Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 29, 2022 - Sept. 29 - Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels
[Dan 7:9-10, 13-14 or Rev 12:7-12a 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." [John]
THAT there are such beings as angels is well-attested in the Bible. But the human imagination has supplied most of the rest. The speculation has ranged widely and books have been written in our own times about the experiences people have had with angels. The more modern experiences do not speak of winged people but folks that look like you and me. In grade school we were asked to memorize the "hierarchy" of angels based on the work of Dionysius. There were thrones, dominations, principalities, powers, cherubim and seraphim - all above the angels and archangels! We were asked to move over in our desks to make room for our Guardian Angel!
Tradition has assigned battle to Michael, communication to Gabriel, and healing to Raphael, based on what the bible has indicated. The church also celebrates the ordinary "guardian angel" (Oct. 2) which tradition has assigned to each of us. I suspect I have more than one!
More than anything, the angels represent God's providential care for creation, and especially for the creation made in God's own image and likeness - us humans! For that, I am truly grateful and probably still alive because of that angel-assisted providence! AMEN