The name Michael in Hebrew means “Who is like God?” In the Book of Revelation, the archangel Michael leads a group of angels in a fierce battle against Satan and company (12:1-17). Michael’s army successfully expels the rebellious angels from heaven. In the Book of Daniel, Michael is acknowledged as the protector of the people of Israel. Hence, tradition honors him as the great defender of the Church against the forces of evil.
Gabriel’s name in Hebrew means “The Power of God.” Some theologians suggest that Gabriel is better translated as “God has shown himself mighty” to show the dynamic action of God through the angel. In the gospel, it is Gabriel who announces to Zechariah the birth of John the Baptist (Lk 1:19) and to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35). According to tradition, the archangel Gabriel is the same angel sent by God to Gethsemane to strengthen Jesus in his agony (Lk 23:43).
In Hebrew, the name Raphael means “God's healing” or “God's medicine”. Again theologians suggest that the better translation is “God has healed.” Raphael is the angel who cures Tobit of blindness and frees Tobias’ wife from demonic possessions (Tob 3:17). Tradition would assign to Raphael the supreme task of providing medicine and healing to people’s afflictions.
In our Bible, only these three archangels are called by name. Other Hebrew writings, however, would mention the names of other archangels: Uriel means “God is my light”, Jeremiel means “May God show mercy”, Sariel means “God has reckoned”, Raguel means “Friend of God”, and Phanuel means “the Face of God.” All of these names express God’s active involvement in the life of His people.
The Jesuit priest, Joseph Galdon, suggests that from the manifestations of angels, we can construct a beautiful theology of God. “It’s a theology of concern. God watches over us with a Father’s love. God speaks to us when we are confused and in trouble. He fights on our behalf when sin and evil seem to surround us on every side. God heals us when we are hurt and in pain.” We, therefore, learn something of what God is all about because of the personalities of angels.
Today, the archangels remind us of our own vocation as ministers of God’s people. We are not angels because we are not pure spirits. Yet, we can be angels in the sense that we also are ministers of God. We can identify with Michael, Gabriel and Raphael because we, too, work for God and for the Church. Like Michael, let us honor God by opposing Satan and all evil spirits in the world. Like Gabriel, let us serve God by strengthening others in their weakness. And like Raphael, let us revere God by providing healing and comfort to people’s pain and suffering.
