Today the Church celebrates the feast of the archangels, the only three angels whose names we know, two of whom in particular who have and will play a vital role in salvation history. Raphael we know from the Book of Tobit, and we look to him as a companion and a healing help. Gabriel announced the arrival of our Savior; Michael, long the guardian angel of God’s people, Israel, now guards His Church, and will be present to assist with the defeat of Satan at the very end, shouting again perhaps his powerful name: “Who is like God?”
Why does the Church celebrate these three angels? To remind us that we are not alone in the war against Hell, that the same God to whom we sing “Holy holy holy, Lord God of Hosts!” employs His angelic warriors against our enemies, in our service. We see in the archangels the honor and glory Satan forfeited: he might have been the one to announce the coming of the Son of God in flesh! But it would be Gabriel, whose name is “God is my strong hero,” who would foretell the birth of the last prophet, St. John the Baptist, and the birth of the Messiah: surely he was present with the army of angels that sang to the shepherds on that glorious night!
So let us thank God for these three mighty friends we have in our journey to Heaven, their very names proclaiming to us the truth about the One who loves us and sends them to aid us, our God who is like no other, who is our strong hero, who is our healer.