Feast of the Archangels - Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Archangels are believed to be messengers of God sent to direct, guide, defend, and protect us. Only the three we reverently remember on this feast day – Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael -- are named in the Old as well as the New Testament.

Each of these archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides.

Before Vatican II, the famous prayer to St. Michael was prayed at the end of each mass.

Saint 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 Divine Power of God — cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Given the current state of the world, Pope John Paul II urged the faithful to recite this prayer daily. St. Michael is the patron of police officers It was only recently that I discovered that Saint Michael was more than the defender against Satan. He is also attributed with welcoming and escorting souls to heavens.

The Angel Gabriel is the angel sent as God's messenger to Daniel to explain his vision (Dan. 8: 16-26) and prophecy (Dan. 9: 21-27). Saint Gabriel was the angel sent to foretell the birth of John the Baptist to John's father, Zechariah (Luke 1:11-21) and was also the angel sent to announce to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of God (Luke 1:26-38).

Angel Raphael was sent by God to minister to Tobias and Sara and accompanied young Tobias into Media disguised as a man named Azarias. His name in Hebrew means "God heals," and he is identified as the angel who "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the apocryphal Enoch (10:7) and who moved the waters of the healing sheep-pool (John 5: 1-4). He is one of only three archangels identified by name along with Michael and Gabriel in Sacred Scripture and has been venerated for ages in both the Jewish and the Christian traditions.