HOMILY OF THE FEAST OF THE ARCHANGELS.

Angels, or archangels, depending on their mission, are creatures of God like us but of a spiritual order. By being creatures, they have their existence given to them. Angels are part of the universe, and no part fulfills its mission if it is entirely cut off from God.

Angels are God’s messengers, and they are correctly so because they stand before God and their entire being is devoted to God. In other words, we can only become God’s messengers if we remain in God’s sight and are totally devoted to God.

“El” means “God” and ends the names of Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. God is written in their names and in their nature. Their true nature is to exist in the sight of and for God. It is in this sense that they are called God’s messengers.

The Archangel Raphael’s name in Hebrew means “God has healed”. He is the one sent to heal Tobias’ blindness in the Book of Tobit (12:15).

Angels brought God’s message to people and acted in God’s name because they stayed true to their name and nature. And because they are with God, they are also very close to us. Indeed, God is closer to each one of us than we can ever imagine.

We become angels—God’s messengers—if we are in communion with Jesus. He says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). In Jesus, we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). And by remaining connected to “the vine,” we become fruitful.

May the archangels teach us how to be devoted to God and live in the sight of God. The more we do so, the more we understand ourselves and our neighbors and become angels for them who lead them to God and live the plan that God has for them. May the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael intercede for us.