Angels—Our constant companions!

By Michael Ketterhagen

“All night, all day, angels watchin’ over me, my Lord!

All night, all day, angels watching over me!”

--Children’s bedtime song

Every morning I wake up to the sound of water splashing into my glass from the kitchen faucet and to the sound of my inner voice, saying, “May the Angel of the Water, bless this water,” as automatically I make the sign of the cross over the water entering my glass.  I do this unconsciously sometimes as my habit pattern is very strong.

Long ago, when I was studying the spiritual traditions of the Essenes, I learned that they were a group of Jewish celibate men living in a community near the Dead Sea. They were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are copies of portions of the Jewish holy books of the Bible, especially the Torah and the Prophets.

Their world was one of total connection with the spiritual and physical realities of life. They prayed every morning, noon, and evening to one of the Spirits that they knew ordered the life of their world. Every day was focused on one of the Spirits of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space. Each of these elements were addressed with the title “Spirit” and each became a living reality in their lives. They even had a “Spirit of the Sabbath,” dedicated to Saturday, their day of total rest from physical work.  They were arborists.

They blessed the Spirit of the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind each day as well, presently a foreshadowing of the Christian, Francis of Assisi, who blessed these same spirits in his song, “The Canticle of the Sun.”  They were also vegetarians always blessing the plants, fruit, and seeds that they ate.

All the energies of the universe are spiritual entities also, according to the Yoga Tradition. The forces of creation are called “Brahman.”  The forces of destruction and decay are called “Shiva.” The force that maintains the balance between those other two forces is called “Vishnu.” There are even “dieties” that personify the Christian gifts of the Holy Spirit, like Lakshmi for knowledge.  Every spiritual/mystical tradition and every spiritually grounded religious tradition believes in spirits, who are often called “angels.” They are the divine realities that carry the messages and gifts which The Divine showers on us constantly.

The reality that we are constantly being blessed seems a little overwhelming at times to us humans, so we have called them “angels,” to give us a sense of relationship and control.  For example, in the Catholic Christian Tradition, St Michael the Archangel is the defender of evil and destructive forces in one’s life.

In the Yoga Tradition, that defender is called “Ganesh.”  People in those traditions then relate to them through prayer.

We do a great service to ourselves and all life when we recognize these “angels” and send them our blessings. I often sense that they are smiling at me, as though they are always excited to help me out, whenever I do this!

 I bow to the Divinity within you!