Feast Days, or Holy Days, are commemorative times of celebration of the sacred mysteries and events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs and saints, by special services and rest from work. A feast not only commemorates an event or saint, but also serves to excite the spiritual life by reminding us of the event it commemorates.
The succession of these seasons form the ecclesiastical year, in which the feasts of Our Lord form the framework, the feasts of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints an ornamental tracery.
Let us take a look at July's Holy Days, as listed below.
3 / St. Thomas 11 / St. Benedict 15 / St. Bonaventure 20 / St. Margaret of Antioch 22 / St. Mary Magdalene 23 / St. Bridget of Sweden 25 / St. Christopher St. James the Great 26 / St. Anne St. Joachim 29 / St. Olaf 31 / St. Ignatius of Loyola
Catholic Encyclopedia Angels and Saints, Lleewllyn
Within the contemporary Catholic Church, the seven archangels correspond with the days of the week, and each archangel has been canonized as a saint. As the list goes, Saint Michael represents Sunday, Saint Gabriel represents Monday, Saint Raphael represents Tuesday, Saint Uriel represents Wednesday, Saint Selaphiel represents Thursday, Saint Jegudiel represents Friday, and Saint Barachiel represents Saturday.
There are three archangels named in the bible, of which we know a great deal more than the other four: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.It should be noted that archangel is one of Aquinas’ classifications that is not very high in the hierarchy, so when I say archangel in this post, I am referring to the title or nobility, not the classification.
Michael-------------------------------
He is believed to be the guardian of the Isrealites, God’s chosen people, and one of the most, if not the, most powerful of the angels.The name means “who is like God.”
Michael is the angel that fought Lucifer and banished him from heaven.He is known as the warrior angel and is oft pictured in armor, and is the patron of Brussels, police officers and the sick.
Gabriel--------------------------------
Mentioned several times in the Bible, he is most known for being the angel who appear to St. Mary to inform her of the Immaculate Conception, called the Annunciation.Gabriel also encounters Daniel to clear up prophecies about Jesus and tells Zechariah about his son, John the Baptist.
Gabriel’s name means “the hero of God” and he is the patron saint of broadcasters, messengers, postal workers, telecommunication workers and writers.
Raphael ---------------------------------
Raphael signifies “God heals,” which is indicative of his involvement in the story of Tobit and his son, Tobias.Tobit had gone blind and asked God for healing.Raphael appeared to Tobias in human form as an unknown distant relative and convinced him to remove the insides of a fish and rub them on his father’s eyes, which functioned as a cure.Raphael then revealed his angelic form and said, “I am Raphael, one of seven holy angels who… enter in the presence of the glory of the Holy One.”
Raphael is the patron saint of the blind, doctors, nurses and travelers.
Uriel -----------------------------------
Uriel means the “light or the fire of God.” This archangel enlightens the minds and the hearts of the faithful with the light of divine truths and the fire of divine love.
Selaphiel --------------------------------
Salaphiel is the patron of prayer and is so depicted on icons, with eyes gazing downward, with hands crossed on his chest, with an air of humility and deep inner concentration. He is a primary teacher of prayer.
Jegudiel ---------------------------------
Jegudiel is the patron, defender and helper of all those who toil, and is depicted on icons with a crown of victory in his hands. Such crowns will be earned by those who will endure to the very end, who will worthily bear the light yoke of Christ.
Barachiel --------------------------------
Barachiel is the angel of God’s blessings.
The Council of Rome of 745 is the reason why the Church gives more emphasis to the main three Archangels (and why the other four generally do not have feast days). Pope St. Zachary, intending to clarify the Church's teaching on the subject of angels and curb a tendency by some toward angel worship, condemned obsession with angelic intervention and angelolatry, but reaffirmed the approval of the practice of the reverence of angels. This synod struck many angels’ names from the list of those eligible for veneration in the Church of Rome.
They were/are created.Although the Bible doesn’t specifically say it, it neither says that He created dogs either.Psalm 148:2,5 – “Praise God, all his angels, all the armies of heaven… Let everything he has made give praise to him.For he gave the command, and they came into being.”
Do angles have names?
Angels have names and personal identities.We are told of Gabriel and Michael only in the Bible.In Judges 13:18 it is written, “Don’t even ask my name,” the Angel replied, “For it is a secret.”There are many things we do not know about angels that we must suppose because they are the servants of God, and not meant to replace him in awe or worship.
Angles have intellect and free will, but do they have emotions that may govern the later?
There are Bible passages that tell of angels rejoicing when someone believes in Jesus, and others that say angles sing songs of gladness.Although we do not know exactly why Satan fell from grace, it was speculated by early church members that he grew prideful when Christ humanly incarnated, because he would have to worship a human, which he considered to be a lower life form.
Do angles have a sex?
Angels are not physical beings normally, so big parts of what we would consider masculine or feminine like physical features are not possible.When assuming human form, they have usually taken a male form.Matthew 22:30 says, “For in the resurrection there is no marriage.Everyone is like the angels in Heaven.” – ie the sacrament is not necessary because there is no male/female.
