Feast of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael,
archangels
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 “…Thrones
were set
up and the Ancient One took his throne.…Thousands upon thousands were
ministering
to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him.”
Psalm 138: 1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5 “…In the
sight
of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.”
John 1: 47-51 “…Amen, amen, I say
to
you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and
descending
on the Son of Man.”
The Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels -
As
you can see from the selections above, the readings are talking about
God’s
angels. The readings coincide nicely with the feast we celebrate today
and
tell how the angels praise and worship and look upon the face of God
everyday.
Think about what it would be like to Look upon the Face of God
everyday.
Whew! That’s big! And yet I scarcely ever think about the
presence
of angels, either my own guardian angel, or these three leaders of
angels.
God has entrusted the archangels to deliver many important messages
over
the years, and I started thinking what have I missed hearing for lack
of
listening? Several years ago, my awareness of Angels increased
somewhat
when I started watching the network television show called Touched by
an
Angel, which just went off the air last year. I kept watching
because
each week’s story moved me to tears at the point when the angel Monica
delivered
the crucially timed message to the person she was sent to help.
The
show's philosophy was pretty good, and they never failed to deliver
this
message as well, “God loves you so much…”
In my reflection of today’s readings, I remembered Fr. Dennis Hamm,
S.J.
telling us the meanings behind the names of each of these archangels
during
his homily at Mass on their feast day last year. My curiosity led
me
to a great website that had many articles about angels. See www.silk.net/RelEd/angels.htm.
It was listed under our website for Online Spirituality Resources and
under
the website Resources for Catholic Educators. I invite you to
renew
your acquaintance with your angel from learning a little more about
these
three leaders among angels. Some of the information including the
meanings
of their names follows:
Michael, whose name translates as “Who is like God?” is known in the
Old
Testament as the “Guardian of the Hebrew Nation” and by another title
as
the “Prince of the Heavenly Hosts.” Michael is thought to be the
angel
who guided the Jews on their wanderings in the desert, and who is
thought
to have battled with Satan over the soul of Moses. Medieval
knights
often consecrated themselves to him, and devotions in his honor play
prominent
roles in many countries. For many years Michael was the sole
angel
honored in liturgical feast in the Church before the ninth century.
Gabriel whose name translates as “God’s fortitude “ or “God is
powerful”
is depicted as the angel of the Incarnation, for his announcements to
Mary
and to Zechariah foretelling the births of Jesus and St. John the
Baptist.
He is the patron of workers in communication; each time he is mentioned
in
Scripture he is announcing the Messiah. Gabriel is
mentioned
in the book of Daniel as coming to deliver a message and to give
understanding
to Daniel’s visions.
Raphael’s name means “medicine of God” or God heals and is called upon
to
aid travelers and members of the medical profession. He is
thought
to embody the ability of angels to intervene in the affairs of
humankind,
never ceasing to contemplate the face of God. He is the patron
saint
of light, love, health and joy.
I spoke to my angel today, and prayed for continued protection for
myself
and for my loved ones as well. Let today’s Feast encourage you to
remember
your heavenly protector.
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