``Where
the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
Feast of St. Raphael
Though there are
seven archangels altogether,
St. Raphael, also known as Azarias, is one of the three Archangels
named in Sacred Scripture;
the other two are St.
Michael (the warrior angel) and St.
Gabriel (the messenger angel).
St. Raphael is the healer angel; his very name in Hebrew means "God has
healed."
We meet him first in the Book of Tobias -- a small book,
consisting only of fourteen chapters. It tells the story of a man named
Tobias who was a righteous soul, a man who followed God's laws and took
special pains to bury the faithful dead. He and his wife, Anna, had a
son whom they also named Tobias (he's sometimes referred to as "Tobit"
-- and sometimes this order is reversed, with the father being called
"Tobit" and the son "Tobias." The Bible, though, says that Tobias "took
to wife Anna of his own tribe, and had a son by her, whom he called
after his own name." The Douay refers to both as "Tobias").
As he lay sleeping one night, a bird defecated into his eyes, blinding
him (this may have been a case of ocular histoplasmosis syndrome). Like
Job, Tobias understood his suffering in light of eternity, and was
mocked for his faith.
Tobias
2:12-18:
Now this trial the Lord therefore permitted to happen to him, that an
example might be given to posterity of his patience, as also of holy
Job. For whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, and kept
His commandments, he repined not against God because the evil of
blindness had befallen him, But continued immoveable in the fear of
God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life. For as the kings
insulted over holy Job: so his relations and kinsmen mocked at his
life, saying: Where is thy hope, for which thou gavest alms, and
buriedst the dead?
But Tobias rebuked them, saying: Speak not so: For we are the children
of the saints, and look for that life which God will give to those that
never change their faith from Him.
But because of the hardship he thinks he's bringing to his wife due to
the
dependency on her that his blindness has caused, he prays for death.
While all of that is going on, family in a faraway city called
Rages is also enduring troubles. Sara, the daughter of a relative of
Tobias, had been matched with seven different men, but they've all died
on their wedding night, and she is suspected -- even by her own maid --
of having been the cause
though, in reality, it was a demon who'd struck them.
So God has a plan to send St. Raphael to heal the both of them.
Meanwhile, Tobias I tells
Tobias II to travel to Rages to collect some money owed to him, but to
take someone with
him. Tobias II goes out to find a traveling companion and meets St.
Raphael who appears as a "a beautiful young man, standing girded, and
as it were ready to walk." He asks the "man" if he'd go with him to
Rages, and Raphael agrees. So the two start their journey, taking
Tobias's little dog with them.
Along the way, Tobias II stops to wash his feet in a river and
encounters a "monstrous fish." Raphael tells him to catch the fish and
to keep its heart, liver, and gall so he can burn them and use them as
medicines. He also tells Tobias II about Sara and advises him to marry
her. Tobias had heard of her and the deaths of her husbands and is
afraid, telling Raphael that he is the only child his parents have and
that his dying would leave them alone in the world. Raphael reassures
him that all would be well, and they continue on their journey.
When they finally arrive in Rages, they go to Sara and her family and
are warmly greeted. Tobias II asks for Sara's hand, and her parents
agree, though reluctantly because of what's happened in the past, and
only after St. Raphael assured them that all would be well. They all
feasted, and a wedding was had, but Tobias II said to his new wife
"Sara, arise, and let us pray to God today, and tomorrow, and the next
day: because for these three nights we are joined to God: and when the
third night is over, we will be in our own wedlock. For we are the
children of saints, and we must not be joined together like heathens
that know not God."
So they waited three days to consummate their marriage, spending their
first nights in prayer. Tobias prayed:
Lord God of our
father, may the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains,
and the rivers, and all thy creatures that are in them, bless Thee.
Thou madest Adam of the slime of the earth, and gavest him Eve for a
helper. And now, Lord, Thou knowest, that not for fleshly lust do I
take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in which
Thy name may be blessed for ever and ever.
Sara also said: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, and let us
grow old both together in health.
Tobias also burned part of the fish liver as Raphael had instructed, at
which point the angel "Raphael took the devil, and bound him in the
desert of upper Egypt."
Tobias sent Raphael to collect the money owed to his father, and the
the two made the journey back to Tobias's parents. Sacred Scripture
takes the time to tell us this enchanting detail: "Then the dog, which
had been with them in the way, ran before, and coming as if he had
brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his
tail."
They had a joyous, emotional reunion, after which Tobias annointed his
father's eyes with the fish gall as Raphael instructed. After about
thirty minutes, "a white skin began to come out of his eyes, like the
skin of an egg. And Tobias took hold of it, and drew it from his eyes,
and immediately he recovered his sight."
Sara and her family arrive a bit later, bringing camels, cattle, and
money with them. The Tobiases offered Raphael half of this wealth, but
Raphael refused and finally revealed who he actually is. He tells them,
I am the angel
Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord... Peace be to
you, fear not. For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God:
bless ye Him, and sing praises to Him. I seemed indeed to eat and to
drink with you: but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be
seen by men. It is time therefore that I return to Him that sent me:
but bless ye God, and publish all His wonderful works.
