For
a while there a few years back, angels were wildly popular. Posters and notecards, t-shirts and
television shows, all featured angels or something purporting to be an
angel. Lately this enthusiasm seems to
have faded, and now the public fancy has turned to robots or zombies or
something. But we members of the Body of
the Lord are ever aware of the Angels, even though they have no bodies, for
together we serve the Eternal Almighty. And this weekend falls right in the midst of
our annual liturgical observance of their importance.
Friday,
29 September, was the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. We know all of these Archangels from their
missions recorded in Scripture. Gabriel
brought the message of the Incarnation of Our Lord to the virgin of Nazareth,
whose name was Mary. Raphael assisted
Tobiah on his pilgrimage, and identified the healing balm for Tobit. Michael is in charge of, shall we say, less
delicate matters. He wields a flaming
sword, and in addition to various struggles in which he intervenes in the Old
Testament, we see this:
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels
fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they
were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the
great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and
Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and
his angels were thrown down with him. Rev 12:7-9
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he
seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound
him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it
over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years
were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while. Rev
20:1-3
This
is decidedly somebody we want to have on our side in our struggles, and someone
with whom we want to have clear and quick communication. The ancient Prayer to Saint Michael is
indispensable, and we should know it and pray it. In fact, we will be teaching it to the
students by praying it at the conclusion of our weekly school Masses this
year.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in
battle! Be our defense against the
wickedness and snares of the devil. May
God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking
the ruin of souls. Amen.
He
is clearly one of “the big guns” we have for our fight against sin and
death. But that is not all of the angels
we celebrate in these days. Monday,
October 2, is the Feast of the Guardian Angels, when we recall that God has
assigned an angel to each one of us, to help us safely on our way to heaven:
For he will give his angels charge of you to
guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash
your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12
Where
do we find the Angels, and how can we be united with them? The Divine Office for the Archangels reminds
us by quoting the Scriptures:
An angel stood by the altar, holding a golden
censer; a large quantity of incense was given to him, and clouds of incense
rose from the hand of the angel in the presence of the Lord.
Thousands upon thousands waited on him, and
myriads upon myriads stood before him.
And clouds of incense rose from the hand of the angel in the presence of
the Lord.
We
are closest to the Angels when we are at the Holy Altar of God, worshipping Him. That is better, longer lasting, and more
accessible than posters and notecards, t-shirts and television shows ever will
be.
Monsignor
Smith
