The Three Angelic Flames of Divine Love

Many thanks to all of you that have joined prayer warriors around the world to participate in a special three day devotion honoring and invoking St. Michael the Archangel.  

Today and every year on the 29th of September, the Catholic Church commemorates the three most powerful angels whose names have been revealed to us in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. No other names of God’s holy angels have been revealed to us, except in general descriptions.

There is a consoling truth behind angel naming. When God unmasks the identity of the principal angels, it is because He wants us to know something about them that will assist us on our way to Heaven. Since the blessed archangels are already saved by their free choice before time began, they now shine before us like three flames of divine love because of their burning desire for our salvation. In fact, their Hebrew names reveal to us their roles of enlightenment and consolation as we travel through this dark world. 

Michael is the exorcist angel. His name in Hebrew is a rhetorical question: “Who is like unto God?” Christian tradition tell us that he stood up in the assembly of the angels when Lucifer proclaimed his desire to set up his throne in Heaven (Isaiah 14:13-14). Michael spoke in astonishment at the hubris of such a rebellious act, asking, in effect, “Who could possibly be like God?”

Michael helps us in our constant warfare against the forces of evil. He is especially helpful when we call upon him in times of temptation, chaos, and confusion (like our present day!) He always comes. He appears in the Book of Daniel and in the Book of Revelation where God reveals Michael’s humble magnificence.

Gabriel is the evangelist angel. In the Book of Daniel and in the Gospel of Luke, he brings the good news of Christ’s Incarnation to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation. Gabriel’s Hebrew name is “Strength” or “Strong One of God” to remind us that Christ is the strength of our souls. 

Gabriel and his cohort of angels assist us in understanding our Catholic Faith and in sharing it with others. Parents and teachers will receive great assistance from Gabriel in their necessary work of teaching the Faith to their children and evangelizing others. Priests and religious can look to him with confidence when preaching and communicating the holy things of God. 

Raphael appears only in the Book of Tobit which is such a rich source of knowledge about this blessed archangel. He is the healing flame. His Hebrew name is “Health” or “Healer of God” because he healed Tobit of his blindness and exorcised the spirit of Asmodeus from Sarah, a spiritual healing. 

Raphael comes to our aid in times of sorrow, weakness, and woundedness and obtains the grace of patience for us when we need it. He also accompanied Tobias on his journey to meet Sarah, so Raphael is traditionally known as the patron saint of travelers and married couples. Those who are eager to find a godly spouse will appreciate this luminescent spirit as a ready helper in their vocational need. 

Truly we don’t pay enough attention to the archangels whose love radiates around us at every moment of our waking and sleeping. Of course, we can’t see God’s divine flames with our eyes. It takes faith to see them, but by faith we know that these strong and blessed spirits drive away evil by their very presence and live to serve us and draw us to Christ. 

The holy archangels come from our heavenly home and know how to lead us back there. On the Feast of the Holy Archangels let us renew our devotion to God’s most blessed flames of divine love!

Your friend in Christ,

Thomas McKenna

Founder and President

Catholic Action For Faith And Family
http://www.catholicaction.org/