The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the three archangels on 29 September. The three are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. All three have a mention in the Bible and have a role in our life.
Michael
St. Michael, whose name means “one who is like God”, is mentioned in the Bible on five separate occasions. He is mentioned three times in the Prophet Daniel (10:13, 10:21; 12:1), Jude 9, and explicitly in the Book of Revelation (12:7).
Oftentimes, his statue depicts him with a sword or spear defeating Satan. He is known as the chief commander of God’s army. St. Michael is the patron saint of soldiers, police officers, grocery workers, and paramedics.
Gabriel
St. Gabriel’s name means, “One who is sent from God”. He is sent to deliver a message from God.
When everyone thinks of St. Gabriel, many would say, “Oh yeah, he was mentioned at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke through the Annunciation passage”. It’s true. However, he was also mentioned in the Book of the Prophet Daniel. In the eighth chapter, Daniel calls upon Gabriel to help him interpret a dream. He is mentioned again in the ninth chapter (Daniel 9:21).
Raphael
St. Raphael’s name means, “One who heals” or simply “God’s healer.” As for healing, it is for both physical and those wounds that cannot be seen with the naked eye. He is often depicted with a fish.
He is mentioned in the Book of Tobit. In the book, he is helping Tobias in the guise of Azariah. When reaching the Tigris River, they grabbed a fish and used its organs to help Tobit heal (gallbladder) of his blindness and burn the heart and liver to drive away evil spirits after marrying Sarah who lost seven husbands.
Let us celebrate the three on their big feast. Let us also never forget to pray for their intercessions.
All you holy archangels, pray for us.
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