By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Chaplain
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
Devotion to the archangels
WE have to popularize this devotion some more. The archangels are great allies that we can count on especially during our difficult moments. They are so close and so identified with God that we can refer to them as God’s organic or vital extensions of his own self, if we may describe them that.
Remember what Christ said about angels in general? It was when he talked about the angels of little children whom the disciples wanted to shoo away from Christ for being a disturbance. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” he said. “For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Mt 18,10)
Angels, to be sure, are real beings. They are not fictional, figments of our imagination, projections of what we like to have. They are pure spirits who have entirely identified themselves with God. They are not God themselves, but creatures of God who upon their creation have chosen to be with God for all eternity.
And among them are the archangels. They are especially chosen by God to undertake some special tasks. The Archangel Michael, for example, whose name means “He who is like God” led in the fight against Satan and all the devils. He will be most helpful to us in our lifelong struggle against temptations and sin that nowadays are getting more subtle, daunting and irresistible.
And let’s remember what St. Paul said about whom we are up against. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6,12)
The Archangel Gabriel, whose name means “God’s strength,” would be most helpful to us in knowing God’s concrete will and mission for us. He was the one who announced to both St. Zachary and Our Lady about the birth of their respective child.
He will also be helpful to us in facilitating our communication with everybody else. We cannot deny that despite the tremendous communication technologies we are enjoying these days, we still are bothered by miscommunication, misinformation and the like. He will help us be faithful always to the truth that will always have to be delivered with charity.
The Archangel Raphael, whose name means “God’s remedy,” was the one who helped the youth Tobias to carry out the errand of his father and to meet his wife and rid her of demonic possession, as well as healed the blindness of Tobit, Tobias’ father. (cfr. Tobit 12) We can just imagine what he can do for us!
It’s important that we be aware of the existence of these very powerful archangels who, for sure, would be most willing and most happy to help us in their own way. We just have to enliven our faith in them and develop the appropriate devotion.
Many great saints have benefited from the help of these archangels. For one, St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, entrusted to them the tremendous apostolic work he and the faithful of Opus Dei have to carry out till the end of time.
It would be good if we train ourselves to develop an intimate relationship with them. To be sure, only good things can come out of such relationship!