WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE ARCHANGELS- 9/29/22 (Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels)

John 1:51

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092922.cfm

Blessed Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael! They are what we call "archangels." Archangels are angels with higher ranks, and they are messengers of God who have significant missions in our lives. Human beings are not the only ones who serve our God. We are surrounded by angels, including by these three archangels, in glorifying our Lord. What can we learn from them and how can they help us? 

St. Raphael was the angel who was sent by God for the healing of Tobit and for the deliverance of Sara from the devil (Tobit 12).  He is the patron saint of travellers, the blind, bodily ills, happy meetings, nurses, physicians and medical doctors. We experience sickness and sufferings in life. What do we do during these times? Some of us may complain with our sufferings while others may fall to despair. It is good if we pray for healing, but some people may ask for it, simply to escape suffering without thinking of God's will and glory. St. Raphael is interceding on our behalf to God, and he is praying for us. Let's ask help through his intercession, and may we remember to have hope in God no matter how difficult our situations are. Tobit, who was healed from blindness through the prayer of St. Raphael, saw heaven and God's blessings. In the same way, may we ask for healing with the understanding that when we receive this gift from God, we should use our good health to grow closer to Christ and do good works for us to have the hope of entering the Kingdom of Heaven. 

St. Michael the Archangel is known as the angel that leads others angels and combats Satan. Lucifer was higher than St. Michael in terms of position, but due to his pride, he fell from heaven while St. Michael was elevated due to his humility. He always guards us and protects us from evil. We are in need of his intercession and protection because we always experience temptations from Satan and his other minions. They tempt us because they want to drag us to hell. They are tempting us to commit grave sins and to not follow the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church. The temptations we have may start from the delay to prayers to the point of giving them up. If we allow them to continuously tempt us, we may fall to despair and due to lack of trust in God, fall to the state of mortal sin where our souls are in danger of eternal punishment. Like St. Michael, let's counter the tactics of the devil by humility. Let's not lose courage when we fall to grave sins because the mercy of God is always present in the sacrament of confession. And, if possible, may we consider asking help through the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel as linked below this reflection for protection against the snares of the devil.

St. Gabriel was known to be the angel that brought the Good News to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Zechariah, and others. We are also called by God to be the messengers of Good News to people, especially by virtue of our baptism. We are invited by Christ to preach through our words and deeds. And, what's the purpose of this? It is to love God and make Him loved. It's for us to bring more people to Him, so more souls will praise God. St. Gabriel announced the good news of the Incarnation of Jesus, when God entered into our world to be like one of us. Jesus ascended to heaven. Fortunately, by His love for us, He makes His wholes self, body, blood, soul and divinity, present to us in the Holy Eucharist of the Mass. As said in the gospel reading for today, the angels are ascending and descending to Jesus. This is an imagery of heaven, and the Mass is where heaven meets earth. All the angels, archangels, and saints are with us worshipping Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, in the Holy Mass. Let's adore Him and speak to Him as we receive the Holy Communion. Let's prolong our conversation with Him, even after the Communion, for at least 15 minutes or more. If there is one thing that we have that the angels do not have, it's receiving the whole Jesus who makes us His Tabernacle. Let's join His angels and saints in singing praise to Him. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-29st-michael-archangel/

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel:

https://saintmichaelcc.org/prayer-to-st-michael-the-archangel

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls