26th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024 - The Holy Archangels and the protection of the little ones

 

When we recite the Nicene creed every Sunday, we profess God as the Creator of “all things visible and invisible.” 

The visible part of creation is of course that which we can detect with our eyes—with our senses--He created the water, the earth, the stars, the planets, the rocks, the plants, the animals, and us. All that which can be seen with the naked eye, with a microscope, with a telescope, or with a scientific instrument can be traced back to the creative act of God. 

The “invisible” part of creation refers to the nonmaterial, the creatures of pure spirit, known as angels. The Catechism says, “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scriptures usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.” Angels really exist. They aren’t just metaphors. The angels were created by God as much as you and me.  

And who are the angels?  “As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal (that means God calls each of them by name) and immortal creatures” and as the letter to the Hebrews puts it “ministering spirits” because “With their whole being the angels are servants of God”.

How many angels are there? The number of angels is nearly countless and they are arranged in a heavenly hierarchy. We mention the different ranks of angels in our Eucharistic prayers which reference the Angels, archangels, thrones, dominions and powers, cherubim, seraphim, principalities, and virtues. 

As servants of God, they assist God in the orchestration of heaven and the physical universe, including God’s care for us. At the time of our birth, each of us was assigned a particular angel who is always at our side—called our guardian angel. We celebrate the feast of the guardian angels on October 2 every year. Our Guardian Angels protect us from harm, both physical and spiritual, including warding off demons who wish us ill. They strengthen us against temptation. That little voice that encourages us to remain faithful to God is often our guardian angel. They embolden us to do what is right and to live out our faith boldly.

I bring up the angels today because today on the liturgical calendar, September 29, is the feast of three very important archangels. We do not know the names of our guardian angels, but we do know the names of Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael whose names are recorded in Sacred Scripture. 

All Angels are ministering servants of God, but these three Archangels were entrusted with very special missions—missions that were so important that God wanted us to know about them.

It was an unknown angel that announced the message of the birth of Samson, but it was the Archangel Gabriel who announced the incarnation of the Son of God. Everyone of our guardian angels work to drive back the darkness of evil in our lives, but it was the Archangel Michael who was placed by God as Prince of the Heavenly army who drove Lucifer and the rebellious angels out of heaven. Many angels bring healing, cheer, inspiration, and protection, but it was the Archangel Raphael who brought healing to the blind Tobit and accompanied Tobias on his special journey.

Praying for protection and the defeat of evil, strength, and healing are common prayers. Daily we should be praying for these things for ourselves and others.  And in the course of our prayers, it is very good to invoke the Holy Archangels. After all, God told us about them so that we can call upon them. We call upon St. Michael so that satan may be driven away from our midst. We call upon St. Gabriel in our mission of spreading the Gospel in word and deed. And we call upon St. Gabriel to bear God’s healing to those most in need of it.

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday morning, here at St. Ignatius after the final blessing at Mass, we offer the so-called Leonine prayers which include the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. The St. Michael prayer was composed by the Pope himself, Pope Leo XIII, after the holy Pope had a terrifying vision of the demonic forces gathering against the church at the beginning of last century. 

For, Pope Leo XIII lived in a time when Masonic, godless, anti-clerical, anti-church forces were congregating in Europe, spreading not only error, but physical violence toward Catholics. And so he composed the St. Michael prayer, which was to be invoked for the protection of the Church from the corrupt and the wicked. 

In the Gospel today, the Lord Jesus speaks of those who are so corrupt and so wicked that they lead little ones astray. Instead of leading people to God like the angels, and protecting them from evil like the angels, the wicked leads souls away from God.  Our culture today, in many ways, is bent on the corruption of young people. For the last sixty years especially, we have seen countless Catholic youth being led astray, rejecting religion,  embracing the moral perversions of the world and living without Jesus as Lord. 

So, to turn the tide in our culture, but more importantly to win back souls, it is good for us to call the angels to our side, to invoke their help. God has involved them in salvation history, and he will continue to involve them in answer to our prayers. 

Call upon the angels to help parents, especially, protect their children from the corrupting influences in our society. If you have children our grandchildren, ask God to strengthen their guardian angels to help protect them, and assist them in leading holy lives. Invoke the angels of the little ones to help guard them against the evils that bombard them on the internet, in the media, and in many schools and universities. Pray that the angels may bring healing to those who have been scandalized or corrupted. 

And pray daily, that powerful prayer to St. Michael: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil, may God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, o prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all of the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. For the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

September 29 2023 - Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael - Protection, Strength, and Healing

 When we recite the creed at every Sunday Mass, we profess God as the Creator of “all things visible and invisible.” The “invisible” refers to the nonmaterial, the creatures of pure spirit, known as angels. The Catechism says, “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scriptures usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.” The angels are called in the letter to the Hebrews “ministering spirits” because “With their whole being the angels are servants of God”

The number of angels is nearly countless and they are arranged in the heavenly hierarchy in different choirs. Many of Our Eucharistic prefaces attest to the angels and archangels, throne and dominions and, the hosts and powers of heaven” to whom we are joined in singing God’s glory. Angels, archangels, thrones, dominions and powers, cherubim, seraphim, principalities, and virtues. The angels sing God’s praises which is why they are arranged into choirs. 

At the time of our birth we are assigned an angel to guard over us, and the feast of the guardian angels, we celebrate on October 2. We do not know the names of our guardian angels, but we do know the names of three of the archangels from the holy scriptures.

Saint Michael is the "Prince of the Heavenly Host," the leader of all the angels. His name is Hebrew for "Who is like God?" and was the battle cry of the good angels against Lucifer and his followers when they rebelled against God. Michael is mentioned four times in the Bible, in Daniel 10 and 12, in the letter of Jude, and in Revelation. Michael, whose forces cast down Lucifer and the evil spirits into Hell, is invoked for protection against Satan and all evil. 

Saint Gabriel, whose name means "God's strength," is mentioned four times in the Bible. God sent Gabriel to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, and, of course, to the Blessed Virgin to announce the Incarnation. Christian tradition suggests that it is he who appeared to St. Joseph and to the shepherds, and also that it was he who "strengthened" Jesus during his agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Gabriel is invoked when we require God’s strength, especially when we need strength to bear difficult messages, or in public speaking.

Saint Raphael is invoked for healing. Raphael means "God has healed", a fitting name for the archangel sent to heal Tobias' blindness in the Book of Tobit. It is often thought that it was Raphael who descended upon the pool of Bethesda and bestowed God’s healing powers upon it so that the first to enter it after it moved would be healed of whatever infirmity he was suffering.

Praying for protection and the defeat of evil, strength, and healing are common prayers. Daily we should be praying for these things for ourselves and others. And we do well, to recognize the instruments through whom God has chosen to bestow them in the past and continues to bestow them now. May St. Michael bear God’s likeness to us that satan may be driven away from our midst. May St. Gabriel bear God’s strength to us in our many trials and in our mission of the Gospel. And May St. Raphael bear God’s healing to those most in need of it, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

Through the intercession of St. Michael, may all who are persecuted for the faith be protected against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  

Through the intercession of St. Gabriel, may God’s strength be with all those who work for the Spread of the Gospel. 

Through the intercession of St. Raphael may all who suffer from loneliness or sickness know the healing graces of our loving God. 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. 

Heavenly Father, may our prayers rise like a pleasant fragrance before you and be brought to your altar on high through the hands of your holy angels. Through Christ Our Lord.

September 29 2021 - Feast of the Archangels - For the defeat of idolatry and plague

 For many centuries, September 29 was exclusively the feast of St. Michael, and so those who the old calendar, call today’s feast “Michaelmas”. Since the reform, today celebrates not just Archangel Michael, but the Archangels Gabriel and Raphael as well. 

Scripture and Tradition are clear about the existence of the angels.  And even Though Scripture mentions the angels over 200 times, only these three are mentioned by name.  

In the book of Daniel, Michael stands guard over the nation of Israel. Michael is also a great defender of God’s Holy Church.

