The Archangel Gabriel, Raphael and Michael.

Homily for September 29, 2017


The existence of angels is a fact not easily comprehended by human reasoning. Angels form part of what St. Paul talks about when he said: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1st Corinthians 2, 9.

Though the Bible speaks about angels in many instances, there are only three whose names were specifically mentioned and that is why we refer to them as the Archangels.

In the book of Jude 1, verse 9, we read: “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."

Michael is again mentioned in the book of Revelations as waging war against the devil. “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 -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12, 7 to 9.

Even as far back as the Old Testament, Michael is mentioned as a warring prince who fights on behalf of God’s children. Daniel 10, 12 to 13 reads: “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, so I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia.”

In the book of Tobit, we encounter the Archangel Raphael as a travel companion, a healer and a demon-destroyer.  Tobit 3, verse 17 reads: “And Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away the white films of Tobit's eyes; to give Sarah the daughter of Raguel in marriage to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, because Tobias was entitled to possess her.”

Archangel Gabriel plays the role of the messenger of good news by bringing the message of the Annunciation to Mary in Luke 1, 26 to 28 we read: “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” He was also the angel that announced to Zechariah that at his old age, he would have a child. (Luke 1, verse 19 and following).

The power and working of the Angels is a testimony to the greatness of God and the fact with him, nothing is impossible. As we read in the Gospel passage, Jesus said to Nathanael, “Truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of Man.”

Angels also reveal to us the power of God at work in the midst of men. They represent a dimension of reality that reason alone cannot grasp. The Angels are pure spirits but when sent by God on specific errands, they can take the form of human beings. The simple truth is that there are Angels in our world and we often encounter them without knowing. That is why it is always good to be good to everyone we meet!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may I be an Angel to those around me. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of Archangels. Bible Study:  Daniel 7:9-14 and John 1:47-51).

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