Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael


Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

Information about Saints
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

Readings for the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:
[3]

Reading 1

First Option:
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

The court was convened, and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw

One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.
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Commentary on
Dn 7:9-10, 13-14

This reading from Daniel (of the genre of eschatological prophetic visions) describes the throne of God who sits in judgment. Approaching this throne comes “One like a son of man”, to us a clear reference to Jesus who took that title upon himself in fulfillment of scripture (in addition to John 1:51 [below], see also
Mark 14:62, Luke 22:69 and Matthew 26:64 all of which reference the attendance of heavenly powers).

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OR
Second Option:
Revelations 12:7-12ab

War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.”
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Commentary on
Rev 12:7-12ab

This selection from the Book of Revelations is of that same eschatological prophetic genre as the first option from Daniel. Here St. John envisions the battle for heaven, joined by the forces of God lead by St. Michael who is victorious.

The vision makes clear that those who were thought to be from God but who opposed the “anointed one”, Christ, were influenced by Satan and in the Devil’s defeat, by the blood of the Lamb, God’s victory is assured and the truth will prevail.

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Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5

R. (1) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD
when they hear the words of your mouth;
And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD
“Great is the glory of the LORD
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
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Commentary on
Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5

This song of praise gives thanksgiving for the visible support of God here attributed to angelic action. The hymn attributes this saving help to an all merciful God to whom all glory and honor are due.

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Gospel:
John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

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Commentary on
Jn 1:47-51

There is much more here than just Nathanael’s profession of faith. When Jesus see’s him approaching he announces “Here is a true Israelite.” (one who sees God). The statement and the dialogue that follows contrasts Nathanael’s innocent faith (without duplicity or deceit) with the historical guileful character of Jacob. All of this gives the profession “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

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Reflection:

Today, as we celebrate the great feast of the Archangels we give thanks to the Lord’s consolation. The word “consolation” comes from the Latin word con-solatio. It suggests being with the other in their solitude
[4] - In other words not only did the Son leave us the Holy Spirit as advocate and guide, God also sends us heavenly messengers insuring that those who believe in him know that we are never alone, never without a heavenly presence to stand with us as we travel this life on earth.

The fact that from the earliest of times, God has provided us with these helps does not change the fact that to accept this aid we are required to take a leap of faith. We note that when Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael have been identified as being physically (metaphysically) present, that is manifested in such a way as their presence and will were felt, a specific task was laid upon them; tasks that were critical for the salvation of mankind.

St. Michael, tradition holds stands guard at the Tree of Life in the Garden from which Adam and Eve were ejected (
Genesis 3:24). It is also St. Michael who will lead the heavenly forces in battle against evil at the end of time (Revelations 12:7). From the sheer span of existence we get a fleeting glimpse of immortality in their angelic presence and involvement with our salvation.

St. Gabriel, again out of scripture is titled the Archangel of Consolation as he touches the life of the Prophet and poet Daniel who, at his touch predicts the coming of God’s only Son in
Daniel 9:21 and then informs Zachariah of the impending birth of the “Voice” – his son St. John the Baptist (Luke 1:10). His greatest message he bore to the Blessed Mother of God when he informed her of God’s plan and asked for her cooperation in the salvation of mankind in the Annunciation (Luke 1:26). Can we imagine the joy of the heavenly messenger given such a wondrous message?

Finally, we recall St. Raphael, third of the named Archangels. It given to him, whose name means “God has healed” to walk in disguise with Tobias, keeping him steadfast on his mission and battling demons to save Sarah (
Tobit 5:11ff). It is tradition that St. Raphael stood with the Lord himself at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:4) healing the faithful.

Many more stories are told of angelic involvement, the will of God is accomplished through them for us and today we rejoice in their activity. Our prayer today is that we are able to cooperate in this heavenly action and come at last to meet them where they stand at the foot of the throne rejoicing with all the saints.

Pax

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “The Three Archangels” by Marco d’ Oggiomo, c. 1490
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[4] Spi Salvi, 38

3 comments:

Dennis said...

Thank you for this!

Leticia said...

OK I was feeling guilty about not posting on this or celebrating my Dad,Ralph, my daughter, Gabriela and my nephew Michael's feast day, but now I can just link to yours!
And I am doing your prayers and reading your readings while eating a celebratory brownie with Gabbi.
Who says I am not celebrating Michaelmas?

Anonymous said...

Consoling indeed.