Course Objectives
1. Recognize the place of the archangels among the angelic choirs
2. Become familiar with the scriptural passages related to the archangels
3. Grow in a devotion for the feasts of the archangels
Listen online [here]!
A Course
on the Angels: Session 4, The Archangels
Fr Ryan Erlenbush
I. Overview
of the Celestial Hierarchy
A. Each angel is his own species.
We must multiply, not divide
B. The Nine Choirs of Angels
1.
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
2.
Dominations, Virtues, Powers
3.
Principalities, Archangels, Angels
C. The Three Hierarchies
1. 1st Contemplates
the ideas of things in God himself. Names are given in relation to God.
2. 2nd Contemplates
the ideas of things in the universal causes. Names denote common government.
3. 3rd Contemplates
the ideas of things in their application to particular effects. Names denote
the execution of the work.
III.
References to archangels in the Old and New Testaments
A. Michael
1. Name means: Who is like God?
2. Book of Daniel – assisting St
Gabriel
a. “But the prince of the kingdom
of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the
chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the
Persians.” (10:13)
3. Letter of St Jude – fighting
with Satan for Moses’ body
a. “When Michael the archangel,
disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses” (1:9)
4. Book of Revelation – fighting
with Satan
a. “And there was a great battle
in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought
and his angels:” (12:7)
B. Gabriel
1. Name means: Strength of God
2. Book of Daniel – prophecy of
the 7 weeks
a. “Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy
city, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and iniquity
may be abolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and vision and
prophecy may be fulfilled; and the saint of saints may be anointed. Know thou
therefore, and take notice: that from the going forth of the word, to build up
Jerusalem again, unto Christ the prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two
weeks: and the street shall be built again, and the walls in straitness of
times.” (9:24-25)
b. “And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain:
and the people that shall deny him shall not be his. And a people with their
leader that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: and the end
thereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the appointed desolation. And
he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week: and in the half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fall:
and there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation: and the
desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end.” (9:26-27)
3. Luke 1
a.
To Zechariah
b.
To Mary
C. Raphael
1. Name means: God heals
2. Book of Tobit
a.
“I am Azarias [Azariah] the son of the great Ananias” (5:18)
b. "For I am the angel
Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord.” (12:15)
3. John 5:2-5
a. “Now there is at Jerusalem a
pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting
for the moving of the water. And 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.”
IV. Feasts
of the Archangels and Devotions among the faithful
A. Michaelmas, September 29th
(Dedication of the Basilica)
B. St Gabriel, March 24th
(Prior to Annunciation)
C. St Raphael, October 24th
V. Questions
about the Archangels
A. Are there seven archangels?
1. Pope St Gregory the Great
mentions: Uriel (God's light), Phanuel (God's face), Zarachiel (God's command),
and Simiel (God's proclaimer)
2. Greek icons have: Uriel (Light
of God), Selaphiel (Intercessor of God), Jegudiel (Glorifier of God), Barachiel
(God's blessing)
3. Caution about naming angels
beyond what is given in Scripture and the tradition.
B. Why do the archangels have
men’s names?
C. Can an archangel say Mass or
consecrate a church?
A Course
on the Angels: Session 4, The Archangels
Fr Ryan Erlenbush
I.
Overview of the Celestial Hierarchy
A. Each angel is his own species.
We must multiply, not divide
B. The Nine Choirs of Angels
1.
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
2.
Dominations, Virtues, Powers
3.
Principalities, Archangels, Angels
“We know
on the authority of Scripture that there are nine orders of angels, viz.,
Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Throne,
Cherubim and Seraphim. That there are Angels and Archangels nearly every page
of the Bible tell us, and the books of the Prophets talk of Cherubim and
Seraphim. St. Paul, too, writing to the Ephesians enumerates four orders when
he says: 'above all Principality, and Power, and Virtue, and Domination'; and
again, writing to the Colossians he says: 'whether Thrones, or Dominations, or
Principalities, or Powers'. If we now join these two lists together we have
five Orders, and adding Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, we find
nine Orders of Angels.” - So, St.