He was then "taken from their sight, and they could see him no more."
Thereafter, we hear no more of St. Raphael by name in Scripture. But
he's identifed as the angel who brought about the cures of the holy waters mentioned in John 5:2-4 --
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.
-- and he's appeared to a few Saints over the years, one being St. John
of God. From "Life of Saint John of God," by Eleanor Baillon which you
can find in this site's Catholic Library:
On a certain
dark, rainy night, as John was returning from his almsbegging, he heard
a poor man calling to him for help. He at once hastened to the
sufferer, who was a cripple. The Saint's face was lighted up with
heavenly radiance, and the poor man knew then it was John of God.
Notwithstanding that lie was already heavily laden, the Saint took him
on his shoulders, but being overcome with the additional burden, he
fell. Then there appeared a person of unspeakable beauty, who lifted
the cripple again on John's shoulders. The stranger held out his hand
to the Saint, and offered to assist him on his way, saying, "God has
sent me to you, Brother John, to help you in your charitable act; know
that He has commanded me to keep an account of all you do for love of
Him."
"My help always comes from God," answered the Saint; "but
tell me, brother, your name."
He was wonderstruck when he learnt that the stranger was the
Archangel Raphael, to whom God had confided the care of his person.
A few days after this event, as John was distributing bread
among the sick, he found there was not sufficient for all. Then there
appeared the same angelic spirit, dressed exactly like the Saint,
holding in his hand a basket of loaves. John instantly recognized the
heavenly visitor, who, whispering to him, said, "Brother, we are
members of the same order; for men wearing a coarse habit may yet be
equal to the Angels. Take this bread, which comes from heaven, to feed
your poor sick."
Saying this, the Archangel vanished.
St. Raphael is the patron of the sick, the blind, nurses, doctors,
travelers, and
sailors. He can be recognized in art by the presence of a fish, by his
accompanying a young man and the little dog, or by his being grouped
with
SS. Michael and Gabriel and, possibly, the four other, Scripturally
nameless archangels.
It's also a good
day to pray for the sick and for
those who care for the sick. And if you work in the medical field,
please
consider what's been happening to the field of medicine
(politicization, corruption, forgetting to "first do no harm," etc.)
and reaffirm your Christian ethics.
Two prayers to St. Raphael:
A General Plea for St. Raphael's Assistance
Vouchsafe, O Lord God, to send unto our assistance St.
Raphael the Archangel: and may he, who, we believe, evermore standeth
before the throne of Thy Majesty, offer unto Thee our humble petitions
to be blessed by Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer to St.
Raphael the Archangel for Healing
O Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great Prince of the
Heavenly Court, illustrious for thy gifts of wisdom and grace, guide of
those who journey by land or sea, consoler of the afflicted and refuge
of sinners: assist me in all my needs and in all the suffering of this
life, I beseech thee, as once thou didst help the young Tobias in his
travels. And because thou art “the medicine of God”, I humbly pray thee
to heal me of the many infirmities of my soul and of the ills which
afflict my body if this be for my greater good. I especially ask of
thee an angelic purity, which may fit me to be the temple of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.
(Note: for lots of other helps for the sick, see the Sick Calls page)
As to music for the day, it's hard to imagine anything that can top
this beautiful piece
written by
Johannes Brahms: Sankt Raphael, W. 34 No. 7. You can download the vocal
sheet music -- for four voices -- in pdf format: Sankt Raphael :
Tröst die
Bedrängten
und hilf den Kranken,
Sankt Raphael.
Tröst die
Bedrängten
und hilf den Kranken,
Sankt Raphael.
Bresten und
Schaden
uns überladen,
o hilf, o hilf, Sankt Raphael.
Wann wir uns legen,
tu unser pflegen,
Sankt Raphael.
Wann wir uns legen,
tu unser pflegen,
Sankt Raphael.
Unsere Schmerzen
nehme zu Herzen,
o hilf, o hilf, Sankt Raphael.
Hin zum Verderben,
lass niemand sterben,
Sankt Raphael.
Hin zum Verderben,
lass niemand sterben,
Sankt Raphael.
Beichten und büßen,
alle wir müssen,
o hilf, o hilf, Sankt Raphael.
Comfort the
afflicted
and help the sick,
Saint Raphael.
Comfort the afflicted
and help the sick,
Saint Raphael.
Infirmities and injuries
overwhelm us,
help us, oh help us, Saint Raphael.
When we lie down,
watch over us,
Saint Raphael.
When we lie down,
watch over us,
Saint Raphael.
Our pains
take to heart,
help us, oh help us, Saint Raphael.
As we move toward perishing,
let no one be killed,
Saint Raphael.
As we move toward perishing,
let no one be killed,
Saint Raphael.
Confessing and atoning,
we all must come,
help us, oh help us, Saint Raphael.
