Bulletin Q&A Article, published 10-8-23:
The Bible tells of visitations of angels to many people. There is no mention of the angels having wings. Do angels have wings? Also, what happens to our guardian angels once we die?
Recently we have had two days honoring angels, the Archangels on September 29 and our Guardian Angels on October 2. So it is fitting to address a question regarding angels.
With regard to the claim that there is no Biblical mention of angels having wings, the website of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels) begs to differ. They state: “We can find a number of references about angels appearing with wings in the Scriptures. For example, Cherubim were depicted with wings extending over the Ark of the Covenant in the Book of Exodus (cf. Ex 26: 20); the prophet Isaiah relates a vision of a six-winged Seraph, ‘with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft’ (Is 6:2); the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of Cherubim who had not only four faces, but also ‘four wings’ (Ez 10:21). What’s more St. John in the Book of Revelation records for us that he saw not only four Cherubim who had ‘six wings’ (Rev 4:8), but also that he saw an angel ‘flying high overhead’ (Rev 14:6).”
Of course, these mentions of wings are symbolic. Angels are pure spirits and thus cannot have physical wings. But the symbol of wings can give us some insight into how the angels operate. The OSA website states: “Wings are an apt symbol to represent the angels’ capacity for rapid movement of spirit, thought, and will.”
With regard to the second part of the question, that subject was addressed in an earlier column, but it doesn’t hurt to answer it again. Opus Sanctorum Angelorum proposes that when we go to Heaven, our angel will worship the Lord with us, side-by-side. They quote St. Thomas Aquinas: “When he arrives at the end of life, he no longer has a Guardian Angel; but in the kingdom he will have an angel to reign with him.” They claim that if we go to purgatory, our angel waits for us in Heaven.