Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels
[Daniel 9:9-10, 13-14 or Revelation 12:7-12 and John 1:47-51]Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
One of my altar boy memories (which all antedate the Second Vatican Council) is of the prayers that were said at the end of Mass (which we all thought were part of the Mass). One of those prayers was to St. Michael: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, etc.... The prayers were all dedicated to the "conversion of Russia!" St. Michael is depicted in full armor most of the times I've seen depictions of him. Needless to say, St. Gabriel, the messenger, is remembered literally millions of times a day in the prayer we call the "Hail Mary" (not to mention, in this season, all the references to a desperation play in football!). St. Raphael is the one who gets less attention, but I think he makes a better story in the Book of Tobit. We remember these three creatures of God today and in a few days we'll remember the Guardian Angels! The angels, of whatever rank, are unquestionably mentioned in the Bible and more or less taken for granted. We secular mortals are a bit more skeptical and fascinated by turns with regard to them. The Catholic imagination has been shaped by artists for centuries and the images run from the sword-bearing Michael (and the one with the flaming sword at the gate of paradise in Genesis) to the chubby "cherubs" in Baroque art. The latter, with their fat little bodies and tiny wings, make me think of bumblebees which, according to engineering lore, not supposed to be able to fly! Today's feast of the "archangels" represents our efforts to give prominence to some. The "ranks" are more or less the creation of a character known as Dionysius in an influential medieval document called "De Divinis Nominibus." (Concerning the Divine Names). We had to learn all the ranks in catechism. Our imagination plays a great role in our understanding of the angelic part of God's creation. One hopes that the real ones don't mind our colorful thoughts. AMEN
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