Gregory the Great (Homily 34, In Evang.)
C. The Three Hierarchies
1. 1st Contemplates
the ideas of things in God himself. Names are given in relation to God.
2. 2nd Contemplates
the ideas of things in the universal causes. Names denote common government.
3. 3rd Contemplates
the ideas of things in their application to particular effects. Names denote
the execution of the work.
However, if St. Michael and the
other archangels are toward the bottom of the choirs, we may wonder why it is
that they are called “arch”-angels. Why is St. Michael, in particular, called
the “prince” if he is toward the bottom?
“The "Archangels,"
according to Dionysius (Coel. Hier. ix), are between the
"Principalities" and the "Angels." A medium compared to one
extreme seems like the other, as participating in the nature of both extremes;
thus tepid seems cold compared to hot, and hot compared to cold. So the
"Archangels" are called the "angel princes"; forasmuch as
they are princes as regards the "Angels," and angels as regards the
Principalities. But according to Gregory (Hom. xxiv in Ev.) they are called
"Archangels," because they preside over the one order of the
"Angels"; as it were, announcing greater things: and the
"Principalities" are so called as presiding over all the heavenly
"Virtues" who fulfil the Divine commands.” (ST I, q.108, a.5, ad 4)
Thus, the archangels are rightly
call “arch” insofar as they are above the angels – hence, they are “arch”ANGELS
and not “arch”PRINCIPALITIES or “arch”SERAPHIM. Below the others, archangels
still rule over the choir of angels as princes. Further, we point out that it
is primarily the angels and the archangels who are sent to men as messengers –
thus, from the perspective of salvation history, the archangels are generally
the greatest princes of angels whom men encounter.
III.
References to archangels in the Old and New Testaments
A. Michael
1. Name means: Who is like God?
2. Book of Daniel – assisting St
Gabriel
a. “But the prince of the kingdom
of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the
chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the
Persians.” (10:13)
St Thomas
maintains that the “prince of the Persians” is the angel guardian of Persia who
was a good angel, however he desired the good of the Persians and the blessing
of the Jews to remain with his people – therefore, he wanted them to stay in
Persia. Not that he disobeyed God’s will, but rather, he only saw one part of
God’s will – and this is how the good angels can be in dispute, if parts of
God’s plan seem to be in apparent contradiction.
3. Letter of St Jude – fighting
with Satan for Moses’ body
a. “When Michael the archangel,
disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses” (1:9)
Note that
Moses’ body was never found, and he appears at the Transfiguration.
4. Book of Revelation – fighting
with Satan
a. “And there was a great battle
in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought
and his angels:” (12:7)
Michael
“who is like God?” compared to the beast who tries to be equal to God.
B. Gabriel
1. Name means: Strength of God
2. Book of Daniel – prophecy of
the 7 weeks
a. “Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy
city, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and iniquity
may be abolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and vision and prophecy
may be fulfilled; and the saint of saints may be anointed. Know thou therefore,
and take notice: that from the going forth of the word, to build up Jerusalem
again, unto Christ the prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two
weeks: and the street shall be built again, and the walls in straitness of
times.” (9:24-25)
b. “And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain:
and the people that shall deny him shall not be his. And a people with their
leader that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: and the end
thereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the appointed desolation. And
he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week: and in the half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fall:
and there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation: and the
desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end.” (9:26-27)
Gabriel
speaks of the “seventy weeks” and of the “sixty-nine weeks”, which refer to
“weeks of years”, that is four-hundred ninety and four-hundred eighty-three
years, respectively – (“weeks of years”, as in Leviticus 25,8: Thou shalt also
number to thee seven weeks of years, that is to say, seven times seven, which
together make forty-nine years). On this passage from Daniel, the commentary in
the Douay-Rheims Bible states:
Seventy
weeks: Viz., of years, (or seventy times seven, that is, 490 years,) are
shortened; that is, fixed and determined, so that the time shall be no longer.
