Catholic feast day: September 29.
St. Michael: Patron Saint of Grocers, Soldiers, Doctors, Mariners, First Responders, Police. He is the Guardian of the Church, as he was shown to be of Israel in the Old Testament (Daniel 10). Mother Angelica chose him as the patron for EWTN Radio, as she chose to build the first transmitter, WEWN shortwave, on a spot where he had appeared to her.
St. Gabriel: Patron Saint of Telecommunication Workers, Radio Broadcasters, Postal Workers, Messengers.
St. Raphael: Patron Saint of Travelers, Blind People, Nurses, Pharmacists, Physicians, ill People.
St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael are the only three of the seven angels (Tobit 12:15) who are mentioned by name in Sacred Scripture. The names of the other four archangels are not given to us to know, and the Church forbids us to call upon by name any but the three whose names Scripture has revealed.
The feast of all three Archangels is September 29. In the traditional calendar, this was St. Michael’s Feast day, with St. Gabriel’s being March 24 (the day prior to the Annunciation) and St. Raphael’s being October 24. Communities which celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite still celebrate the three feasts.
Unlike human beings who share a common nature, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that as pure spirits each angel has a unique nature. Their degree of likeness to God and His Divine Spirit distinguishes them, rather than the material differences which permit us to identify individual human beings. Nonetheless, they can still be classed into groups, called choirs, according to their spiritual similarity to each other and the missions which God has given them.
Closest to God are the spirits of the highest choirs, the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; closest to mankind, and most like us in spirit, are the lower choirs. Among these are the archangels and angels, who serve as greater and lesser messengers (Greek, aggelos) to human beings from God.
St. Thomas Aquinas gave us the following hierarchical list of the nine angelic choirs using the traditional names from the Hebrew and Greek through the Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome):
St. Michael:
He is the “Prince of the Heavenly Host.” Pope St. John Paul II said, “His name is a synthesis that expresses the essential attitude of the good spirits. ‘Mica-EL’ in fact means: ‘Who is like God?’ In this name, therefore, we find expressed the salvific choice thanks to which the angels ‘see the face of the Father’ who is in Heaven.”
St. Michael is mentioned several times in the Bible. He is first mentioned in the Book of Daniel where he is called “one of the chief princes” (Daniel 10:13). In the Book of Jude, he is specifically called an archangel. He is also mentioned in Revelation 12:7–9.
In each reference, St. Michael is acknowledged as a warrior saint who battles evil, as well as a chief angel (archangel) responsible for other angels (understood as a portion of the ninth choir angels).
Anyone can ask for St. Michael’s protection, but he particularly defends against evil. Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903) had a vision of the evil that would come into the world in the coming century. In response, he wrote the St. Michael’s Prayer and instructed it to be prayed at the end of Mass:
St. Gabriel:
He is often shown with lilies, symbolizing purity. St. John Paul II said, “[St. Gabriel’s] name means: ‘my power is God’ or ‘power of God,’ as if to say that the culmination of creation, the Incarnation is the supreme sign of the omnipotent Father.”
The Book of Daniel mentions two archangels: Michael and Gabriel. In this Old Testament book, St. Gabriel interprets Daniel’s visions.
However, St. Gabriel is best known for his role in the New Testament. Zechariah, a Jewish priest, and his wife Elizabeth had been unable to have children, and Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing years. St. Gabriel approached Zechariah while the priest was burning incense in the temple. The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13). However, Zechariah doubted his words. In response, the archangel said, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time” (Luke 1:19–20). This child who was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth was St. John the Baptist.
St. Gabriel also appeared to Mary at the Annunciation:
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, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her (Luke 1:26–38).
St. Raphael:
Regarding the name, St. John Paul II said, “Finally, the third archangel is called Raphael. ‘Rafa-EL’ means: ‘God heals.’ He is made known to us by the story of Tobias in the Old Testament, which is so significant for what it says about entrusting to the angels the little children of God, who are always in need of custody, care, and protection.”
In the book of Tobit, one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible, St. Raphael travels with a man named Tobias, with the archangel presenting himself as Tobias’ relative. St. Raphael eventually helps Tobias in two ways. First, he releases a young woman, Sarah, from spiritual bondage. She was married seven times, and a demon killed each husband on their wedding night. Tobias eventually marries Sarah, with St. Raphael’s help. Also, St. Raphael helps restore the sight of Tobias’ father, Tobit, who had become blind.
His sympbol is a fish. It is a sign of his role in spiritual and material healing. In the book of Tobit (Tobit 6:6–8) we are told that as Tobias and St. Raphael were traveling together, Tobias went to wash in the Tigris River. A fish tried to attack him, but St. Raphael told him to catch the fish and remove the heart, liver, and gall. He then used them to deliver Sarah from the demon and Tobit from his blindness.
It was, of course, by divine power that their spiritual and material healing was accomplished. However, the archangel in his human disguise used material means as signs, just as Christ used His spit and dirt, and the Church uses matter in the sacraments, as visible signs of spiritual realities.
You can read more on Ascencion.
St. Michael: Patron Saint of Grocers, Soldiers, Doctors, Mariners, First Responders, Police. He is the Guardian of the Church, as he was shown to be of Israel in the Old Testament (Daniel 10). Mother Angelica chose him as the patron for EWTN Radio, as she chose to build the first transmitter, WEWN shortwave, on a spot where he had appeared to her.
