The Speech of Angels

Angels manifest knowledge to one another, and to this extent they “speak” to one another. But the speech of angels is not a matter of sounds or of uttered words. The speech of angels is a direct communication of knowledge from spirit to spirit.

An inferior angel can speak to a superior angel, eventhough, as we have seen, it cannot enlighten the superior angel; a candle cannot enlighten the sun, but it can burn visibly in the sunlight. An angel speaks by directing its thought in such wise that it is made known to another angel, superior or inferior. Such directing is done according to the free will of the angel speaking.

Certainly the angels “speak” to God by consulting his divine will and by contemplating with admiration his infinite excellence.

Neither time nor place has any influence on angelicspeech or its effect. Local distance cannot impede the communication of angels.

Angelic speech is the ordering of angelic mind to angelic mind by the will of the angel speaking. Now, it belongs to the perfection of intellectual communication that it canbe private; even a human being can speak to another person alone. Therefore, the angels who are superior to human beings, must be capable of communicating thoughts, angel to angel, without making their communication known to all the other angels. The scope of angelic communication depends on the will of the angel speaking;this will determines the communication for one other angel, or for several, or for all.