In October 1958, Pope Pius XII urged a party of pilgrims to lift up their minds, as he was doing in those last days of his life, to God’s holy angels. “They are so glorious,” he said, “so pure, so wonderful, yet are given to be your companions, charged to watch carefully over you, lest you fall away from Christ, their Lord.” In this book, Fr. John Saward urges us to take up the great pope’s invitation to discover the World Invisible of the holy angels, with whom we hope to enjoy the eternal happiness of heaven. Here is a work born of long years of study and teaching, and of contemplation, under the tutelage of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor. To help us understand better the truth of the angels, Fr. Saward points the reader to the beauty of the angels as glimpsed in the Divine Comedy of Dante and the drawings of Botticelli. After long years of neglect by theology professors of the English-speaking world, World Invisible restores to the angels, holy and fallen, their proper place within the sacred doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Praise
“Elegant, perceptive, and profound, World Invisible invites us into a timely and timeless reflection on the nature and mystery of the angels. In doing so, it teaches us not only to reflect in faith on the angelic world revealed in scripture, but also to take better stock of our own nature as spiritual animals made in the image of God, and of the invisible source of all created reality, human and angelic, who is God himself. The study of angels, as Fr. Saward notes, is
ultimately an invitation to each of us to consider the contemplative vocation of the Christian, and our calling to eternal life with God. A wonderful book.”—THOMAS JOSEPH WHITE, OP, Rector, Angelicum, Rome
“World Invisible: The Catholic Doctrine of the Angels provides a synthesis of the perennial faith of Holy Church regarding God’s incorporeal creatures. The
reader is led along the way by the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, Dante’s poetry, and paintings by Sandro Botticelli, along with 20th-century Thomistic theologians such as Fr. Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange and Abbot Anscar Vonier. The book is thoughtfully crafted to benefit a wide readership. We learn about the creation of the angels and their subsequent acceptance or refusal of God’s love. The angelic nature is described with clarity, including its
intuitive mode of intellection that excludes mistakes and repentance. The holy angels find fulfillment in the praise and service of God, as illustrated by the
traditional liturgy of Holy Church. The reader is assured that fallen angels and demons cannot harm us beyond what God’s providence may allow, whereas holy angels actively foster our salvation. Finally, we are reminded that the Queen of the angels is our heavenly Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, true Mother of God. This enlightening book will help many become more familiar with the angels, for safer protection against demons and for more fruitful collaboration with our God-appointed heavenly guardians.”—FR. ARMAND DE MALLERAY, FSSP, author of Vermeer’s Angel
About the Author
FR. JOHN SAWARD is a former Fellow of Blackfriars
Hall and priest in charge of the parish of SS. Gregory and Augustine, Oxford.
