September 29th is the Memorial of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael in the Catholic Church. Angels, who are messengers from God, appear frequently in Holy Bible. However, only the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named in the Scripture. The word archangel is derived from the Greek words arche (prince) and angelos (messenger). Thus, they are angels of high rank. All three, Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, have important roles in the history of salvation. Saint Michael, whose name is Hebrew for Who is like God?, is known in the Catholic Church as the Prince of the Heavenly Host. Within the hierarchy of the angels, at the highest level, St. Michael is the leader of all the angels. He is mentioned four times in the Bible, in Daniel 10 and 12, in the letter of Jude, and in Revelation. The prophet Daniel (12: 1) called him Michael the great prince who shall rise at the time of the end. St. Paul writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians regarding the coming of Christ again, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangels call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; (1 Thes. 4:16) And in the final book of the Bible, Revelation 12:7-8, St. Michael leads Gods armies to final victory over the forces of evil. Historically, devotion to St. Michael arose in the 300s in the Catholic Church in the East and in the 400s in the Church in the West with a feast honoring Michael and the angels. Thus, it is the oldest of devotions to the angels. St. Michaels role the Church is to: fight against Satan, rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death, be the guardian of the Gods people and to present mens souls to judgment after death. St. Michael, whose forces of good angels first cast down Lucifer and the evil spirits into Hell when they rebelled against God, is invoked for protection against Satan and all evil. Pope Leo XIII had a prophetic vision of the evil that would be inflicted upon the Church and the world in the 20th century. Thus, in 1886 he instituted a prayer asking for St. Michaels protection to be said at the end of every Mass. The Prayer to Saint Michael, though no longer prayed at Mass since the liturgical reform of the Vatican Council II in 1964, was recommended by Pope John Paul II in 1994. Most recently on July 5, 2013 Pope Francis gathered with Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI gathered in the Vatican Gardens to inaugurate a monument to St Michael the Archangel, Patron of Vatican City State. Pope Francis spoke, saying: Michael... is the champion of the primacy of God, of his transcendence and power. Michael fights to reestablish divine justice; he defends the People of God from their enemies and above all from the arch-enemy par excellence, the devil. And St Michael triumphs because in him it is God who acts.... evil is vanquished, the accuser is unmasked, his head is crushed, because salvation was fulfilled once and for all by the blood of Christ. Even if the devil is always trying to scratch the face of the Archangel and the face of man, God is stronger; his is the victory and his salvation is offered to every human being. On the journey and in the trials of life we are not alone, we are accompanied and sustained by the Angels of God, who offer, so to speak, their wings to help us overcome the many dangers, to be able to fly above those realities that can make our lives difficult or drag us down. In consecrating the Vatican City State to St Michael the Archangel, let us ask him to defend us from the Evil One and cast him out. St. Gabriel, whose name means Gods strength, is mentioned four times in the Bible. He also makes an appearance in Daniels visions, announcing Michaels role in Gods plan. Most significant are Gabriels two mentions in the New Testament: to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, I am Gabriel, who in the presence of God. (Luke 1:19), and to a young Jewish girl named Mary, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you! (Luke 1:26-28). Mary consents to bear the Messiah and through the powerful overshadowing of the Holy Spirit the Incarnation of the Word occurs in the womb of Mary and she conceives a child who is named Jesus. Also, Christian tradition suggests that it is St. Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph in a dreams (Matthew 1:20, 2:13) and to the shepherds in the fields announcing the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-12). Also that it was St. Gabriel who strengthened Jesus during his agony in the garden of Gethsemane. St. Raphael, whose name means God has healed, is found in Old Testament story in the Catholic Bible of historical Book of Tobit, the only book in which he is mentioned. There he appears to guide Tobits son Tobiah, I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord (Tobit 12:15). He leads Tobiah on a journey which ends with Tobiahs marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobits blindness and the restoration of the family fortune. Thus, St. Raphaels role in the Church is that of healing and acts of mercy. Raphael is also identified as the angel who descended upon the Sheep pool, Bethesda, and bestowed healing powers upon it so that the first to enter it after the movement of the water would be healed of whatever infirmity he was suffering (John 5:1-4, see commentary on verses). Let us join the Church in honoring these princely messengers of God who have had an assigned role in the our Redemption and who come to assist us on our journey towards union with God. Let us pray, O God, who dispose in a marvelous order ministries both angelic and human, graciously grant that our life on earth may be defended by those who watch over us as they minister perpetually to You in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope (540-604) 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 angel 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 given 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 came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.” 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 with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought with Michael the archangel. 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. Raphael means, as I have said, God’s remedy, for when he touched Tobit’s eyes in order to cure him, he banished the darkness of his blindness. Thus, since he is to heal, he is rightly called God’s remedy.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 17:03:22 +0000
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