St. Raphael, Archangel

Today, October 24, is the feast day of the Archangel, St. Raphael. I love that God has given us the names of some of His Holy Angels in Scripture, as well as a peek into their role in creation.

Before I was Catholic I knew there was an angel named Raphael, but I didn't know anything about him. After my conversion I read the Book of Tobit and learned about Raphael. Even if you are not Catholic, you will find the Book of Tobit an interesting read. It's the exciting tale of Tobias (Tobit's son) and an angel (Raphael) disguised as a man (Azarias) who are seeking Sara, the woman Tobias will marry. Sara is possessed by a demon who has killed the last seven men who tried to marry her. Will they make it through their perilous journey and find the damsel in distress? If so, will they be able to slay the demon? Will Tobias and Sara live happily ever after? Tune in here to see. :o)

In Tobit, Chapter 12, verse 15, Tobit says, "For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord." In Chapter 8 of The Apocolypse of St. John (Revelation), we discover the seven angels who stand before the Throne of God. Raphael is one of these.

And from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
Many commentators...identify Raphael with the "angel of the Lord" mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is based both on the significance of the name (Raphael=God has healed) and on the healing role attributed to Raphael in the Book of Tobias...The Epistle of the Mass is taken from the twelfth chapter of Tobias, and the Gospel from John 5:1-4, referring to the pool called Probatica, 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". Thus the conjecture of the commentators referred to above is confirmed by the official Liturgy of the Church.

Raphael is the patron saint of the blind, of happy meetings, of nurses, of physicians and of travelers.

O God, who didst give blessed Raphael the Archangel to Thy servant Tobias, as a companion on his journey; grant to us, Thy servants, that we may always be guarded by his care and strengthened by his help. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.