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Showing posts with the label Raphael the Archangel

Feast of the Guardian Angels

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Memorial - October 2nd Each person on earth has a guardian angel who watches over and guides us to attain salvation. It has been a common theological opinion that this angelical guardianship begins at the moment of birth; prior to this, the child would be protected by the mother's guardian angel. But this is not certain, and since we now know that the soul is infused at the moment of conception, it may be that the angelic guardianship also begins at that moment. In any case, this protection continues throughout our whole life and ceases only when our probation on earth ends, namely, at the moment of death. Our guardian angel accompanies our soul to purgatory or heaven, and will become our coheir in the Kingdom of Heaven. Angels appear as early as the Book of Genesis and continuously carry out God’s will throughout the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Mary is visited by an angel (Archangel Gabriel) at the Annunciation, and Jesus Himself talks about them in the Gospel of

Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

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Feast Day - September 29th Angels are pure, created spirits. The word angel means servant or messenger of God. Angels are celestial or heavenly beings, on a higher order than human beings. Angels have no bodies and do not depend on matter for their existence. They are distinct from saints, which men can become. Angels have intellect and will, and are immortal. They are a vast multitude, but each is an individual person. Archangels are one of the nine choirs of angels listed in the Bible. In ascending order, the choirs are: 1) Angels, 2) Archangels, 3) Principalities, 4) Powers, 5) Virtues, 6) Dominations, 7) Thrones, 8) Cherubim, and 9) Seraphim. On the penultimate day in September, the Church celebrates the feast of the Archangels. As purely incorporeal, rational beings, Angels are extensions of God Himself, personifying his grace, majesty and intellect. The Angelic Doctor explains that each individual Angel is its own species within the genus "Angel". Archangels ha

Saint Jerome Emiliani, Priest and Founder

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February 8th, is the optional memorial of Saint Jerome Emiliani (1486 - 1537), the 16th century Italian priest who founded the Congregation of Regular Clerics for the care and education of indigent youth. He was born into a noble family, the son of Angelo Emiliani and Eleonore Mauroceni of Venice, Italy. At 15, he joined the army following the death of his father. A careless and irreligious soldier, he was placed in command of Castelnuovo, a fortress high in the Italian Alps. While defending the outpost from an invasion, he was captured and incarcerated. In prison, Jerome reflected on the immoral choices he had made in his life. He regretted his dissolute youth and thinking so little about God. Jerome began to pray, and promised the Blessed Mother that he would devote himself to imitating Christ in all things if she would help him escape. His prayers were answered and he fled to safety. In gratitude, Jerome immediately went to the church in Trevisio where he laid his prison chains

Feast of the Archangels — Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

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September 29th, the Church celebrates the feast of the archangels. Angels are purely incorporeal, rational beings, extensions of God himself, personifying His grace, majesty and intellect. The Angelic Doctor explains that each individual angel is its own species within the genus "angel". Archangels have important roles in the history of salvation. There is no doubt that the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael — the only angels named in Sacred Scripture, have been instrumental in advancing God's divine plan, both in heaven and on earth. Saint Michael  St. Michael, the "Prince of the Heavenly Host", is second only to the Mother of God in leading the angels. His name in Hebrew means "Who is like God?". It was Michael who commanded heaven's forces in casting down Lucifer and the fallen angels into hell. In 1886, after receiving a prophetic vision of the evil to be visited upon the world in the 20th century, Pope Leo XIII instituted a praye