Sing Your Angels' Praises

Feast day of the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

First Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

The court was convened, and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw

One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Or Revelation 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.”

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 138:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 4-5

R. (1) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
when they hear the words of your mouth;
And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
“Great is the glory of the LORD.”
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Gospel: John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

NAB

Today is the feast day of the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Their very real presence is a beautiful reminder of God’s great love for us.

I never heard much about angels in my home growing up, but I had a sort-of-hippy aunt who loved the idea of angels. The angels she spoke of were like fairies from the stories—sweet and loving and gentle. They were guardians and protectors. Exactly what we were being protected from was never mentioned.

When I joined the Church as an adult, I wasn’t even sure if Angels were legit. Of course there are hundreds of scriptural references to Angels, but I still had a very one-dimensional non-academic view of the celestial beings. My idea of Angels lacked any context or awareness of their purpose or of the spiritual battles they fight around us.

Good angels (as opposed to the fallen angels) are part of the Mystical Body of Christ, and as such are fellow members of the Church. As Catholics, we don't worship the Angels. We venerate or honor the Angels along with the Saints, and join them as together we worship God. Angels surround the heavenly throne, but they also are present here on earth. We each have a Guardian Angel whose main task is to help us to get into Heaven; there are Angels who have authority over nature, and Angels for each church, city, and nation. These messengers of God are pure spiritual beings, individual in person, who have immortal souls like ours.

When my children get lonely or scared I remind them that they have their Guardian Angel with them at all times. As comforting as Angels are to the little ones, they should be equally comforting to us; they even ministered to Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. They act unseen around us, guiding and guarding our path to Heaven. No matter how old we grow, we will never out grow the need for our Angels.

The Archangels' real presence is a beautiful reminder of God’s great love for us.Click to tweet

How can you celebrate the Archangels on their feast day today? Say a special prayer or reach out anonymously and help someone in need.

MaryRuth Hackett is a full-time wife and mother doing her best to teach her four children to love God and country. You can find out more about her here.