The Feast of the Archangels

When the children of Israel tried to envision God, they could only do so through human references.  Since they thought of God as King of the Universe, they naturally came to see God as someone who was enthroned in heaven.  Using human references, they populated the throne room or court of their King with other beings that they called “sons of God.”  They divided the created universe into five categories.  God, who completely filled the first category, was followed in succession by sons of God (2), spirits and demons (3), human beings (4), and all animal life (5). 

In the Hebrew Bible, the phrase "sons of the Elohim" occurs in: Gen 6:2 (sons of Elohim), Job 1:6 (the sons of Elohim), Job 38:7 (sons of godly beings), and Psalm 29:1 (sons of elim).  Various translations of the Hebrew Scriptures also call them the “sons of Israel,” “the people of Israel,” “heavenly court,” and “heavenly assembly.”

Eventually, the “sons of Elohim” came to be known as angels.  The people of the Middle East believed that the world was populated by beings other than themselves who carried out God’s desires or, if they were evil, thwarted God’s plans.  As they observed various phenomena in their world, these beings took on names.  The list of them is considerable:

Ariel – Lion or Lioness of God,
Azrael – Whom God helps,
Chamuel – He who sees God,
Gabriel – God is my strength,
Haniel – Glory of God,
Jeremiel – Mercy of God,
Jophiel – Beauty of God,
Metatron – Guardian of Children,
Michael – He who is like God,
Raguel – Friend of God,
Raphael – God Heals,
Raziel – Secret of God,
Sandalphon – Brother (twin of Metatron),
and Uriel – God is Light.

Three of these archangels figure prominently in our Christian faith; namely, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael.  Each of them is identified by name in our Scriptures.  Gabriel is named in the Gospel of Luke.  Michael is named in the Book of Revelation.  Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit.

All but two of the names that have been used to name these creatures end in the syllable “el” which is the name of God (Elohim).  This probably indicates that these characters were identified as manifestations of God’s action in the world.  Naming that action gave rise to the name of the angel.

Today we celebrate the three archangels who appear in the Scriptures.  Before the Second Vatican Council, each of them had his/her own feast day.  Now we celebrate them together and remember all that God does for us through them.  God sends his angels to make himself known through word and deed, to protect us from evil, and to heal us of our infirmities. 

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator