All God's angels come to us disguised.

An angel can illuminate the thought and mind of man by strengthening the power of vision. ~St Thomas Aquinas: (1225 –1274: was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church)

Scripture Text: (REV 12:7-12AB)

War broke out in heaven;

Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.

The dragon and its angels fought back,

but they did not prevail

and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,

who is called the Devil and Satan,

who deceived the whole world,

was thrown down to earth,

and its angels were thrown down with it.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the Kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Anointed.

For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,

who accuses them before our God day and night.

They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

love for life did not deter them from death.

Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,

and you who dwell in them.”

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels. What are angels? . Question #19 of the Baltimore Catechism went straight to the heart of the matter. Angels are created spirits without bodies.” Question #22 went further with a “job description.” “How do the good angels help us?  The good angels help us by praying for us, by acting as messengers from God to us, and by serving as our guardian angels.”

The very word angel (angelos, Greek for “messenger”) points to the Sender, God. And the Hebrew names of the angels celebrated in today’s feast, each of those names is a sentence about God. Most people know that El is one of the Hebrew words for God. So Mi cha el is actually a question—“Who is like God?”  Rapha el, means “God heals” (as indeed God does through Raphael in the book of Tobit). And Gabri el means “God is my strength.”

The Lord has given us devoted, powerful friends of resplendent beauty who stand ready at our side, ever-watchful angelic guardians who take a personal interest in seeing us arrive safely at our final destination. Let us remember to frequently speak with our guardian angels, converse with them as true friends, and gratefully thank them for all they have done, for we cannot as of yet know of the many times they have rescued us from some calamity. Let us ask for their assistance as we live our daily lives in the Lord.