Do angels have halos?
In a sense, they do.However, in the clichéd, contemporary ‘golden ring around your head’ sense, they do not.Angels are beings of light that shine like the sun or fire, so if one was to see an angel whether it was in human or normal form, it likely would shine in a halo-like functionality.
Can angels die?
Die is probably the wrong word because it implies an eventuality.Angels are everlasting beings, immortal in our sense of being.However, that does not mean that God cannot make them cease to exist just as quickly as they came to exist.So while you can’t shoot an angel with a gun, it could yet fall into a state of non-existence.This is an interesting point when watching the new wave of angel movies that you see in your redbox, where angels fight other angels and die.
Are there guardian angels?
If you asked a protestant, he or she would say that since the Bible does not specifically say so, that we do not have individual angels.The problem with such a stance is that, the Bible doesn’t specifically say a lot of thing, but that doesn’t become a verdict on their existence (often a shortfall in protestant thinking).For example, the word “rapture” never appears, but that remains in teachings.The Catechism says “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God" (CCC 336).
Seraphim means "burning ones". They are so bright that no one look upon them, including other angels. An alternate translation, "fiery serpent" likely comes from burning sensation of venom.
They have 6 wings, two covering the face, two covering the body, and two for flying, according to Isaiah 6.
Purposefully, they worship God and call attention to His majesty. They continuously shout, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. All the earth is filled with His Glory," which is called the Trisagion in the Greek Orthodox Church.
There are four seraphim princes that stand by the throne of God.
One seraph named Seraphiel, is said to have the head of an eagle. Lucifer may also have been a seraph before his fall.
What is an angel? They are written of poetically, seen in modern movies and referred to in ordinary dialogue. How much do we really know about them? Let us start by answering some common questions.
Do Angels exist, and are they recognized by the Church?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reads "The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition" (CCC 328) and "From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God" (CCC 336). The Bible has many stories that involve angels, including the following: Angels announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds (Luke 2:14) minister to Christ after his temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:11) comforted Jesus in his agony in the garden (Luke 22:43) appear to announce his resurrection from the dead (John 20:12) will come with Christ on the Day of Judgement (Matthew 24:31) will separate the wicked from the just on the Last Day (Matthew 13:49)
Why are they called Angels? "Angelos" is Greek for messenger, their primary function.
Are there different kinds of angels? St. Thomas Aquinas classifies the angels into three groups and three subgroups per group, making nine classifications as follows:
Seraphim
Cherubim
Thrones.
Orders of Dominations
Order of Virtues
Order of Powers
Principalities
Archangels
Angels
How many angels are there? Daniel 7:10 reads, "Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him.." At the least, according to my math, there is 1 billion, 1 million.
Do angels look like humans?
Angels do not have shape or a body, but may take such on to fulfill duty.In fact, it is written, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb 13:2).
Do angels have free will?
Absolutely.Angels have intellect and will, as seen by those who have fallen.From my understanding of Aquinas, they have supernatural knowledge of all things, but not a supernatural understanding of everything.We build a human understanding from knowledge of our senses out of nothing.Think of a map analogy.We start at a point, use current understanding to find new understanding, and eventually, we will attain a full map of the area.Angels, with a supernatural understanding, know every place, every tree, and need no rational links of comprehension.In the end, both groups lack wisdom.One could know everything in the world, whether man or angel, and yet not be able to answer simple why? Questions, only how?
The scientific mind can neither prove nor disprove God. No experiment based on observation will serve as proof in either direction. I contend that the absence of evidence, once one contemplates the question why, serves as circumstantial evidence in itself, and provides ample room for a justifiable faith.
If God did make himself know in the world in a comprehensive and evidential way (for instance, God came to earth, stopped a hurricane on live television) the relationship between God and humanity would turn to one more related to master and slave, than creator and worshiper. In attaining that evidence, human freedom and liberty would be lost. People would feel compelled, required, or bound to serve God, and to a degree, these actions would become forced. In such a relationship, no authentic love can occur, because love is not mandatory.
Power is always, first and foremost, the principle character of a relationship. Hence if God showed his power in a clear and evidential way, that power would define our relationship, and ultimately, it would choke the choice/freedom that a relationship needs. Think of it in a less divine and more human example. Perhaps you are friends with your boss at work. There are certain advantages to this, but the power dynamic in that relationship still reigns over the rest. If you did not show up for work for a week, you would be fired, no matter how much you chit chat on an average day. There is no way out of that dynamic, unless the person who is your boss is no longer your boss. God averts this ratio by not providing the evidence of power, so the dynamic doesn't exist.
The next time your read an atheist essay on the existence of God, which contends that the absence of evidence is evidence of God's non-existence, remember that it may be in fact circumstantial evidence for existence.
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"The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule... if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false." - St. Thomas Aquinas
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