FEAST OF THE ARCHANGELS: MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL

The Following is a homily Delivered by my Deacon Friend (Christopher) today. I publish it here on my blog with his permission....

Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the three Archangels who are mentioned by name in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. It is quite interesting to know that all three names of the Archangels end with the word “El”, which means “God” in Hebrew. God is inscribed in their names, in their nature. They are His messengers.  They bring God to mankind, they reveal the heavens. There is an intrinsic bond between a priest’s ministry and the mission of angels.

First of all there is Michael. We find him in the Book of Daniel, in the Letter of St Jude and in the Book of Revelation. Two of this Archangel’s roles become obvious in these texts. He defends the cause of God’s oneness against the presumption of the dragon, the serpent. It is the serpent’s continuous attempt to make men believe that God must disappear from the scenario in order to obtain greatness and so we must get rid of Him. So it is the duty of the priest, as a man of God, to make room in the world for God, to counter the denials of him and to defend man’s greatness. Michael’s other role is that of protector of the People of God (cf. Dn 10: 21; 12: 1). Dear friends, we must be the true “guardian angels” of the Church which will be entrusted to us. We have to help the People of God to accept good and reject evil.

Secondly, we have the Archangel Gabriel. We meet him especially in the precious account of the annunciation to Mary (Lk1: 26-38). He is the messenger of the incarnation of God.  He knocks at Mary’s door. The Lord knocks again and again at the door of the human heart. In the Book of Revelation he says to the angel of the Church of Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (3: 20). It is our task to knock at people’s hearts in Christ’s name.

Thirdly, there is Raphael. He is presented to us as the Angel to whom is entrusted the task of healing in the Book of Tobit. Raphael heals the relationship between Tobias and Sarah, marked by the curse of death; he heals the wounded union between man and woman. He heals their love. Every priest is entrusted with the duty of guiding men towards the reconciling power of Christ’s love. He must be the “healing angel” who helps them to anchor their love to the sacrament. Secondly, the Book of Tobit continues to speak of the healing of blind eyes. We all know that today we are threatened with blindness to God by various ways. Healing this blindness is entrusted to the priest. One way of healing is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which in the deepest sense of the word is a sacrament of healing.

So my dear friends,

Let’s remember that just as angels, the priests must lead humanity to God; must knock on the door of their hearts to announce Christ; must heal the wounds of relations between man and woman and save them from sin with reconciliation and forgiveness. Let’s today ask the archangels to pray for us that we might fight bravely the influence of evil, be strengthened by his grace in living out his plan for us, and that we may be healed of our wounded hearts, minds and bodies. Amen. 

READING

“Reading has made many saints.”

St. Josemaria Escriva

For quite some time I have been thinking about writing something on Reading. It could be said that there is a general decline in reading these days especially in the life of priests and religious. I looked out for some materials and I found plenty. You want to be enlightened, be a saint? Then there it is necessary to read. St. John Bosco was a voracious reader. What about St. Augustine? It’s out of the question. Perhaps, one might say that one is not a saint. So what is the use of reading? We are not angels. Do the angels read? The angels need not read, but we have to. They are not caught up in the dilemmas of memory and of time. But we are.

 

A book is a basis for thought. St. Augustine was doubtful as to whether reading would enlighten him or not but he was convinced that we could not continue our Spiritual flowering without prolonged, deep reading. We can call St. Augustine the Reader as one of the heroes of the now endangered art of reading. What made Abraham Lincoln famous is his reading.

“not every reader is a leader, but every leader must be a reader” (Harry Truman).

Ruskin’s unto the Last made Gandhiji as he is.

Healing is an aspect of reading. So reading is healing. It heals our prejudiced perspectives, clarifies our visions, and transforms our symbols and metaphors. We speak of bibliotherapy, i.e., when the mind is imbalanced through existential anxieties of everyday life, a proper choice of books and their reading, guide one to live life with serenity and help to face the problem appropriately. 

