The Arch Angels
God knows each one of us –– our joys, strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures, our faith, our intentions, needs, hopes and dreams.
Not only does God know us; He loves us.
But how much do we know God? How much de we love God? We know and love God through prayer, through our ministries, in our religious lives and in our relationships with other people. We know and love God through our participation in the sacraments, through Scripture and meditation and through our studies of theology. We know God through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
But how about knowing and loving God with the help of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, whose feast we celebrate today. Michael, in Jewish meaning ““who is like God,”” appears twice in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament. He is the protector of the Chosen Peoples, both Christian and Jew, leader of the Heavenly Host against Satan, and protector of Christians at the hour of death. He is usually shown as a winged warrior subduing the devil and sometimes carries a set of scales for the weighing of the Soul at death.
Gabriel –– his name means ““Strength of God”” or ““Hero of God.”” In the Old Testament he appears twice in the Book of Daniel and in the New Testament he announces the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias and the birth of Jesus to Mary. In Christian art he is frequently represented as a winged figure, often holding a lily representing purity, bringing the message of the Incarnation to the Virgin Mary.
Raphael –– his name means ““God heals”” so we can ask for his prayers for
healing and recovery. In the Old Testament, the Archangel Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, where he cures Tobit’’s blindness by instructing the son Tobias to put the gall bladder of a fish on his father’’s eye.
We can ask for St. Michael’’s prayers for spiritual protection and to help us to protect each other. We can ask for St. Gabriel’’s prayers for strength, for courage and to help us to strengthen one other and announce each others’’ goodnesses and gifts. We can also ask for the prayers of St. Raphael to help us to heal each other and comfort each other in time of difficulty and distress.
In honoring the angels we honor God’s power and might. In honoring the angels, the honor our fellow servants. We humans and the angels share the same status before God as servants. However, it is also worthwhile to remember that although we humans are created a little lower than the angels, to use the words of St. Paul, our future will far exceed that of the angels’. The writer C.S. Lewis told a short parable to help illustrate this. Think of a master of a household who has in his house his young child, his heir, and his adult servant. The servant has been given the task to guard, protect, and train the master’s child. Even though the intelligence and the strength of that servant exceeds that of the child, as that child grows and eventually inherits his Father’s house, his status and his power will eventually become more important than the servant.
We are like that child, and the angels the servant. They have been given the task to guard and protect us until such time as Christ returns and we inherit both heaven and earth. They have been charged to look after us because of our importance in God’s eyes.
Let us pray:-
Saint Michael the Archangel,defend us in battle.Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -by the Divine Power of God -cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
God knows each one of us –– our joys, strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures, our faith, our intentions, needs, hopes and dreams.
Not only does God know us; He loves us.
But how much do we know God? How much de we love God? We know and love God through prayer, through our ministries, in our religious lives and in our relationships with other people. We know and love God through our participation in the sacraments, through Scripture and meditation and through our studies of theology. We know God through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
But how about knowing and loving God with the help of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, whose feast we celebrate today. Michael, in Jewish meaning ““who is like God,”” appears twice in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament. He is the protector of the Chosen Peoples, both Christian and Jew, leader of the Heavenly Host against Satan, and protector of Christians at the hour of death. He is usually shown as a winged warrior subduing the devil and sometimes carries a set of scales for the weighing of the Soul at death.
Gabriel –– his name means ““Strength of God”” or ““Hero of God.”” In the Old Testament he appears twice in the Book of Daniel and in the New Testament he announces the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias and the birth of Jesus to Mary. In Christian art he is frequently represented as a winged figure, often holding a lily representing purity, bringing the message of the Incarnation to the Virgin Mary.
Raphael –– his name means ““God heals”” so we can ask for his prayers for
healing and recovery. In the Old Testament, the Archangel Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, where he cures Tobit’’s blindness by instructing the son Tobias to put the gall bladder of a fish on his father’’s eye.
We can ask for St. Michael’’s prayers for spiritual protection and to help us to protect each other. We can ask for St. Gabriel’’s prayers for strength, for courage and to help us to strengthen one other and announce each others’’ goodnesses and gifts. We can also ask for the prayers of St. Raphael to help us to heal each other and comfort each other in time of difficulty and distress.
In honoring the angels we honor God’s power and might. In honoring the angels, the honor our fellow servants. We humans and the angels share the same status before God as servants. However, it is also worthwhile to remember that although we humans are created a little lower than the angels, to use the words of St. Paul, our future will far exceed that of the angels’. The writer C.S. Lewis told a short parable to help illustrate this. Think of a master of a household who has in his house his young child, his heir, and his adult servant. The servant has been given the task to guard, protect, and train the master’s child. Even though the intelligence and the strength of that servant exceeds that of the child, as that child grows and eventually inherits his Father’s house, his status and his power will eventually become more important than the servant.
We are like that child, and the angels the servant. They have been given the task to guard and protect us until such time as Christ returns and we inherit both heaven and earth. They have been charged to look after us because of our importance in God’s eyes.
Let us pray:-
Saint Michael the Archangel,defend us in battle.Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -by the Divine Power of God -cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
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