Without an appearance of angels, and strengthened by the Word alone, the martyrs met death for the sake of the name of Christ. Why should we, too, not be satisfied with the same thing? Baptism is a sufficiently manifest and clear appearance. So are the Eucharist, the Keys, the ministry of the Word. They are equal to -- yes, they even surpass -- all the appearances of all angels, in comparison with which Abraham had only droplets and crumbs.
LW, AE vol. 4, p. 126
Yeah, true. But there is just something about finding yourself face down in the dirt in abject fear at the approach of an angel that has that certain...je ne sais pas...MOTIVATION about it.
Or maybe I'm just not up for martyrdom.