Happy Feast of the Archangels! Michael, Gabriel, Raphael be blessed! I must confess I’m not one for run-of-the-mill angels (especially the little baby-faced ones which kind of scare me) but archangels? That’s my kind of angel! So who are these three that we celebrate today?

Well first, by way of information, an archangel is a chief angel. There are typically 3 archangels that we honor by name in the Christian tradition — Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. There may be up to 7 archangels in total (including Uriel who is honored in the Eastern Christian tradition) but this area seems to be a bit fuzzy in our tradition. The 3 archangels are honored in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

19th century Russian Orthodox icon of the Archangels. Michael is in the center, behind the circular mandorla of Christ. Gabriel and Raphael stand in front to the left and right respectively. Tempera and gold leaf on wood

Michael is considered the leader of the heavenly host, “one of the chief princes”. He is a patron of soldiers. His name in Hebrew means “Who is like God?” He is mentioned by name in three books of the Bible: Daniel, Jude, and Revelations. He is patron saint of many including soldiers, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and sailors.

Gabriel appears in the book of Daniel where he helped by explaining the prophet’s visions. Gabriel is probably best know as the angel of the Annunciation who appeared to Mary announcing that she would give birth to the Savior. He also announced John the Baptist’s birth to Zachariah. His name means “God is my strength”. Gabriel is patron saint of broadcasters (radio, TV, etc.) among others.

Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit where he heals Tobit of his blindness and helps Tobiah and Sarah. His name means “God heals”. Raphael is the patron of people who are blind, of healers, and of happy meetings.

We honor the archangels along with saints and other angels by remembering them and praying with them. Just like we might ask a friend to pray for us, or turn to someone who has “been there, done that” in some particular situation we are facing, we look to the archangels for support and for their presence. In early Jewish literature archangels are called “angels of the presence” which I think well describes how they are in our life.

How have you encountered these “angels of presence” in your life?

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