Feast of the Angels
Happy Feastday, Gabriel Michael! That's my nephew's name. Clearly he has little choice when it comes to picking a Confirmation name.
On that note, here is some things to pass along to the kids this weekend:
"Angel" come from the same root word as "Evangelist". They come from the Greek word "Euangelion" which means good news/godspell/gospel. Angels tell the good news. Evangelist tell the good news. So to all of you too: Happy Feast Day!
Gabriel, as we should know was the angel sent to Mary to tell her that she was with child by the Holy Spirit.
Michael, our Defender is my own personal hero. Look at the muscle on that angel!
Raphael should be every single man's best friend. He helped Tobias (no, not THAT Tobias) get a wife whose previous 8 husbands had been slain by an evil spirit. Everytime you men get nervous about asking a woman out, just think "At least I'm not Tobias!". Seriously. Just ask the girl out-what could be worse? Rejection or an evil spirit killing you?
There is so much great information about these angels. They are the only ones named in the Scriptures. Click on those links to get some really great materials.
And PS for the love of God DON'T tell children that when people die they become angels! It's bad enough that we promise that everyone EVERYONE will be in heaven. Angels are angels, pure spirits. We are souls who are united with a body and when we die our souls go either through purgatory or to hell. Or for some of our lucky martyrs and saints, directly to heaven.
posted by TCYM Lounge @ 8:59 AM
4 Comments:
OK, I love St. Mike too, but for Pete's sake, where did you get that picture?! Oh, my eyes! I'm trying to get that picture out of my head. Is that St. Michael or St. Fabio? There are so many cooler portrayals of St. Michael! I like the guy who fights, not the guy who uses lots of hair gel. Oh well. :)
Tobit is my favorite old testament book. btw, Tobias is spelled "Tobiah" in my Bible. probably alternate spellings of the same name.
By the way, have you ever come across a good explanation as to why these three archangels are also called Saints? I thought Saints had to be human beings who lived lives worthy of "Sainthood." How is it that these guys, who were never earthly beings, wear two hats: angel and Saint?
lol!
I like art that is unusual. I find that the pictures of saints and holy themes that we use ALL THE TIME get, well, redundant, at least for me. I find that other maybe alternative art makes me look at the topic in new ways.
I saw the muscles on that angel and went "holy mackeral, you can defend me any day" but it could be, y'know 'cus I'm a girl.
As for the dual identidies (Saint and angel) I don't know. Why don't you find out and I'llpost the answer? ;-)
here's the answer a priest friend of mine found for me:
Q. Why are some angels, like St. Michael, considered Saints and others are just angels? People think that only humans can be Saints.
It is true that normally we think only of humans becoming Saints. According to the dictionary, the word "saint" is derived from the Latin sanctus, which means holy or sacred. An angel is a purely spiritual being and as such is noted for being holy. Heaven is the place where the angels who surround God live, along with the saints. The three angels which we refer to as "Saints" are the only three who are named in Holy Scripture. Michael remained faithful to God and led the victory against the fallen angels (Revelation 12:7-9). Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to bear the Son of God (Luke 1:26-38). Raphael identified himself as "one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One" (Tobit 12:15, RSV-CE). They are referred to as Saints because they are holy, they dwell with God, and they have a name to which we can add the title of "Saint."
Post a Comment
<< Home