Nepolean was convinced of the importance of books and reading. He says, “If I were not the ruler of the Kingdom, I would prefer to be a caretaker of a library.” He also says, “songs and dances do not mould a human being. With a sword in hand and the works of Homer in my pocket, I can work or create miracles.”

Kunjunni Mash, a Malayalee poet who is famous for his short poems writes, “വായിച്ചാലും വളരും, വായിച്ചില്ലേലും വളരും. വായിച്ചു വളര്‍ന്നാല്‍ വിളയും വായിക്കാതെ വളര്‍ന്നാല്‍ വളയും.” (you grow whether you read or not, but if you read and grow you mature, but if you grow without reading you become crooked or bent).

So have few books with you because, “A house without books is like a room without windows.” Heinrich Mann (German Novelist). Are you still not convinced? It is enough to look at some saints favorite books and quotes to convince you. Brandon Vogt sent me a free E-book, "Saints Favourite Books." I was really delighted to read it. The following quotations I have taken from that book (without explicit permission) just to Show that Reading made them saints......

St. Augustine’s favorite was Life of St. Anthony by St. Athanasius

“‘Where were you God?’ Antony asked, ‘Why didn’t you ease my temptations and pains?’And a voice came to him: ‘Antony, I was here, but I waited to see you fight.’”

-St. Athanasius (The Life of St. Antony)

ST. BENEDICT OF NURSIA

The Conferences - St. John Cassian

"To cling always to God and to the things of God—this must be our major effort."

-Saint John Cassian (The Conferences)

ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

On Grace and Free Will - St. Augustine of Hippo

"There is in a man a free choice of the will, but grace renders its help."

-St. Augustine of Hippo (On Grace and Free Will)

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

City of God - St. Augustine of Hippo

"The Heavenly City outshines Rome beyond comparison. There, instead of  victory, is truth; instead of high rank, holiness; instead of peace, felicity; instead of life, eternity."

-St. Augustine of Hippo (City of God)

ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

The Life of Christ - Ludolph of Saxony

"Come and be present at Christ’s birth, like a good foster parent with Joseph...

Be present at his death with his Blessed Mother and John, and share in their

suffering and consolation."

-Ludolph of Saxony (The Life of Christ)

ST. TERESA OF ÁVILA

The Sinner’s Guide - Venerable Louis of Grenada

"We are all destined to one or the other, either to reign eternally with

God in Heaven or to burn eternally with the devils in Hell."

-Ven. Louis of Grenada (The Sinner’s Guide)

ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS

The Mystical Theology - Pseudo-Dionysius

"We pray that we may come unto this Darkness which is beyond light, and,

without seeing and without knowing, to see and to know that which is above vision and knowledge."

-Pseudo-Dionysius (The Mystical Theology)

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

The Spiritual Combat - Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

"God never ceases to help His soldiers, although He sometimes suffers them to be wounded. Only fight, for all depends on this."

-Dom Lorenzo Scupoli (The Spiritual Combat)

ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX

The Imitation of Christ - Thomas à Kempis

"Jesus has now many lovers of the heavenly kingdom but few bearers of his cross."

-Thomas à Kempis (The Imitation of Christ)

BL. TERESA OF CALCUTTA

Life of Christ - Ven. Fulton Sheen

"Some religions draw by force of arms; He would draw by force of love. The attraction would not be His words, but Himself."

-Ven. Fulton Sheen (The Life of Christ)

POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II

True Devotion to Mary - St. Louis de Montfort

"We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and

we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly."

-St. Louis de Montfort (True Devotion to Mary)

POPE BENEDICT XVI

Confessions - St. Augustine of Hippo

"Late have I loved Thee, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved thee!"

-St. Augustine of Hippo (Confessions)

POPE FRANCIS

The Betrothed - Alessandro Manzoni

"Certainly the heart always has something to tell about the future to those who

listen to it. But what does the heart know? Very little of what has already happened."

-Alessandro Manzoni (The Betrothed)

So Read and Grow......