There’s a story that in 590 the Roman populace had begun revering pagan idol in the Church of Santa Agatha and this displeased God that a plague began to run through the city. Hearing of this idolatry the pope lead a procession to the Church and upon arriving, the idol miraculously fell apart with a clap of thunder. Returning to St. Peter’s, the Pope had a vision of an archangel atop the ancient tomb of the Emperor Hadrian, wiping blood from his sword, as if it was through the angel’s intervention that the idol had been destroyed and the plague was at its end.

This story inspired Pope Leo X to commission the large statue of St. Michael which stands atop Hadrian’s Tomb in Rome today, which is also known as Castel San Angelo. 

Idolatry and Plague. I can’t help but think of how just a few months before the COVID outbreak, there were these strange stories of the Pachamama idols being revered in Rome. St. Michael should certainly be invoked in defeating the evil of the COVID pandemic, and also whatever human evils may have contributed to its spread.

Gabriel too, whose name means “God is mighty” and Raphael, whose name means “God’s healing”, should be invoked often. For God allowed us to know the name of these three angels because he wants us to call upon them for help. Each of these three archangels have been given special roles in salvation history and those roles continue. 

The archangels have a special role in the spiritual warfare of the Church, a warfare against the powers and principalities which have made themselves enemies of God and the Church. May the holy archangels watch over and guide us, and help us to be faithful in the great task of laboring for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That through the intercession of the archangels, God’s holy ministers and God’s holy Church may be protected from the all of the deceptions of the enemy. Let us pray to the Lord. 

That through the intercession of the Archangels, all modern forms of idolatry may be struck down. Let us pray to the Lord. 

That through the intercession of the Archangels, plague and pandemic may be defeated. Let us pray to the Lord.

That through the intercession of the Archangels, may God’s healing remedies be dispensed to all who suffer from loneliness or sickness.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That through the intercession of the Archangels, may God’s strength be with all those who work for the Spread of the Gospel.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That through the intercession of the Archangels, may all Christians may seek that conversion of heart in conforming themselves to the life of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy  and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, may our prayers rise like a pleasant fragrance before you and be brought to your altar on high through the hands of your holy angels. Through Christ Our Lord.

Priesthood Sunday 2020 - Defend us in battle

 In my eleven and a half years of priesthood, I’ve had the honor of living and serving with almost a dozen priests. One was a former Certified Public Accountant, one was called to the priesthood later in life after having children and being left a widower; one had taken a year off of seminary to work to support his mother after the death of his father, another liked to begin every homily with a joke. One priest has since left the priesthood to get married, and another was a former Franciscan monk. One priest was among our diocese’s most talented organists, another likes hunting wild boar; one liked to dine on fine white tablecloths, another has visited more hospitalized, sick, and dying Catholics than the rest combined. 

I’ve been inspired by my brother priests, frustrated by my brother priests, have laughed with and cried with my brother priests, have nitpicked the latest star wars movie and attended opera, gone on pilgrimage and debated theology into the night with my brother priests.

Since 2003, in the United States, the last Sunday of October for us Catholics is known as Priesthood Sunday. 

On this priesthood Sunday, we pray for priests. Because we need priests. Priests to baptize, priests to absolve our sins, priests to celebrate the Eucharist, priests to help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests to help families live the Gospel faithfully.  We will need priests until the end of time, to carry out the ordained ministry according to Christ’s plan for his Church.  

Priests to visit the dying, priests to shepherd parishes, and to help ordinary Catholics know that they are part of something bigger than what they see, a universal church by bishops and popes, an ancient tradition where latin and Greek were spoken in catacombs, where Christians prepared for martyrdom at the hands of hostile governments. 

We need priests to help families help raise and catechize their children to be the next generation of Catholics who bring their faith out into the world, as Catholic professionals and workers—to practice their professions in a manner consistent with the Gospel of Christ. 

I have posted on the bulletin board this year’s vocation poster, which contains the 66 men who are studying at our diocesan seminary for the priesthood. Men, striving to love the Lord with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, as we heard our lord command in the Gospel today. For each of these seminarians, loving the Lord means having the courage to ask God if God is calling them to the priesthood. 

