20150929
CALLED TO CONTINUE THE MINISTRY OF THE ARCHANGELS
AS PROTECTORS, HEALERS AND MESSENGERS
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Apocalypse
12:7-12 ©
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Now war broke out in
heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back
with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. The great
dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had deceived all
the world, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with
him. Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for
ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the
persecutor, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been
brought down. They have triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the
witness of their martyrdom, because even in the face of death they would not
cling to life. Let the heavens rejoice and all who live there.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 137:1-5 ©
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In the presence of
the angels I will bless you, O Lord.
I thank you, Lord,
with all my heart:
you have
heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of
the angels I will bless you.
I will
adore before your holy temple.
In the presence of
the angels I will bless you, O Lord.
I thank you for your
faithfulness and love,
which
excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called,
you answered;
you
increased the strength of my soul.
In the presence of
the angels I will bless you, O Lord.
All earth’s kings
shall thank you
when they
hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of
the Lord’s ways:
‘How
great is the glory of the Lord!’
In the presence of
the angels I will bless you, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps102:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the
Lord, all his hosts,
his servants who do
his will.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 1:47-51 ©
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When Jesus saw
Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name,
incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael ‘Before Philip came
to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered,
‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied,
‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will
see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you
will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God
ascending and descending.’
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CALLED TO CONTINUE THE MINISTRY OF THE ARCHANGELS AS
PROTECTORS, HEALERS AND MESSENGERS
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: REV 12:7-12;
JN 1:47-51
Today,
we celebrate the feast of the Archangels. This feast presupposes that we
believe in the existence of angels. However, belief in the existence of
angels is placed in doubt today. The modern man cannot trust in things
that he cannot see or feel, because he lives in a world which values only
empirical evidence. Secularization has relegated angelology and
demonology to the realm of mythology. Hence, believing in angels is as
good as believing in Santa Claus. With the denial of angels, there is
also the corresponding disbelief in the existence of Satan and his
devils. Conversely, if one denies the existence of the devils, one cannot
in the same breath accept the existence of angels, since devils are fallen
angels in the first place.
Nevertheless,
angels and devils are pure spirits created by God. The official doctrine of the
Church in the Council of Lateran in 1215 teaches “We firmly believe and profess
without qualification that the Three Divine Persons are one, the only principle
of all things – Creator of all things visible and invisible, spiritual and
corporeal, who by his almighty power, from the very beginning of time has
created both orders of creatures in the same way out of nothing, the spiritual
or angelic world and the corporeal or visible universe. After afterward
He formed the creature man, who in a way belongs to both orders, as he is
composed of spirit and body. For the devil and the other demons were
created by God good according to their nature, but they made themselves evil by
their own doing. As for man, his sin was at the prompting of the devil.”
The
existence of angels and the devils were once again reiterated in the document
issued by the Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship (SCDW) in 1975 regarding
“Christian Faith and Demonology.” In the teaching of Christ and in the
scripture, the existence of angels and devils are revealed as a dogma.
The ministry of Jesus in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God is situated
against the background of the work of Satan. In the gospel today, Jesus
affirms the truth of scripture regarding the existence of the angels when He
said, “I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the
Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.” Hence, the existence
of angels has always been the universal and constant faith of the Church,
firmly taught and held. For this reason, the angels are mentioned in the
liturgy at the penitential rite and the Eucharistic prayer as they have a role
in our salvation.
However,
belief in the existence of angels is not sufficient. There is the question of
consciousness. Ironically, even for us who believe in the existence of
angels and demons, most have little consciousness of the presence of the angels
although some might have consciousness of the presence of the devils and his
works. This could be because we hardly pray to the angels as they are
pure spirits, unlike Jesus and the saints. The feasts of the Archangels
and the Guardian angels are therefore important in instilling in us a
consciousness of them in our lives and their place in our salvation.
