Saint Rafael †

Raphael (Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāfāʾēl, "It is God who heals", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal") is an archangel of Judaism and Christianity, who in the Judeo-Christian tradition performs all manners of healing. In Islam, Raphael is the same as Israfel.

    

Raphael in Judaism

The angels mentioned in the Torah, the older books of the Hebrew Bible , are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias (A.D. 230–270), asserted that all the specific names for the angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.

Raphael is named in several Jewish apocryphal books (see below).

Raphael in the Book of Enoch

Raphael bound Azazel under a desert called Dudael according to Enoch 10:4–6:

And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire^.

Of seven archangels in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only Michael, mentioned as archangel (Daniel 12:1)(Jude verse 9) and Gabriel are mentioned by name in the scriptures that came to be accepted as canonical by all Christians. Raphael is mentioned by name in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as canonical by Catholics, Anglicans and Orthodox.

The root of the name Raphael also appears in the modern Hebrew word Rophe meaning doctor of medicine, thus echoing the healing function traditionally attributed to this angel.

Raphael in Catholicism

The name of the angel Raphael appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered canonical by Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Christians. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobit's son, Tobiah (Greek: Τωβίας/Tobias), calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". During the adventurous course of the journey the archangel's protective influence is shown in many ways including the binding of the demon in the desert of upper Egypt. After the return and the healing of the blindness of Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" Tobit 12:15. Compare the unnamed angels in John's Revelation 8:2. He is often venerated and patronized as Saint Raphael the Archangel.

Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael^, we have his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his future daughter-in-law, from the demon Asmodeus, who abducts and kills every man she marries on their wedding night before the marriage can be consummated. Among Catholics, he is considered the patron saint of medical workers, matchmakers, and travellers and may be petitioned by them or those needing their services^.

The feast day of Raphael was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in the year 1921, for celebration on October 24. With the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, this feast was transferred to September 29 for celebration together with Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel^. Within limits, the Roman Catholic Chuch still authorizes use of the 1962 calendar. The Church of England also celebrates "Michael and All Angels" on September 29.

Raphael has made an impression on Catholic geography: Saint Raphaël, France and Saint Raphaël, Quebec, Canada; San Rafaels in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, the Philippines and in Venezuela as San Rafael de Mohán and San Rafael de Orituco. In the United States, San Rafaels inherited from Mexico survive in California (where besides the city there are Saint Rafael Mountains ), in New Mexico, and in Utah, where the San Rafael River flows seasonally in the San Rafael Dessert. The Archangel also lends his name to St. Raphael's Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, to St. Rafael's Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and to Mission San Rafael Archangel in San Rafael, California.

In the New Testament, only the archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name (Luke 1:9-26; Jude 1:9). Later manuscripts of John 5:1-4 refer to the pool at Bethesda, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this particular angel is generally associated with the archangel.

Raphael is sometimes shown as standing atop a large fish or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gallbladder to heal Tobit's eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.

Raphael in Islam

Raphael is honored in Islam as one of the great archangel. He is Israfel in Islam. According to the hadith, He is the angel responsible for signaling the coming of Judgement Day by blowing the trumpet (namely Sûr). According to tradition, the trumpet will be blown two times. The first blow of the trumpet will signal the beginning of Last Day and the second blow will signal the time when all the souls will be gathered for the Last Judgement.

He is known more commonly as "Israfel" in Islamic history. According to the Quran, he has been holding his breath, waiting for Allah's order to blow the Sur.

Raphael in Paradise Lost

Main article: Paradise Lost

The angel Raphael, along with many other prominent angels, appears in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in which he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of then Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also expounds to Adam the War in Heaven in which Lucifer and the demons fell, and the creation of the Earth.

In popular culture

The upcoming Nicholas Sparks drama The Watchers focuses on the life of Raphael as an angel who has given up immortality, for the love of a human woman

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Saint Gabriel †

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, Modern Gavri'el Tiberian Gaḇrîʼēl, God is my strength; Arabic: جبريل, Jibrīl or جبرائيل Jibrāʾīl) is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.

He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus. Christians of the Catholic traditions refer to him as Gabriel the Archangel.

Gabriel is referred to as "he" in the Bible, and in Daniel 9:21 he is explicitly called "the man Gabriel". Some moderns, especially New Age exponents, portray Gabriel as female or androgynous.

In Latter-day Saint theology, Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. The two are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.

Gabriel's Horn

In English-speaking culture, a familiar trope is the image of Gabriel blowing a trumpet blast, signifying the end of time and the general resurrection at the Last Judgment, though the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament do not indicate a particular angel for this task^. It may be taken from Norse Heimdall who according to legends, will sound the Gjallarhorn, alerting the Æsir to the onset of Ragnarök where the world ends and is reborn. It may also be taken from Mother Shipton's Prophecies "For storms will rage and oceans roar, when Gabriel stands on sea and shore, and as he blows his wondrous horn, old worlds die and new be born." It ranges from its first appearance in English in John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) to African-American spirituals: in Marc Connelly's play based on spirituals, The Green Pastures (1930), Gabriel has his beloved trumpet constantly with him, and the Lord has to warn him not to blow it too soon^. Four years later "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" was introduced by Ethel Merman in Cole Porter's Anything Goes (1934). The mathematical figure given the modern name "Gabriel's Horn", was invented by Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647); it is a paradoxical solid of revolution that has infinite surface ares, but finite volume.

In Islamic tradition, though not specified in the Qur'an, the trumpeter sounding the trump of doom is not Gabriel, but Israfel.

The earliest identification of Gabriel as the trumpeter that S. Vernon McCasland was able to trace was in an Armenian illuminated manuscript dated 1455, at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

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Saint Michael †

Michael (Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל‎ (pronounced [ˌmixäˈʔel), Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl;Greek: Μιχαήλ, Mikhaḗl;Latin: Michael or Míchaël; Arabic: ميخائيل‎, Mīkhā'īl) is an archange in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael. Orthodox Christians refer to him as the Taxiarch Archangel Michael or simply Archangel Michael.

In Hebrew, Michael means "who is like God" (mi-who, ke-as or like, El-deity), which is traditionally interpreted as a rhetorical question: "Who is like God" (which expects an answer in the negative) to imply that no one is like God. In this way, Michael is reinterpreted as a symbol of humility before God^.

In the Hebrew Bible Michael is mentioned three times in the Book of Daniel, once as a "great prince who stands up for the children of your people". The idea that Michael was the advocate of the Jews became so prevalent that in spite of the rabbinical prohibition against appealing to angels as intermediaries between God and his people, Michael came to occupy a certain place in the Jewish liturgy.

In the New Testament Michael leads God's armies against Satan's forces in the Book of Revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan. In the Epistle of Jude Michael is specifically referred to as an "archangel". Christian sanctuaries to Michael appeared in the 4th century, when he was first seen as a healing angel, and then over time as a protector and the leader of the army of God against the forces of evil. By the 6th century, devotions to Archangel Michael were widespread both in the Eastern and Western Churches. Over time, teachings on Michael began to vary among Christian denominations.

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