Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Seven Archangels

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.


Saints and Angels, Llewellyn

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