Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels. The bible helps us to know that there are seven archangels, but the bible only gives us the name of three, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.
St. Michael, whose name means, “Who is like God”, is the angel, who led the good angels in heaven in a battle against Satan and the angels, which disobeyed God. During the battle in heaven, St. Michael, and the good angels, kicked Satan and the bad angels out of heaven. Praying to St. Michael is very effective when we are tempted by evil spirits. In some parishes, we pray the St. Michael prayer at the end of Mass, so that he will protect us and we ask him to especially intercede for us. St. Michael is the patron of police officers and soldiers, because soldiers and police protect people.
St. Gabriel, the archangel’s name means, “the power of God”. He appeared to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Gabriel also appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary and asked Her if She would become the Mother of Jesus. Every time we pray the Hail Mary, we are praying the words of the archangel Gabriel, who said, “Hail full of Grace! The Lord is with you!” St. Gabriel also most likely appeared to St. Joseph warning him to flee with Mary, and the baby Jesus into the desert because Herod wanted to kill Jesus. Gabriel is often prayed to help us to communicate with others and is the patron of communications.
St. Raphael is the archangel, who appeared to Tobias in the Old Testament. Raphael helped Tobias as he traveled, and he healed his father’s blind eyes so that he could see again. His name means, “the medicine of God”. He is the patron of travelers and will protect us as we travel. People ask St. Raphael to be healed and people will pray to St. Raphael for safety when they travel in cars and planes.
Today, if you are being tempted to do something sinful, pray to St. Michael. We can pray to St. Raphael to intercede for those in the hospital, and we can ask St. Raphael to pray for safety for all those who travel. If you want to grow closer to Mary or if you need help in communicating better ask St. Gabriel, and he will help you.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of the Angels, send these holy angels to be with us-- and watch over us-- as we journey to our home in heaven, where we will see billions and billions of angels adoring and praising God for all eternity.
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