The priest Eugenio Bujalance offers this article about the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, whose feast is celebrated today, September 29.
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The Creed says that God is the creator of the visible and the invisible. In a society where man is placed at the center of the entire universe, instead of having a theocentric vision, today’s society leads us to think that we are alone. This is not so, because in God’s creative plan, he does not create us alone. This way of thinking clashes with the questions that man today often asks himself: are we alone in the universe? Are there other forms of life? There is that curiosity to explore other parts of the universe to satisfy that desire for infinity, which deep down hides in our hearts. However, man does not open himself to God, to that theocentric vision, where God is the creator of what we see and what we do not, and that is why we are not alone. Angels are God’s creatures, as we are, they are part of his creative plan. How important it is to open ourselves to the revelation of God, in its entirety.
This feast is celebrated on September 29 because, on this day, the dedication of the basilica dedicated to St. Michael built in ancient Rome, on the Via Salaria, took place. We remember together the three archangels, because we only know these three names, which appear in the Bible, where the special mission that each one receives from God is also revealed to us, serving him, day and night, contemplating his face and always glorifying him.
The etymology of Archangel comes from two words. Arc “the principal” and angel, that is, the “principal among the angels.” With their names, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael remind us of the missions they have received from God.
Michael, meaning “Who is like God?”, appears three times in the Bible. First, in chapter 12 of the Book of Daniel: “At the end of the age Michael will appear, the great Prince who defends the children of God’s people. And then the dead will be raised, those who did good to eternal life, and those who did evil to eternal horror.” In chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation, it is told: “There was a great battle in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against Satan and his followers, and they were defeated, and there was no place for them in heaven, and the ancient serpent was thrown down, the devil, the deceiver of the world. Woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great fury, knowing that his time is short.” And in the Letter of St. Jude: “The archangel St. Michael, when he confronted the devil, said to him: ‘May the Lord punish you.’”
That is why Saint Michael has always been represented in art attacking the serpent, the symbol of the Devil and evil. This battle between the dragon and man, the one who expels Satan from heaven, reminds us that our fight in life is not between flesh and blood, but that we fight against the enemy of heaven, the devil, and we cannot fight him with our own strength alone, but we need the angels. Knowing that this battle is fought within us, that each of us has our own fight, we are a reflection of this battle in heaven, and that in the same way that God sends these holy Angels to expel evil from heaven, they are placed in our path to assist us in our daily battles, we are not alone.
To Gabriel, which means “strength of God” he entrusts the most important announcement of all, he brings to Mary the joy of being the Mother of the Savior, and consequently, that God would always be with us, in the person of Jesus. He also appears three times in the Holy Scriptures, he was the one who announced to the prophet Daniel the time when the Redeemer would arrive, “Gabriel appeared to me from God and said to me: Within seventy weeks of years the Holy of Holies will appear.” Luke names him twice, once when he appeared to Zechariah to announce that he was going to have John the Baptist as a son (“I am Gabriel, who is in the presence of God”) and at the time of the Annunciation (“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; the virgin’s name was Mary. And when he came in, he said to her, ‘Rejoice, full of favor, the Lord is with you’”) She was troubled by these words, and wondered what that greeting could mean. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
Saint Raphael means “Medicine of God” and he was given the task of being a healer and guardian, the one who accompanies us. In his promise, God promises us that he will not leave us alone. Day and night your angels go with me, we have been with them since our childhood, because God wanted to include the angels in the plan of salvation. In the book of Tobit, the same archangel is described as “one of the seven who are in the presence of the Lord.”
Pope Francis has always shown a special devotion to the holy archangels, especially to Saint Michael. In his homily on September 29, 2017, he asked that we go to them daily. “We are, so to speak, ‘brothers’ in vocation. And they are before the Lord to serve him, to praise him and also to contemplate the glory of the Lord’s face. Angels are great contemplatives. They contemplate the Lord; they serve and contemplate. But the Lord also sends them to accompany us on the path of life.” These are our companions on the journey, to whom the Holy Father teaches us to pray:
“Michael, help us in our struggle: each one of us knows what struggle he or she has in his or her own life today. Each one of us knows his or her main struggle, the one that puts his or her salvation at risk. Help us. Gabriel, bring us news, bring us the Good News of salvation, that Jesus is with us, that Jesus has saved us and give us hope. Raphael, take us by the hand and help us on the journey so that we do not go astray, so that we do not stand still. Always walk, but helped by you.”