This is a habit that all of us do well to form, to ask on a regular basis, from the time we are very young, “God, what are you calling me to do with my life?” My father wants me to take over the family business, but, my God, what do you want me to be? Society tells me to hide my religion, Lord what do you want from me? To love God, is to seek the will of God, to put the will of God into practice in our lives. 

Each year, the vocation poster has a theme, and this year the poster has a picture of a statue St. Michael the Archangel, a statue which stands on our seminary grounds, and above it are the words, “St. Michael, Defend Us”. This is of course in reference to the St. Michael prayer which asks the Archangels protection and defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

All of us should turn to St. Michael each day to pray for protection. But especially so for priests. I’m not going to say the Christian life is harder for priests, or that our temptations are more numerous or more intense. But I will say that the devil hates priests and conspires to ruin priests. The devil makes special effort to tempt priests away from their ministry which is so vital to the Church. The devil certainly does not want these 66 men to be ordained to the priesthood.

Which again, is why, it is so good and important for us to pray for priests, to set aside special times throughout the week and throughout the year, to pray for priests. Personally, I  offer the fourth decade of my rosary for the priests of the diocese, and pray for priests especially on Thursdays, the day of the last supper on which the Lord Jesus instituted the priesthood, and I encourage all of you to do the same.

For the devil knows how much damage he can do to the church, to a parish, when he corrupts a priest, or when he wears away at a priest’s fortitude or patience. The devil knows the damage that can be done when a priest becomes discouraged in his vocation. 

And the devil knows just how much damage a good priest can do to the kingdom of evil. For priests are tasked with helping the Church battle back the powers of darkness, they help to liberate souls entangled by grave spiritual evils.

The devil once admitted to St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, that if there were three more priests like him in the world, the kingdom of Satan would be finished. So the devil will do everything he can to discourage priests, to tempt priests into not praying as they should, or obey their bishop as they should, to drink more than they should, or cultivate unhealthy relationships.

When priests live in a manner worthy of their calling—they become powerful instruments of God—conduits of grace into the lives of the Christian faithful. And we all know this. We have all been impacted by good priests, and we know the devastation, division, and scandal when priests fall. 

So, for priests who have caused scandal, we pray for healing. For priests who have lost their faith, we pray for renewal. For priests who have preached heresy, we pray that they may be corrected. For priests who are in mortal sin, we pray for their repentance. 

And for good priests who have touched our lives, who have brought us the comfort and consolation of the Sacraments, inspiration in their preaching, who have been icons of the Lord Jesus for us—icons of the love of God for us, we pray in thanksgiving. We pray that good priests may have the courage to preach and lead God’s people as we face the wickedness and snares of the devil and the hostilities of the worldly. And we pray for the sanctification of all priests, that they may be a blessing to the Church, that they may deepen in the gifts they need for ministry and become ever-more effective instruments of the Lord. 

On behalf of the priests of the Church—both living and deceased—I thank all of you for your prayers and fasting. We are supported, encouraged, protected, and fortified by your prayers in ways you cannot imagine. 

May each of us do our part in fostering healthy, holy priestly vocations. We pray that the young men of our parish and diocese may have the courage to answer that call with generous hearts. We pray for our seminarians. And for all priests, that in their battle against the powers of evil and darkness for the good of souls, they might be defended by the holy angels; that when they grow weary, may our priests be renewed and strengthened for the carrying out and preaching of the Gospel—that the good work God has begun in them, might be brought to fulfillment—for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

September 29 2020 - St. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael - Invoking the Archangels

When we recite the Creed at every Sunday Mass, we profess God as the Creator of “all things visible and invisible.” The “invisible” refers to the nonmaterial, the creatures of pure spirit, known as angels. The Catechism says, “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scriptures usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.” The angels are called in the letter to the Hebrews “ministering spirits” because “With their whole being the angels are servants of God”

Today we celebrate the feast of the Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.  

All Angels are ministering servants of God, but the Archangels are entrusted with very special missions. 

