The Church calendar provides two occasions to commemorate the work of God’s angels: September 29, the feast of the archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, and October 2, the memorial of our guardian angels.
Unlike
the saints, angels do not inspire us by overcoming their own weakness, experience
of injustice, or hardness of heart. However, we can still emulate the
archangels by seeking to protect others, as Michael did when he stopped Abraham
from sacrificing his son; by being bearers of God’s word, as Gabriel did for
Zachar-iah, Mary, and Joseph; and by being an instrument of healing, as Raphael
was for Tobit and his daughter-in-law, Sarah.
At the conclusion of his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln referred to “the better angels of our nature.” Although humans are not heavenly beings, we can still muster the compassion to be a protector, the wisdom to share God’s word, and the aptitude to heal others through our skills or our presence. When we have the desire to serve God in these ways, we can always call on the angels to guide us in our quest.
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