THE HOLY ARCHANGELS
SAINT MICHAEL, SAINT GABRIEL
AND SAINT RAPHAEL

FEAST DAY:  SEPTEMBER 29TH

"M-I-CA-EL," or "Who is like to God ?" Such was the cry of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has been known as "Michael," the captain of the armies of God, the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul in strife with the powers of evil. Thus he appears in Holy Scripture as the guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it is who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory, and who rescues the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One. And since Christ's coming the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trump, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.
 

REFLECTION.—"Whenever," says Saint Bernard, "any grievous temptation or vehement sorrow oppresses thee, invoke thy guardian, thy leader; cry out to him, and say, 'Lord, save us, lest we perish,' "

     SAINT GABRIEL was the angel that announced to the Virgin Mary that she would carry and take care of the Christ Child who would save mankind from its sins (Luke 1:26-38): 

26  And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
27  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of  the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28  And the angel being come in, said unto her:  Hail, full of  grace, the Lord is with thee:  blessed art thou among   women.
29  Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought   with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
30  And the angel said to her:  Fear not, Mary, for thou hast  found grace with God.
31  Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most  High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
33  And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34  And Mary said to the angel:  How shall this be done, because I know not man?
35  And the angel answering, said to her:  The Holy Ghost  shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee.  And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36  And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived  a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
37  Because no word shall be impossible with God.
38  And Mary said:  Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.  And the angel departed  from her.

5   There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
6   And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame.
7   And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8   And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God,
9   According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord.
10  And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense.
11  And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the alter of incense.
12  And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13  But the angel said to him:  Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a  son, and thou shalt call his name John:
14  And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. 
15  For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink:  and he shall be filled with the  Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16  And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just,  to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.
18  And Zachary said to the angel:  Whereby shall I know this?  for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.
19  And the angel answering, said to him:  I am Gabriel, who  stand before God: and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings.
20  And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to  speak until the day wherein these things shall come to  pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall  be fulfilled in their time.
21  And the people were waiting for Zachary; and they wondered  that he tarried so long in the temple.
22  And when he came out, he could not speak to them:  and  they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple.  And he made signs to them, and remained dumb.

     Saint Gabriel is also mentioned in the Book of Daniel (8:16, 9:21).

     Saint Raphael, which means "the healer of God," is known to be an angel of healing.  In the book of Tobias, it says that Raphael was sent to heal Tobias and his son's future wife, Sara  (Chapter 3:25): 

25  And the holy angel of the Lord, Raphael was sent to heal  them both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight of the Lord.

14  And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver  Sara thy son's wife from the devil.
15  For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand  before the Lord.
16  And when they had heard these things, they were troubled,  and being seized with fear they fell upon the ground on  their face.
17  And the angel said to them: Peace be to you, fear not.
18  For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God: bless ye him, and sing praises to him.

PRAYER:  Ask these three Archangels to intercede for you and your family members to bring you protection, peace and blessings,  and healing.  Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael, pray for us!

*******