It was an angel that brought the message of the birth of Samson, but it was the Archangel Gabriel who announced the incarnation of the Son of God. Every angel works to drive back the darkness of evil, but it as the Archangel Michael who was placed by God as Prince of the Heavenly army who drove the Lucifer and the rebellious angels out of heaven. The angels bring healing, and cheer, and inspiration, and protection; but it was the Archangel Raphael who brought healing to the blind Tobit and accompanied Tobias on his special journey.

Since we returned to public masses after Pentecost, we have been praying after mass on Tuesdays and Fridays the so-called Leonine prayers which include the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. This prayer was composed by Pope Leo XIII after the holy Pope had a terrifying vision of the gathering demonic forces which spurned such great hatred for Catholicism during the 20th century. Pope Leo XIII lived in a time when Masonic, godless, anti-clerical, anti-church forces were congregating in Europe, spreading not only error, but physical violence toward Catholics.

And so he composed the St. Michael prayer, which was to be invoked for the protection of the Church, as Michael is truly the great angelic protector and our defender against the powers of evil—the powers of temptation which afflict all of us, and the powers of evil which seek the ruin of the Church.

Now more than ever we need to invoke these heavenly helpers. For, out of all the angels of heaven, God made the names and work of these archangels known to us because God wants us to call upon their help. For just as Michael was successful at driving the devil and the rebellious angels out of heaven, as we heard in our first reading, God will continue to use Michael to drive back the powers of hell which afflict us, He’ll continue to use Gabriel to help us deliver clearly the Gospel message, and He’ll continue to use Raphael to bring the healing the world so desperately needs.

We should invoke these three archangels every day: for healing, for the ability to communicate the Gospel well, and to drive back the powers of hell for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Through the intercession of St. Raphael may all who suffer from loneliness or sickness know the healing graces of our loving God.  We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Gabriel, may God’s strength be with all those who work for the Spread of the Gospel.  We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Michael, may all who are persecuted for the faith be protected against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  We pray to the Lord.

For safety in our city this evening as the presidential candidates gather for debate, that St. Michael patron of police officers will protect those who are tasked with protecting us, that Gabriel may help them communicate well, and Raphael may bring healing to our divided nation.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy  and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Heavenly Father, may our prayers rise like a pleasant fragrance before you and be brought to your altar on high through the hands of your holy angels. Through Christ Our Lord.

September 29 2017 - Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels - Protectors of the Human Race and the Church

When we started using the new translation of the missal in 2011, one of my favorite changes was the mention of the different choirs of angels in the Eucharistic prefaces: “with angels and archangels, with throne and dominions and with the hosts and powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory.”  Angels, archangels, thrones, dominions and powers are among the different choirs of angels, along with the cherubim, seraphim, principalities, and virtues.

The number of angels is nearly countless. Each human being ever having lived has been given a guardian angel to watch over them. We do not know the names of even our own guardian angels who watch over our every breath, but we do know the names of three of the archangels from the holy scriptures:

Archangel Michael, who is revealed to be the special protector of the people of Israel in the book of Daniel, and who is named as a sort of general of the angelic host in its warfare against the devil in the book of Revelation.

Archangel Gabriel also appears in Daniel’s vision, announcing God’s plan to lay-low the works of the Devil. On behalf of God, Gabriel sought the consent of the Blessed Virgin of Nazareth in bearing the Messiah who would bring the definitive defeat of Enemy of God through the cross.

Archangel Raphael accompanies, in the Old Testament book of Tobit, Tobit’s son Tobias on a very hazardous journey. Along the way, Raphael cures Tobit of blindness and drives away the demon Azazel who had been tormenting Tobias’ bride-to-be, Sarah. He also helps to restore the family fortune.

In the Eucharistic Preface for today’s Mass we hear how “the honor we pay the angelic creatures in whom God delights redounds to God’s own surpassing glory.” When we honor the angels, we honor God.   And since God has placed the angels as helpers of the human race, we ought to make use of their help, by invoking them, and by imitating their virtues.

Pope Leo XIII encouraged us to invoke particularly, Archangel Michael as a protector of Holy Mother Church and whenever the action of the Devil is suspected, spiritually or physically harming someone, causing violent temptations, storms or other calamities.