From the
going forth of the word: That is, from the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes,
when by his commandment Nehemias rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, 2 Esd. 2. From
which time, according to the best chronology, there were just sixty-nine weeks
of years, that is, 483 years to the baptism of Christ, when he first began to
preach and execute the office of Messias.-- Ibid.
"In
the half of the week": or, in the middle of the week, etc. Because Christ
preached three years and a half: and then by his sacrifice upon the cross
abolished all the sacrifices of the law.-- Ibid.
The
prophecy is divided into three periods: the first of 49 years, during which the
walls of Jerusalem were completed; the second of 434 years, at the end of which
Christ was baptized; the third of 3 ½ years during which Christ preached. In
the middle of this last week, the ancient sacrifices became useless, as Christ
had been offered as the true Lamb of God immolated upon the Cross.
3. Luke 1
a.
To Zechariah
b.
To Mary
C. Raphael
1. Name means: God heals
2. Book of Tobit
a.
“I am Azarias [Azariah] the son of the great Ananias” (5:18)
There is
no falsehood in this statement, since “Azarias” means “the healer of YHWH” and
“Ananias” means “The goodness of YHWH” or “The grace of YHWH”. Now, the Angel
was then only disguising his true name (which means “God’s healer”) and
testifying that he is sent into the world by God’s goodness. Thus, he gives his
name through a certain riddle – but Tobit was thereby led to believe that the
Angel was only a man.
b. "For I am the angel
Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord.” (12:15)
See below
for more discussion of the Seven Angels.
3. John 5:2-5
a. “Now there is at Jerusalem a
pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting
for the moving of the water. And 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
St Raphael is seen as the healer, he has traditionally been associated with
this verse. It was read on his feast day in the Traditional Mass.
IV.
Feasts of the Archangels and Devotions among the faithful
A. Michaelmas, September 29th
(Dedication of the Basilica)
The
basilica on the Gargano Massif in Italy.
Often a
“Blue Mass” for military personnel
B. St Gabriel, March 24th
(Prior to Annunciation)
C. St Raphael, October 24th
V.
Questions about the Archangels
A. Are there seven archangels?
1. Pope St Gregory the Great
mentions: Uriel (God's light), Phanuel (God's face), Zarachiel (God's command),
and Simiel (God's proclaimer)
2. Greek icons have: Uriel (Light
of God), Selaphiel (Intercessor of God), Jegudiel (Glorifier of God), Barachiel
(God's blessing)
3. Caution about naming angels
beyond what is given in Scripture and the tradition.
B. Why do the archangels have
men’s names?
1. The
intelligence of the angels seemed to suit male names
2. Man
seems to be more the image of God than women, in some respects (woman from man,
even as man from God)
3. Angels
have authority
4. Angels
are powerful
5. Angels
are messengers. Men in Hebrew culture were messengers. (not only men tho)
6. Angels
are seen offering worship. Priests are men.
C. Can an archangel say Mass or
consecrate a church?
But it
must be observed that as God did not bind His power to the sacraments, so as to
be unable to bestow the sacramental effect without conferring the sacrament; so
neither did He bind His power to the ministers of the Church so as to be unable
to give angels power to administer the sacraments. And since good angels are
messengers of truth; if any sacramental rite were performed by good angels, it
should be considered valid, because it ought to be evident that this is being
done by the will of God: for instance, certain churches are said to have been
consecrated by the ministry of the angels [See Acta S.S., September 29]. (St Thomas, Summa III, q.64, a.7)
Course Objectives
1. Recognize the place of the
archangels among the angelic choirs
2. Become familiar with the
scriptural passages related to the archangels
3. Grow in a devotion for the feasts
of the archangels
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