Feasts of St. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

“Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him” (Dan. 7:10). The Lord we serve is the beloved Son of God who became man. Despised by men, the Father raised him and crowned him king of his everlasting kingdom. At the mention of his name, the heavenly elders and a great multitude holding harps cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy! Hosanna in the highest!” Even when we feel alone and abandoned, the heavenly choir surrounds us and proclaims God’s glory, putting into words sentiments we cannot express. Something is awe-inspiring about the fact that in all things – joy or sorrow, sickness or health, light or dark, life or death – God is glorified.

When the Son of God became the Son of Mary, he became the ladder between heaven and earth (CF. Gen 28). As we cling to Christ’s body and soul, humanity and divinity, we find ourselves being divinized.

God’s Grandeur (Gerard Manley Hopkins)

 The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;

And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

When we cannot find our way, Christ becomes our Way, Truth, and Light. True to His word, our risen and glorious Lord is with us (CF. Mat. 28:20). Not only do we enjoy his protection, guidance, and intervention, but he also gives his angels charge over us (CF. Ps. 91:11). Christ is intimately present to us. He stretches out his strong right arm and tenaciously holds us in our hours of need. We need to look throughout the world to find the works of God’s love for us. As we are celebrating the feast of the archangels, I will leave you with a prayer said by our Jewish brothers and sisters.

In the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, may Michael be at my right hand; Gabriel at my left; Uriel before me; Raphael behind me; and God’s cloud of glory above me.