Father Eugenio Bujalance offers this article on the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, whose Feast is celebrated today, September 29.
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The Creed says that God is Creator of the visible and the invisible. In a society where man is situated at the center of the whole universe, instead of having a theocentric view, the present society leads us to think that we are alone. This is not so, because in the plan of the Creator God, he has not created us alone. This way of thinking clashes with the questions that the man of today asks himself many times. Are we alone in the universe? Are there other forms of life? This curiosity exists to explore other parts of the universe to satiate this desire of the infinite, which deep down is hidden in our hearts. However, man doesn’t open himself to God, to this theocentric vision, where God is Creator of what we see and what we don’t see, hence, we are not alone. The Angels are creatures of God, as we are, they are part of a creator plan. How important it is to open ourselves to God’s revelation in its totality.
This Feast is celebrated on September 29 as on that date the dedication took place of Saint Michael’s Basilica, built in ancient Rome on the Via Salaria. We remember these three Archangels together, as we only know these three names, which appear in the Bible, where revealed to us also is the special mission that each one receives from God, serving Him day and night, contemplating His face and glorifying Him always.
The etymology of the word Archangel stems from two words: Arch “the principal” and angel, that is, “principal among the Angels.” With their names Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael they remind us of the missions they have received from God.
Michael, which means: “Who is like God?” appears three times in the Bible. First in chapter 12 of the Book of Daniel: “At that time shall arise Michael, the great Prince who has charge of the children of the People of God. And then the dead will resurrect. Those that did good for Eternal Life, and those that did evil for the eternal horror.” In chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation, the following is stated: “Now war arose in Heaven, Michael and his Angels fighting against the dragon; ;and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in Heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short!” And in the Letter of Saint Jude: “When the Archangel Michael, contending with the devil said: ‘The Lord rebuke you.” That is why Saint Michael is always represented in art attacking the serpent, symbol of the Devil and of evil. That battle between the dragon and man, which expelled Satan from Heaven, reminds us of that our battle in life is not between flesh and blood, but we fight against Heaven’s enemy, the Devil, and we cannot fight against him solely with our strength, but we need the Angels. Knowing that this battle is waged in our interior, that each one of us has his struggle, we are a reflection of that battle of Heaven and that, in the same way, that God sent those holy Angels to expel evil from Heaven, they are also placed on our path to help us in our daily battles; we are not alone.
To Gabriel, which means “God is my strength” He entrusts the most important announcement of all; he takes to Mary the joy of being the Mother of the Saviour and, consequently, that God will always be with us, in the person of Jesus. He also appears three times in the Sacred Scriptures. He was the one that announced to the prophet Daniel the time in which the Redeemer would come. Gabriel appeared to me on behalf of God and he 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 announced to him that he would have as his son John the Baptist (“I am Gabriel, he who am in the presence of God”) and at the moment of the Annunciation (“In the sixth month, God sent the Angel Gabriel to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a Virgin married to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; the name of the Virgin is Mary. And, entering, he said to her: ‘Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with thee’”). She was troubled by these words and wondered what that greeting meant. The Angel said to her: Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found grace before God; you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, whom you will name Jesus.”
Saint Raphael means “God has healed” and he received the task to be 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 gone to them since our infancy, because God also willed to include the Angels in the plan of salvation. In the Book of Tobias, the same Archangel is described as “one of the seven that are in the presence of the Lord.”
Pope Francis has always manifested a special devotion to the Holy Archangels, especially Saint Michael. In his homily on September 29, 2017, he asked that we go daily to them. “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. The Angels are great contemplatives. They contemplate the Lord; they serve and contemplate. However, the Lord also sends them to accompany us on the path of life.” They are our companions on the way to whom the Holy Father teaches us to pray:
“Michael, help us in the struggle: each one knows what struggle he has today in his life. Each one of us knows his main struggle, the one that endangers his salvation. 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 way so that we don’t mistake the way so that we don’t stand still. May we walk always, but helped by you.”
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
