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| Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael |
Feasts of
Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels
September 29
“Amen, Amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and
the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:51
Yes, angels are real.
And they are mighty glorious, beautiful and magnificent in every
way. Today we honor three of the
multitude of angels in Heaven: Michael,
Gabriel and Raphael.
These angels are “archangels”. An archangel is the second order of angels
just above the guardian angels. In all,
there are nine orders of celestial beings that we commonly refer to as angels
and all nine of these orders are traditionally organized into three
spheres. The entire hierarchy is
traditionally organized this way:
Highest Sphere:
Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.
Middle Sphere:
Dominions, Virtues and Powers.
Lower Sphere:
Principalities, Archangels and Angels (Guardian Angels).
The hierarchy of these celestial beings is ordered in accord
with their function and purpose. The
highest of the beings, the Seraphim, were created solely for the purpose of surrounding
the Throne of God in perpetual worship and adoration. The lowest of the beings, the Guardian Angels,
were created for the purpose of caring for humans and communicating God’s messages. The Archangels, whom we honor today, were
created for the purpose of bringing messages of great importance to us and to
accomplish tasks of the highest importance in our lives.
Michael is well known as the archangel who was empowered by
God to cast Lucifer our of Heaven.
Lucifer is traditionally thought to be of the highest sphere of celestial
beings and, thus, being cast out by a lowly archangel was quite a humiliation.
And Raphael, whose name means “God heals” is referred to in
the Old Testament Book of Tobit as is said to have been sent to bring healing
to Tobit’s eyes.
Though not much is known of these archangels, its important
to believe in them, honor them and to pray to them. We pray to them because we believe God has entrusted
them with a mission to help us bring healing, fight evil and proclaim the Word
of God. Their power comes from God, but
God has chosen to use the archangels, and all celestial beings, to accomplish
His plan and purpose.
Reflect, today, upon your knowledge of the angels. Do you believe in them? Do you honor them? Do you rely upon their powerful intercession
and mediation in your life? God wants to
use them, so you should truly seek their help in your life.
Lord, thank You for
the gift of the Archangels whom we honor today. Thank you for their powerful working in our
lives. Help us to rely upon them and to love them for their service. Archangels, pray for us, heal us, teach us
and protect us. Jesus, I Trust in You.
Above taken from the
book “Daily Reflections for Ordinary Time: Weeks 18-34” Feast of the Archangels, September 29 by John
Paul Thomas
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| Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Archangels |
The Word ‘Angel’
denotes a Function rather than a Nature
From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the great,
pope
You should be aware that the word ‘angel’ denotes a function
rather than a nature. Those holy spirits
of Heaven have indeed always been spirits.
They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of
lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme
importance are called Archangels.
And so it was that not merely an angels but the Archangel
Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary. It
was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of
all messages.
Some angels are give proper names to denote the service they
are empowered to perform. In that holy
city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of Almighty God, those who
have no names may easily be known. But
personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known
without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they come among us.
Thus, Michael means
“Who is like God?”;
Gabriel is
“strength of God”;
and Raphael is
“God’s Remedy”.
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| Who is like unto God! St. Michael the Archangel |
Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed,
Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one
can do what God does by His superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in
his pride to be like God, saying: “I will
ascend into Heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of Heaven; I will be
like the Most High.” He will be
allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed
in the final punishment. Then, he will
fight the Archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought with Michael the archangel.
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| Blessed Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel |
So too, Gabriel, who is called God’s strength, was sent to
Mary. He came to announce the One Who appeared as a humble man to quell
the cosmic powers. Thus God’s strength
announced the coming of the Lord of the Heavenly powers, mighty in battle.
Above taken from the Liturgy of the Hours Ordinary Time Weeks
18-34, September 29 Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels
