Feast of the archangels
Adoration, tonight (9/29), 7-8 pm, SAA Church. All are welcome!!
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They are the greatest angels because they have been entrusted the greatest tasks as God's messengers. Michael (which means "Who is like God?") is the archangel who battled Satan and drove him and his angels out of Heaven. We implore his intercession in the battle against evil spirits. At the end of the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII had a vision of Hell that was so alarming that he initiated a prayer* to St. Michael that we say today.
Gabriel ("the strength of God") announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and the birth of Jesus to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We turn to him to help us know the Will of God in our own lives. Raphael ("the healer of God") helped Tobit be healed of his blindness. Raphael is a powerful intercessor, invoking the healing power of Christ for those who ask him for it.
Sacred Scripture gives us many images of angels. Jesus describes "angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (Jn 1:51) in today's Gospel. Elsewhere, Christ points out that each one of us has an angel assigned to us who we refer to as our guardian angel. Angels serve Christ in Heaven and on Earth, mainly by protecting us. They are great helpers and guardians, and we should pray to them regularly for their assistance.
We also know from Scripture, mainly in the Book of Revelation, that angels worship the Lamb of God in the heavenly feast. We have a preview of that feast in the Eucharistic celebration, Holy Mass. The Eucharist is where Heaven and Earth meet. In the Eucharist, there is Christ. Where there is the Son, there is the Father, Holy Spirit, and all the saints and angels. So, whenever we come to Mass, we are in the presence of all the angels, even though we can't see them. We have our guardian angel with us always, but when we enter a chamber of Heaven at Mass, we have the entire heavenly court of angels and archangels with us.
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* St. Michael the archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
posted by Fr Greg @ 10:27 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
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This is not pertaining to the topic but I am baring my soul so people please don't jump all over me. I am a very liberal minded person so sometimes its hard to really accept certain teachings. Its not that I don't want to, its just difficult to. I was "very" pro-choice until I got educated on what it meant to have an abortion. Not that I did. Then the whole idea really horrified me. I am asking anyone for advice as to what should I do when certain teachings go against what I learnt in the secular world? I really want to follow the church's teachings and not be so liberal minded.
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Without knowing the details, in general the liturgical calendar was changed along the lines of simplification and reduction. For example, 2006 has only four feasts not associated with Jesus, His mother, or one or more Apostles (St. Stephen, the Holy Innocents, St. Lawrence, the Dedication of the Lateran, and Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael).
On a calendar with infrequent feasts, each archangel wouldn't get his own feast, and combining them into one is a greater honor than giving them their own memorials.
I am asking anyone for advice as to what should I do when certain teachings go against what I learnt in the secular world?
Many people have found that, if they leave a difficult teaching alone for a while, without worrying about it or wrestling with it, when they return to it after some time of prayerful living they find they no longer have difficulty accepting it.
If it's something you can't leave alone, say because the teaching is directly contrary to something you do all the time, you might try to follow the teaching as a matter of discipline rather than faith, and see how things stand after a period of time doing that.
"I believe, help my unbelief," is a great Scriptural prayer.
For reading, Archbishop Wuerl has been warmly recommending the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, which he says is "designed primarily for adult, particularly young adult, readers who seek a fuller, richer understanding of the great gift of faith."
to anon #3- U are not in the minority on this one. Most Catholics pick and choose the teachings for their life. Try to really educate you self on the reasons behind Catholic Teachings and the Truth will knock you over.
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