Locomotion and Power of the Angels

In order to fully understand the extraordinary power of the Angels it is necessary to know their peculiar relation to space and how they move from one place to another.
An Angel, as every spiritual substance, is said to be present or localized in a particular place not by reason of his own substance being coextended with and circumscribed by space, like material bodies, but merely by virtue of his power being applied to a specific object or a particular place. Being spiritual and completely immaterial he does not fill or occupy space, not even the smallest dimension, not even a single point. His presence in a place is determined, and occasionally made known, by his activity there and not by his substance which has nothing in common with matter.
A graphic example of the presence of an Angel, made known by application of his power, is given in the well-known account of the miraculous cures that took place in the pond called Bethsaida, by the Sheepgate of Jerusalem. "An Angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole, of whatsoever infirmity he lay under."[18] It is not said here that the Angel was ever seen by anybody when coming into that pond. His presence became manifest only by his action of stirring the waters and giving health to the first infirm person entering the pond.
The action of the Angel that determines his presence may affect material objects or immaterial subjects, like the human soul, other Angels, or demons.
Being thus engaged in one place the Angel cannot exert his activity and thereby be present at another place at the same time. He can be present and operate in one place at a time, and cannot reach by one action various objects in separate places. However, Angels pass from one place to another with the rapidity of thought. Their motion is not really a locomotion but merely an instantaneous change of place, even when the local distance between the second place and the first is of several thousand miles. His motion consists in transferring his attention and activity from one object to another without having to pass successively through the intermediate places and space. He can, however, follow a continuous motion through space when his activity demands it. Our mind, the closest thing to an Angel, even without leaving the location occupied by our body, travels with the speed of a spirit. At a moment's notice I can transfer my thoughts and my imagination from one continent to another, visit friends and even, perhaps, affect them telepathically. What a man can do mentally only, an Angel can do by actually transferring his own self and all his activity from one continent to another with the speed of lightning or, better, the speed of thought.
It is recorded in the Bible that on such flights the Angels have transported material objects or human beings with the same speed of spirit motion. An excellent example of this is found in the book of Daniel. For six days the Prophet Daniel was in the den of lions without being touched by the hungry felines kept there. During those days the Lord remembered Daniel and sent an Angel to bring him food. The Angel had to provide real food somewhere on earth and then bring it to Daniel. Daniel was in Babylon; the Angel went to Judea, some six hundred miles west of Babylon, and this is how he did it: "There was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc, and he had boiled pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into the field, to carry it to the reapers. And the Angel of the Lord said to Habacuc: Carry the dinner which thou hast into Babylon to Daniel, who is in the lions' den. And Habacuc said: Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the den. And the Angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the den in the force of his spirit. And Habacuc cried saying: O Daniel, thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee.... And Daniel arose and ate. And the Angel of the Lord presently set Habacuc again in his own place."[19]
The mode of Angelic locomotion is clearly expressed in those words: "in the force of his spirit." A locomotion that does not pass successively through the intermediate spaces is implied there where the Scripture says that "the Angel of the Lord <presently> (that is, that very moment, immediately) set Habacuc again in his own place." It is not said that Habacuc was carried all the way back to his place, but that he was set, placed again in his place six hundred miles away, still in time to prepare another meal for his reapers. It is not conceivable that the Angel who provided Daniel with food should let the poor laborers in the field go hungry.
An Angel is a finite being, a creature, and as such he cannot perform miracles. A miracle, in the strict sense of the word "is something done by God outside the order of all created nature."[20] God is the principal cause of every miracle. He may-and usually does-make use of creatures, as Angels and Saints, as instrumental causes of miracles. However, many effects produced by Angels, according to their own natural powers, may appear like miracles to us because of the extraordinary manner in which they are produced and because of the superior power they reveal, but in fact they are not real miracles but Angelic deeds. The amazing swiftness of their movements, the devastating power of destruction which they manifest when God employs them as avenging Angels, are in reality ordinary exploits of the Angelic nature; yet they appear like miracles to us.
A classical example of Angelic avenging power has been recorded in the Bible. One single Angel of the Lord wiped out a whole army of Assyrian warriors in one night. Led by Sennacherib, the Assyrians had come to take Jerusalem in the days of King Ezechias. At the prayers of the pious King, the Lord promised to protect the city of Jerusalem and not to permit the Assyrians to shoot a single arrow into the city. The Lord gave the avenging mission to one of His Angels. "And it came to pass that night, that an Angel of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when he arose early in the morning, he saw all the bodies of the dead."[21] This extraordinary historical event is recorded in four different books of the Scripture and finds its confirmation in the history books of Josephus Flavius and of Herodotus. The inspired writers tell us what the Lord revealed to them, namely that an Angel did it all. The pagan writers tell us how that mysterious agent accomplished it, namely making use of natural destructive means, deadly microbes and bacteria causing a plague: "God had sent a pestilential distemper upon his (Sennacherib's) army; and on the very first night of the siege, a hundred four score and five thousand, with their captains and generals were destroyed."[22]
The hand of the avenging Angel appears manifest in this incident which reminds us of the plagues of Egypt, in the days of Moses, when the Lord must have made extensive use of the Angelic ministry in producing those great signs and portents.
"The phenomena to which the power of Angels may give rise, whether exercised mediately or immediately, must be of a remarkable character, both as regards their extent and their diversity. As on the one hand these pure spirits possess a knowledge of physical and chemical laws far surpassing our own knowledge, and as on the other their power is of such vast range, we must assume that there are hardly any phenomena in the world which they cannot produce in one way or another. Indeed, such effects may be so surprising as to have all the appearances of miracles. They are not, however, true miracles, for, though they surpass the powers of the visible universe, so far as it is known to us, they do not in reality surpass the powers of the Angelic nature, a miracle being due to the power of God alone, and surpassing all the powers both of visible and invisible nature."[23]
Among the many effects of the Angelic power we must mention that of assuming a visible form or the appearance of a human body, always with God's permission or command. The many corporeal apparitions of Angels and Archangels mentioned in the Bible need not be repeated here. However, those assumed bodies do not become part of their nature. They are used merely as necessary instruments for communicating visibly with men. They are not real bodies, and whatever vital actions they seem to perform with them are such only in appearance. "I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you," said the Archangel Raphael, "but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men."[24] The non-reality of the Archangel's assumed body was made manifest by his sudden vanishing into thin air: "And when he (the Archangel) had said these things, he was taken from their sight, and they could see him no more."[25]