The Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

Friday, September 29, 2023

Daniel 7, 9-10; 13-14

As I watched: Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed. 

The date of this Feast (in the West) first belonged to St. Michael alone, with separate fears for St. Gabriel (March 24) and St. Raphael (October 24).  Devotion to him arose early in the Church with churches dedicated to him in what is now eastern Turkey, in Egypt, and in Constantinople.  Springs were said to have been caused or blessed by him which healed the sick.  Those in need of healing also slept overnight in his church in Constantinople in hopes of being cured.  His Feast in the West is known from about the year 500 through the prayers in an ancient sacramentary and certainly it was celebrated for some time before that.  It was around the year 500 that the archangel famously appeared at Mount Gargano in Italy.  While Gabriel is well-known for his appearance to the priest Zechariah and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Gospel of Luke, and is thought to be the angel who spoke to St. Joseph in his dreams as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, he also is said to have made an appearance in Ezekiel 9, 4 where he marks the believing Jews with the letter tav [ת], which may indicates that he will be the angel in the last days of the world who will mark the true believers in Christ on their foreheads with the Sign of the Cross, thereby extending protection over them.  Raphael is principally known for his large part in the Book of Tobit in which he protects Tobiah on his journey, defeats a demon who was set to kill Tobiah on his wedding day, and heals the blindness of Tobit, Tobiah’s pious father.  For this he is regarded as a patron saint to be invoked by the sick.

The First Reading from the Book of Daniel presents the glory of the archangels along with all the choirs of angels.  The reading begins with a description of aspects of “the Ancient”, the Father: “His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool.”  St. John would later see the Lord Jesus in a vision appear very similarly so that it seems the appearance of the Father in Daniel is meant to confirm the divinity of the Son in Revelation 1, 13-14.  The white clothing (literally, “outer robe”) indicates priesthood and the white hair, the sign of an elder.  “His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.”  A throne of this kind shows that the one to be seated in it must be divine and have great power.  “A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat.”  To St. John, in his vision, this is revealed more clearly: “And from the throne proceeded lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Revelation 4, 5).  (The “seven Spirits of God” is the sign of the Holy Spirit).  The flames, the thunder, and the lightning represent the divine power that belongs to God, and that he alone possesses.  

“Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him.”  Now we see the angels in all their glory and might gazing upon the face of God and pouring out their praise.  Almighty God’s greatness reveals something of the greatness of his heavenly ministers.  Among these are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, who are “of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tobit 12, 15).

“The court was convened, and the books were opened.”  This indicates that the vision is of the end of the world and the great judgment.  Jesus describes this in Matthew 25 and it is also described in Revelation 20, 12-15.  It is thought that the Archangel Gabriel blows the trumpet to assemble the dead when the Lord Jesus comes in glory, as described in Revelation 11, 15.

“I saw One like a Son of Man coming, on the clouds of heaven.”  This is confirmed as referring to the final judgment in Revelation 1, 7: “Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him: and they also who pierced him.”  The clouds are thought by the Fathers to mean the hosts of the angels, for Jesus himself says, in a verse used in today’s Gospel Reading: “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

“When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him.”  This prophesy is confirmed in John’s vision, recorded in Revelation 5, 11–12: “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the ancients (and the number of them was thousands of thousands), saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”  And in Revelation 11, 15: “And the seventh angel [Gabriel, announcing the judgment] sounded the trumpet: and there were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of this world is become our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign for ever and ever. Amen.”

The glory of our God shines through the glory of his powerful angels, of whom the brightest are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, whom we celebrate today and whose help we seek.