Pope Leo XIII lived in a time when Masonic, godless, anti-clerical, anti-church forces were congregating in Europe which were not only spreading error, but raising arms against Catholic populations. It is well known that Pope Leo was granted a vision of the supernatural and demonic forces which spurned this hatred for Catholicism, a vision in which the devil was given great sway over the earth during the 20^th century. And so he composed the St. Michael prayer, which was to be invoked for the protection of the Church. We will pray this prayer together at the conclusion of Mass, as was done for decades following Pope Leo’s vision.

We invoke the archangels and we seek to imitate their virtues, so that we may always know their protection, that we may be found like them to be cooperators with the holy will of God, that we may be found, like them, blameless in His sight, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - --  

For Pope Francis, Bishop Perez, and all Church leaders, that they may guide the Church to be strong in faith and generous in offering works of mercy to those in need. We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Raphael may all who suffer from loneliness or sickness know the healing graces of our loving God.  We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Gabriel, may God’s strength be with all those who work for the Spread of the Gospel.  We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Michael, may all who are persecuted for the faith be protected against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy  and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Heavenly Father, may our prayers rise like a pleasant fragrance before you and be brought to your altar on high through the hands of your holy angels. Through Christ Our Lord.

Homily: Sept 29 2016 - Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

When we recite the creed at every Sunday Mass, we profess God as the Creator of “all things visible and invisible.” The “invisible” refers to the non-material: the creatures of pure spirit, known as angels. The Catechism says, “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scriptures usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.” The angels are called in the letter to the Hebrews “ministering spirits” because “With their whole being the angels are servants of God”

When we started using the new translation of the missal in 2011, one of my favorite changes was the mention of the different choirs of angels in the Eucharistic prefaces: “with angels and archangels, with throne and dominions and with the hosts and powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory.”  Angels, archangels, thrones, dominions and powers are among the different choirs of angels, along with the cherubim, seraphim, principalities, and virtues. 

Today we celebrate the feast of the Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. 

The Archangels are considered chief or ruling angels in virtue of the special and important significance of the messages they bring or the actions they have to perform.  It was an angel that brought the message of the birth of Samson, but it was the Archangel Gabriel who announced the incarnation of the Son of God. Every angel works to drive back the darkness of evil, but it as the Archangel Michael who was placed by God as Prince of the Heavenly army who drove the Lucifer and the rebellious angels out of heaven. The angels bring healing, and cheer, and inspiration, and protection; but it was the Archangel Raphael who brought healing to the blind Tobit and accompanied Tobias on his special journey.

Because of the special messages Gabriel brought he is a special patron to those in the fields of communication. If we ever have a difficult message to deliver: a word of rebuke or correction to a disobedient child, an invitation to a fallen away Catholic to return to the sacraments, we do well to invoke Gabriel.

If we need special healing: a serious illness, a friend with an addiction, difficulty forgiving someone who hurt us, we do well to invoke Raphael; also before we make a pilgrimage or dangerous journey. I like to invoke Raphael for safety in air travel especially, as the airplane is speeding up on the runway.

And we do well to invoke St. Michael to defend us from the great evils of this age. From those who work to take away our religious freedom, for all persecuted Christians, for all those involved in the occult, for those experiencing any form of demonic oppression, for the great sexual immorality and pandemic of pornography that plagues our culture.

Through the Mass, each day, we have the great blessing of joining the angels and archangels in their worship of God on the throne of heaven. May we seek their help and know their intercession to pray every more fully, consciously, reverently, and devoutly—in order to be strengthen in holiness, charity, and zeal for the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

For Pope Francis, Bishop Lennon, and all Church leaders, that they may guide the Church to be strong in faith and generous in offering works of mercy to those in need. We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Raphael may all who suffer from loneliness or sickness know the healing graces of our loving God.  We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Gabriel, may God’s strength be with all those who work for the Spread of the Gospel.  We pray to the Lord.

And through the intercession of St. Michael, may all who are persecuted for the faith be protected against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  We pray to the Lord.