Heavenly King, You have given us archangels to assist us
during our pilgrimage on earth.
Saint Michael is our protector; I ask him to come to my
aid, fight for all my loved ones, and protect us from danger.
Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News; I ask him
to help me clearly hear Your voice and to teach me the truth.
Saint Raphael is the healing angel; I ask him to take my
need for healing and that of everyone I know, lift it up to Your throne of
grace and deliver back to us the gift of recovery.
Help us, O Lord, to realize more fully the reality of the
archangels and their desire to serve us.
Holy angels, pray for us. Amen.
I do not
understand everything. And I do not
understand anything at all in a perfect manner, and far from it. And as I get older and see how rich and
complex even the most simple things are in their nature and in what they imply,
in their role as only a small part of God's creative love for us, I feel less
and less sure of being able to adequately express any bit of my understanding
whatsoever.
I do not
understand angels. I see dirt and rocks,
moss and flowers, insects and fish and babies, and I can sense a growth in
presence, power, and promise in that sequence.
I grasp a part of what human life is and is called to be, and I have no
question that Jesus has bridged the upward gap that separates us creatures from
rising to and living with His very own Godly life.
I can see
where a being somewhat like me might fill a niche in that scheme, a being who
is all that I am, and then some, but without a body, a being who is, like God,
all at once and not living its existence in creeping moments and incomplete
acts. But I do not understand what an
angel really is, much less archangels, dominions, and the others.
Pope Saint
Gregory the Great has the following to say in one of his homilies I read in the
Office of Readings for September 29th:
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.
Some angels are given proper names to denote the service
they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows
from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known.
But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known
without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they come among us.
Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and
Raphael is “God’s Remedy.”
I pass into
simple and unconstrained faith concerning their existence, and I stand
astonished at the beauty of God's love for me, love that is filled with such
marvels that not only pass my comprehension but my very imagination. I live in gratitude that I do not have to
understand the Unknowable One, or any of his creatures or acts, in order to
believe and love.
I am
reminded of the story of Jesus meeting Nathanael. (John 1:47-51) Jesus knows
the heart of this man, reveals details about him that no human could know, and
Nathanael is instantly convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of
Israel. Jesus assures him that he will see the heaven opened and the angels of
God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This is a reference to the Old
Testament story of Jacob who dreamed about a ladder that on it had the angels
of God going up and down. Jacob awoke and named the place “Bethel,” the house
of God. To him it was the very gate of heaven, the entrance and exit point for
the angels of God going from heaven to earth and earth to heaven. Jesus to
Nathanael: I am that gate. I am the one who is the very opening into the
presence of God. Or, as John’s Gospel records in another passage, Jesus is “the
way” to the Father. (John 14:6)
I revel in
being thus reduced to the simplest child, living in the joy of my Father's love
for me, shining in trust, gratitude, and praise. And so I cherish the angels in all their
glory, their simple majesty, the purity of their service, and their delight in
seeing always the Father's face.
I celebrate
God's love for me, a love that passes now and will always pass my simple and
clumsy understanding.
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