By Roy Rasmussen | For On Mission
Each year on September 29, Catholics celebrate the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. But these heavenly allies watch over us all year, and we can gain enormous graces by developing daily devotion to them. This feast presents an opportunity to learn about what Scripture and tradition teach regarding the archangels and how to honor them.
How the feast of the archangels began
The opening chapters of Scripture allude to God’s creation of the angels, which we proclaim when we affirm God as creator of heaven and earth and maker of all things visible and invisible. Judaism portrayed angels flanking God’s throne on the Ark of the Covenant, foreshadowing church designs of angels surrounding Mary and her son’s tabernacle.
While Scripture reveals few angels by name, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are exceptions. They acquired a prominent role in Jewish devotion before being incorporated into Christianity.
By the sixth century, ancient Christians had dedicated multiple feasts to Michael. From the 10th to the 18th centuries, Catholics observed Michaelmas as a holy day of obligation, typically on September 29, near the fall equinox.
Traditionally, Gabriel’s feast day fell on March 18 or 24 before the Annunciation, while Raphael’s feast fell on October 24. In 1969, these merged with Michaelmas, giving us our present feast.
St. Michael
The suffix of the name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), like that of Gabriel and Raphael, refers to God’s title El, meaning strong, mighty or great. Michael’s full name means “Who is like God?” This echoes passages from Exodus 15:11 and the Psalms, emphasizing God’s superiority over other deities. Traditionally, commentators have interpreted Michael’s name as a rallying cry marshaling the angels against Satan’s attempt to exalt himself above God (Is 14:13).
Scripture first names St. Michael in Daniel. Another angel (probably Gabriel) describes Michael as the “great prince” who protects the Jewish nation against foreign empires and will appear in a time of great tribulation before the resurrection of the dead (Dn 12:1).
Jude refers to Michael as an archangel (first or chief angel) who disputes with the Devil over the body of Moses. This alludes to an ancient tradition we know in part from extra-Biblical works.
In Revelation, following visions of a great tribulation, the Ark of the Covenant, and a woman clothed with the sun, John sees Michael leading the angels in a heavenly war with Satan (Rev 12:7). Michael’s armies cast Satan down to earth, where he makes war against the woman, her son, and the Church.
Drawing from Scripture, Catholic tradition and art ascribes four main roles to Michael:
- Leading God’s angelic armies against Satan
- Protecting God’s people
- Weighing departed souls against the scales of divine justice
- Escorting the souls of the just to heaven
Constantine credited Michael with victories over his military and ecclesiastical enemies. In commemoration, he commissioned coins depicting Michael spearing a serpent, which became a popular image.
St. Gabriel
Gabriel (גַּבְרִיאֵל) means strong man of God or strength of God. Daniel introduces Gabriel as the interpreter of a vision about the future of the Persian and Greek empires (Dn 8:16). Gabriel then delivers another vision about a trial coming on the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem, when the temple will be defiled by “one who makes desolate” before the Messiah triumphs (Dn 9:21).
In Luke 1, Gabriel announces the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah, who he punishes for disbelieving his message. Six months later, Gabriel appears to Mary, greeting her with the title, “Hail, favored one!”
Where Michael is a warrior, Gabriel is a messenger heralding significant events, including the Incarnation and the Apocalypse. Gabriel holds the distinction of being the first to announce the Gospel in his words to Mary, repeated in the rosary. In art, he usually appears in the context of the Annunciation. He often holds a white lily, symbolizing Mary’s purity, or a trumpet, symbolizing Judgment Day.
St. Raphael
Raphael (רָפָאֵל) means God’s healing or God has healed. In the Book of Tobit, he aids Tobit and his family against the demon Asmodeus. Raphael accompanies Tobit’s son Tobias and his dog on a journey. He instructs him on how to use a fish to heal his father’s eyes and stop Asmodeus from harassing his future wife, Sarah. Raphael also appears in an extra-Biblical book popular among ancient Jews and Christians, 1 Enoch. God tasks him and the other archangels with judging and punishing the demons. Traditional Catholic commentary regards Raphael as the unnamed angel who stirs the healing pool of Bethesda in John 5.
Where Michael is a warrior and Gabriel is a messenger, Raphael is a healer. He acts as a patron of the sick and healers, as well as travelers and lovers. Art often shows him with a staff, a fish, or Tobias and his dog.
How to honor the archangels
We can cultivate devotion to the archangels on their feast and throughout the year by:
- Attending Mass on September 29 and invoking their intercession
- Praying the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, introduced by Pope Leo XIII to protect the Church against her enemies and directed by Bishop Ricken to be prayed publicly after Mass in the Diocese of Green Bay
- Praying the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel, revealed to Antonia d’Astonac and approved by Pope St. Pius IX
- Praying the rosary, meditating on Gabriel’s role in the Annunciation
- Praying the Angelus
- Praying lectio divina meditation over Scriptures about the archangels
- Studying Catholic teaching about angels in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in the writings of saints such as St. Thomas Aquinas
The archangels are God’s servants to help you. Get in the habit of invoking their powerful aid.