations and they give it a horror of sin. Thus they dispose it to receive the visitation of the Word. But they withdraw before Him. In the course of its spiritual ascent, the soul passes first of all through the angelic spheres, but it goes beyond in order to arrive at the realm of God. The whole mission of the angels is to lead souls to the King of the angels and then to disappear before Him" (p. 92).

We can also strive to take on an "angelic nature" through virginity, which is a foretaste of the heavenly life since angels do not have marriage (p. 100). Reading this, I did start to question some of the rationale or tradition we have of considering virginity as just such a foretaste. One can be a virgin and yet be far from God whereas a married man or woman might enjoy a flourishing spiritual life. But of course, those who champion virginity as a foretaste of heavenly life would also insist that it must be tied to a rich devotion to God which thus fosters a flourishing spiritual life.

Still, this is a valuable book to read. Daniélou brings little originality to angelology, instead relying on the church fathers to guide and explain. Reading 'The Angels and Their Mission' made me wonder who today is writing and teaching on angels "responsibly?"

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"died unexpectedly in 1974 in the home of a woman who was alleged to be a prostitute. The Society of Jesus, after an investigation, stated that Daniélou was bringing a gift of money to pay for the bail of the woman's husband."

So, I had to read this totally weird book in the little free library down my street. Thus guy was the cardinal during Nazi occupation so there's a lot of antisemitic slang; "the cult of the Jews," "the jews worshipped angels because thats who spoke to them (minus that burning bush time but lets not bring that up) and so were idolators "the Jews got more angels because there's less of them," kind of stuff.

But beyond the antisemitism and the hypocrisy, pretty interesting read. I would've gone into more mythology, added a chapter on that to round it out.

[Grzegorz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book, that gives a good short impression of Church Fathers' view on angels. Not afraid to bring up non-canonical texts as well, which I appreciate. Not many writers like mentioning the Sibylline Oracles, but its present here.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic overview that handles much of the church fathers' view of angels. Really helpful and well sourced.

[K. P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danielou offers beautiful selections from the Fathers of the Church to intensify and show our ecclesial spirituality of angels. Short read, prayerful.

[Julio M. Shiling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A seminal work

This is a well written work about angels. The subject matter urges books such as this. Truly brilliant details. A must read!

[Meg Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tricky to read. Lots of Thomistic thought.

[JonM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the subject

This is a great book for those interested in patristics and divine council theology. It has a few places which make very clear that a certain view is held because of essential biblical texts to support it. Even though I didn't agree entirely with certain views, it was a breath of fresh air to see certain arguments rest entirely upon specific biblical texts and their patristic interpretation. It was especially refreshing for me to interpret those Scripture passages very differently then some early church fathers, which all the more convinced me that there is no such thing (and never has been) an infallible church or church council. Even a seemingly unanimous interpretation by the church fathers is evidence of unanimous fallibility.

[Maria Calokerinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reference book. Refer to it a few times to get a better understanding of angels mission..