We are getting closer to two special days in the Liturgical Calendar. I am referring to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. These two days complement each in the mysteries that they teach us. In fact, the fullness of the Church is seen during these two days. On All Saints’ Day we are thankful for the Church Triumphant, and on All Souls’ Day we pray for the Church Suffering. We, the Church Militant here on earth, are specifically focusing on the other two parts of the Church, as the Church Militant, Church Suffering, and Church Triumphant make up the reality of the Church, as the Church is more than just what we see here on earth. Over the next two weeks we will go into these two celebrations. We’ll take All Saints’ Day first since that is celebrated first.
On All Saints’ Day we give thanks to God for the many canonized saints in Heaven. We also give thanks for the countless men and women whom we are unaware of. To be a saint is to be in Heaven. We often think of just the canonized saints, but the reality is that a saint is one who is in Heaven. All of us should desire to be a saint because we all should want to be in Heaven.
I think this is an appropriate time to mention that we do not become angels after we die. This idea is really widespread. We hear it commented often that, after a loved one dies, we say that they have received their wings, or that there is one more angel in Heaven. This is absolutely incorrect. We can easily see that the Church teaches and believes differently every time we recite the Creed on Sunday, as we say that we look forward to the resurrection of the dead. The Apostles’ Creed says it more forcefully, as we say we believe in the resurrection of the body. If our bodies will rise at the end of time, then how can we be angels in Heaven? The point is we are born human, we die human, and we experience the next life as a human. Angels are created angels by God, just like we are created human beings by God. Angels are not deceased human beings.
Looking at this from another way, let’s just assume that angels are deceased human beings. The devil and his demons are fallen angels, meaning that they have angelic natures. If angels are deceased human beings, and the devil is an angel, then how could the devil tempt Adam and Eve in the Garden, if Adam and Eve are the first human beings to be created by God? This would mean that the devil would had to have existed as a human being before Adam and Eve. This contradicts Scripture. Therefore, we do not become angels after we die.
All Saint’s Day is a great celebration in the Church every year. We are given the hope and encouragement to follow Christ everyday, so that we might one day be where the saints are, that is being before God’s presence forever in Heaven.