John 1:47-51..."You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man"

Today, in the feast of the Saints Archangels, Jesus manifests to His Apostles and to everybody else, the presence of His angels and their relation with Him. They are in the Lord's celestial glory, where they perennially exalt the Son of man, who is the Son of God. They surround Him and are at His service.


Angels deliver messages. Those who deliver messages of supreme importance are called archangels.... Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform.... Thus, Michael means 'Who is like God?,' Gabriel is 'The Strength of God,' and Raphael is 'God's Remedy.'"

Michael has been widely venerated by Jews and Christians alike, and because of a passage from the Book of Revelation describing him as leading the angels in the war against Satan and his followers (12:7-9), Michael is considered the patron saint of soldiers. Michael fights against the rebel angels who are cast out from Heaven (cf. Rev 12). He announces, thus, the mystery of his divine justice, which is also exerted against those rebelling angels, while assuring us of his victory —and ours too— over the Evil.

Gabriel is the archangel who appeared first to Zechariah and announced the conception of John the Baptist (Lk 1:10-20), then He is sent to announce to the Blessed Virgin Mary the virginal conception of the Son of God... God's plan to make her the mother of the Savior (Lk 1:26-38).

Raphael is the angel who cured the Old Testament hero Tobit of his blindness (Tb 11:7-15). He accompanies the young Tobias, protects and advises him, and, finally, heals his father Tobit.

Michael, Gabriel and Raphael appear, thus, in the Bible witnessing men's earthly circumstances and/or fortunes and bringing them with their presence and their own deeds, those communications that can definitely change our lives. They are precisely named “archangels”, that is, princes of the angels, because they are sent to the greatest missions.

Let us learn from this celebration of the archangels “ascending and descending” upon the Son of man, that they serve God, but they serve Him for our sake. They glorify the Holy Trinity, and they do it while serving us. And, consequently, we realize how much devotion we owe them and how grateful we should also be to the Father who sends them for our own welfre and well being.