St. Gabriel: Patron Saint of Telecommunication Workers, Radio Broadcasters, Postal Workers, Messengers.
St. Raphael: Patron Saint of Travelers, Blind People, Nurses, Pharmacists, Physicians, ill People.
St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael are the only three of the seven angels (Tobit 12:15) who are mentioned by name in Sacred Scripture. The names of the other four archangels are not given to us to know, and the Church forbids us to call upon by name any but the three whose names Scripture has revealed.
The feast of all three Archangels is September 29. In the traditional calendar, this was St. Michael’s Feast day, with St. Gabriel’s being March 24 (the day prior to the Annunciation) and St. Raphael’s being October 24. Communities which celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite still celebrate the three feasts.
Unlike human beings who share a common nature, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that as pure spirits each angel has a unique nature. Their degree of likeness to God and His Divine Spirit distinguishes them, rather than the material differences which permit us to identify individual human beings. Nonetheless, they can still be classed into groups, called choirs, according to their spiritual similarity to each other and the missions which God has given them.
Closest to God are the spirits of the highest choirs, the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; closest to mankind, and most like us in spirit, are the lower choirs. Among these are the archangels and angels, who serve as greater and lesser messengers (Greek, aggelos) to human beings from God.
St. Thomas Aquinas gave us the following hierarchical list of the nine angelic choirs using the traditional names from the Hebrew and Greek through the Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome):
- Seraphim (Isaiah 6:2, 6, seraphin)
- Cherubim (Genesis 3:24, Hebrews 9:5, cherubin)
- Thrones (Colossians 1:16, throni)
- Dominions (Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 1:21, dominationem)
- Virtues (Ephesians 1:21, virtutem)
- Powers (Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, potestatem)
- Principalities (Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 1:21, principatum)
- Archangels (Revelation 12:7, Jude 9, archangelus)
- Angels (over 300 references, angelus)
St. Michael:
He is the “Prince of the Heavenly Host.” Pope St. John Paul II said, “His name is a synthesis that expresses the essential attitude of the good spirits. ‘Mica-EL’ in fact means: ‘Who is like God?’ In this name, therefore, we find expressed the salvific choice thanks to which the angels ‘see the face of the Father’ who is in Heaven.”
St. Michael is mentioned several times in the Bible. He is first mentioned in the Book of Daniel where he is called “one of the chief princes” (Daniel 10:13). In the Book of Jude, he is specifically called an archangel. He is also mentioned in Revelation 12:7–9.
In each reference, St. Michael is acknowledged as a warrior saint who battles evil, as well as a chief angel (archangel) responsible for other angels (understood as a portion of the ninth choir angels).
Anyone can ask for St. Michael’s protection, but he particularly defends against evil. Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903) had a vision of the evil that would come into the world in the coming century. In response, he wrote the St. Michael’s Prayer and instructed it to be prayed at the end of Mass:
St. Gabriel:
He is often shown with lilies, symbolizing purity. St. John Paul II said, “[St. Gabriel’s] name means: ‘my power is God’ or ‘power of God,’ as if to say that the culmination of creation, the Incarnation is the supreme sign of the omnipotent Father.”
The Book of Daniel mentions two archangels: Michael and Gabriel. In this Old Testament book, St. Gabriel interprets Daniel’s visions.
However, St. Gabriel is best known for his role in the New Testament. Zechariah, a Jewish priest, and his wife Elizabeth had been unable to have children, and Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing years. St. Gabriel approached Zechariah while the priest was burning incense in the temple. The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13). However, Zechariah doubted his words. In response, the archangel said, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time” (Luke 1:19–20). This child who was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth was St. John the Baptist.
St. Gabriel also appeared to Mary at the Annunciation:
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, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her (Luke 1:26–38).
St. Raphael:
Regarding the name, St. John Paul II said, “Finally, the third archangel is called Raphael. ‘Rafa-EL’ means: ‘God heals.’ He is made known to us by the story of Tobias in the Old Testament, which is so significant for what it says about entrusting to the angels the little children of God, who are always in need of custody, care, and protection.”
In the book of Tobit, one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible, St. Raphael travels with a man named Tobias, with the archangel presenting himself as Tobias’ relative. St. Raphael eventually helps Tobias in two ways. First, he releases a young woman, Sarah, from spiritual bondage. She was married seven times, and a demon killed each husband on their wedding night. Tobias eventually marries Sarah, with St. Raphael’s help. Also, St. Raphael helps restore the sight of Tobias’ father, Tobit, who had become blind.
His sympbol is a fish. It is a sign of his role in spiritual and material healing. In the book of Tobit (Tobit 6:6–8) we are told that as Tobias and St. Raphael were traveling together, Tobias went to wash in the Tigris River. A fish tried to attack him, but St. Raphael told him to catch the fish and remove the heart, liver, and gall. He then used them to deliver Sarah from the demon and Tobit from his blindness.
It was, of course, by divine power that their spiritual and material healing was accomplished. However, the archangel in his human disguise used material means as signs, just as Christ used His spit and dirt, and the Church uses matter in the sacraments, as visible signs of spiritual realities.
You can read more on Ascencion.
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Text source: EWTN.
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