Who
then are the archangels? Angels, as we know, are actually messengers of
God. Angels like us are created for the service of God. Our
vocation is to minister to God in worship and in the service of the kingdom and
our fellowmen. Angels therefore have a role in our salvation. As
such, angels are named after their powers and activities. St Michael
means “Who is like God”, Gabriel “Strength of God” and Raphael, “Healing of
God.”
St
Michael is assigned to the work of defender, for no one can do what God can
do. Only God can defeat Satan. He is seen as the one who battles
with the devil and his evil angels, defending the people of God. He
reminds us of the real existence of the Devil and of his diabolical
activity. Therefore, we must be alert to the work of the devil as St Paul
reminds us in 1 Pt 5:8,
“Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a
roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in
faith!” Indeed as the SCDW warns us, “It would be indeed a fatal mistake
to act as if history were already finished and redemption has achieved all its effects,
so that it would no longer be necessary to engage in the struggle of which the
New Testament and the masters of the spiritual life speak.”
St
Gabriel was sent to announce to Zechariah the coming birth of John the Baptist
and to Mary, the birth of Jesus. Besides carrying the Good News to
Mary, he was there to assure Mary of God’s grace and that God would be with her
in the difficult office of being the mother of the Saviour. Hence, he is
rightly called the “strength of God.” As for Archangel Raphael, he is venerated
as the healing power of God because he took care of Tobias and healed him of
his blindness.
Today
as we celebrate this feast, we are reminded of our own ministry as baptized
Christians. We too are called to continue the work that they have begun and
are still doing in our midst. By virtue of our baptism, we are anointed
to be Christ’s priests, shepherds and prophets.
Like St
Michael, we are called to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the wiles
of Satan. We are called to help those under our care, our fellow
Catholics, our children and our families to grow in their faith and not fall
under the temptations of the Evil One. We must therefore strengthen our
faith so that we can be firm against the work of the Devil, especially in a world
where atheism is becoming more and more hostile towards God and all
religions. We too are called to remove all evil and sins from our lives,
and defending ourselves from the influence of the evil spirits. To do this, we
need to have recourse to the Archangel, St Michael, to defend us in our battles
against the work of the Devil and his demons.
As
prophets, like St Gabriel, we should imitate him by being the bearers and
messengers of the Good News, enlightening and strengthening those under our
charge with the Word of God and the word of grace. There are many ways we
can strengthen the faith of our people, especially those who are discouraged,
confused and lost. We can help them through our sharing, our testimonies
of what God has done for us, or by enlightening them in the truth. By
helping weaker Catholics in their faith, we too, like St Gabriel, can be their
strength in times of adversity and misfortunes.
Finally,
as members if the royal priesthood, like St Raphael, we are called to heal our
people through forgiveness, love and genuine concern for those in need.
What better way to heal them than to bring to them the Eucharist, the Sacrament
of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick? These are the
most powerful means the Lord has left to the Church to continue His work of
healing. Besides the sacraments, we should pray for those who need
healing, especially healing of memories, past hurts and traumas and deliverance
from the evil spirits. Turning to Mary, the Saints and Archangel Raphael,
we must pray for our own and those who need healing. We should also have faith
in the Lord who is our healer, and not hesitate to turn to Him to heal us
physically, emotionally, spiritual or psychologically.
Yes,
besides praying to the saints, God has given us His Archangels to help protect
us from the Evil One, and strength to make this pilgrimage of life.
Consequently, we must pray to them for help in our ministry and for our daily
life. This will increase our consciousness of their presence and assistance.
In our work as defenders of the faith and the faithful, let us turn to St
Michael to help us defeat the powers of Satan and his angels, and most of all,
to give us the gift of discernment. As messengers of God, we must pray to
St Gabriel for help to be proclaimers of the Good News. Finally as
healers, let us ask Raphael for help in ministering to the sick and broken with
faith so that those who receive our assistance will experience the healing
grace of God.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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