LA Cubed

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels

Information about Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

Readings for Friday

Reading 1 Dn 7:9-10, 13-14
Or
Rev 12:7-12ab

Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Gospel Jn 1:47-51

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels. Just so we are all on the same page we can listen to the words of Pope St. Gregory the Great who defines what that means:

You should be aware that the word "angel" denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels. (from a homily by Pope Saint Gregory the Great)

The three Archangels are the only ones named in scripture and each has a distinct role as can be seen from the links provided above. What we must understand as being generally the most important element of our celebration is that these three Spirits have had a direct involvement with mankind. We see in their intervention God’s fingers affecting the course of human events. Deep within each of us is the wish that, at some point in our lives, an angel would speak to us, directly, personally, with clarity. The angel would tell us what God wants from us or wants us to do.

It is interesting today that, on this the feast of the archangels, the church gives us the story of Jesus’ encounter with Nathanael rather than one of the encounters with the archangels. In this Gospel Jesus has identified the young man as someone without duplicity, that is innocent of worldly demeanor that would portray him as something he was not. The way Nathanael speaks when he says “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” makes us wonder how one, not of the twelve, had such an instant and deep understanding of Jesus’ identity. Could it be that this was a messenger from God? None of the commentaries assume this is the case.

Still, we wonder, if this innocent young man, without prompting, identified Jesus and if he was an angel in human form, that would mean that God may send his spirits, as Pope St. Gregory the Great has called them, to us and we might not recognize them as anything but people.

There is nothing theological in this reflection. It is just a hope that God might one day send an angel to me so that I might understand at last and clearly what he wants from me. Since I have speculated above that God may indeed send his angels to us in human guise, I must be constantly vigilant that one of my daily encounters may turn out to answer my prayer.

Certainly the more common intervention of the Holy Spirit can be seen, although usually in retrospect and not always clearly. The overriding principle here is we must always be open to that kind of guidance and be constantly vigilant, knowing that God intercedes in our lives and we must watch for it.

Pax