And as to foods, fish is a natural. One recipe which would be good
served with roasted vegetables (carrots, new potatoes, cherry tomatoes,
and onions tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and
baked for about 30 minutes at 400o 'til tender), and a
salad:
For dipping and
baking:
5 TBSP fresh lemon juice
5 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon melted butter
5 garlic cloves, minced
For dredging:
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (or use flour)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 TBSP olive oil for frying
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Preheat oven to 400oF. Mix together the lemon
juice, olive
oil, and melted butter in a shallow bowl.
In another shallow bowl, mix the panko, spices, salt and
pepper.
Dip the fish in the lemon sauce then dip it in the panko
mixture, shaking off any excess.
Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron skillet or other
oven-safe pan over medium-high heat (watch the oil to be sure it is hot
but not smoking). Add the fish and sear on each side just to give it
some color (about 2 minutes on each side). Remove the skillet from
heat.
To the remaining lemon sauce, add the minced garlic and mix.
Drizzle over the fish, then put the skillet in the oven and bake until
the fish flakes easily with a fork (about 8 to 10 minutes). Remove from
the heat and sprinkle chopped parsley on top.
* If you use frozen fish, keep it in its packaging and place
in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes until it's thawed.
For basic
background information on the angels, see The Praeternatural World pages of
this site.
We shall concentrate on this meditation on one book of the Old
Testament, the book of Tobias, also called the Book of Tobit.
Unfortunately as we know, this book is missing in both the Jewish and
the Protestant Old Testaments. Jews, after Christianity was
established, dropped this book because it was not originally written in
Hebrew. And the Protestants dropped the same book saying, “Who better
than the Jews know what belongs in the Old Testament.” It is however,
one of the inspired writings of the Catholic Church.*
We will take this meditation in steps, first to see and say something
about the history of Tobit, who was identified as the father, and
Tobias identified as the son. Then a reflection on one chapter of this
inspired book in which the Archangel Raphael speaks at length. The
longest recorded speech of an angel is in this chapter twelve in the
book of Tobias. Then we will make some applications for our own
spiritual life drawing on both the experience of Tobias and his family,
and especially on what the archangel told Tobias and through him is
telling all of us.
First then the book of Tobias itself. This book first of all, describes
the Jewish people who were taken over by the Ninivites. And among the
Jewish people, enslaved by this pagan nation, was Tobias. A captive, we
might call him, but a very generous man who practiced extraordinary
charity. In his old age he became blind. He sent his son, Tobias, on a
long journey to retrieve a long, unpaid debt. Then Tobias’ companion on
this journey was what seemed to be, spoke like, and was thought to be a
man. But who was the archangel Raphael in human form. He was the
companion of Tobias.
Raphael rescued the family, especially Sarah, from the powers of the
devil. Raphael helped to recover the long, unpaid debt. Raphael
prescribed just what should be done for Tobit’s blindness and he was
healed. Before this book closes we have a wonderful and I repeat,
unduplicated talk call it speech or inspired declaration by the angel.
All this while, Tobias, Tobit and the family, thought he was a man.
They had planned to reward this very kind human being, by giving him
one half of all their possessions. But this archangel, in disguise,
said Thank You, and just before the end of the chapter, this generous
companion and great helper of the family identified himself as an angel
of the Lord. He gives one more short statement to the family and then
leaves.
I am calling it the speech of Raphael. It is the most extensive, most
detailed, and for us the most practical declaration of an angel of God
in the whole of the Bible.
Father and son, Tobias, and Tobit, had just finished offering their
generous companion one half of all their possession. Then the angel,
appearing to them as a man says to them secretly. Remember Raphael has
not identified himself as an angel. He tells Tobias, Tobit, and the
family:
Bless the God in
Heaven. Give glory to Him in the
sight of all the world because He has shown his mercy to you. For it is
good to hide the secret of a king but it is honorable to reveal and
proclaim the works of God. There is good in fasting, alms more than to
lay up treasures of gold. For I delivered one from death and the same
is that which absolves from sins. Alms provided for finding mercy and
the life-everlasting. Those that commit sin and iniquity are enemies
are of their own souls. I reveal the truth to you. I will not hide the
secret from you. When you pray with tears, and you bury the dead, when
you left your meal and without to pick up the dead and keep them in
your house during the day and bury them at night, you offer your prayer
to the Lord. Because you were acceptable to God it was is necessary
that temptation should prove you. Now the Lord sent me to heal you. I
delivered Sarah, your son’s wife from the devil. For I am the angel
Raphael. One of the seven who stand before God.
The moment Raphael identifies himself as the angel
of God, Tobit and Tobias fell to the ground in dreadful fear, realizing
the one speaking to them was an angel of the Lord. Raphael then went
on: “Peace be to you. Do not fear for when I was with you I was there
by the will of God. Bless Him and sing praises to Him. I seemed to eat
and drink with you, but it was an invisible meat and drink. It is time
that I return to Him who sent me. But bless God and published all His
wondrous deeds.” Having said this Raphael disappeared. I repeat this is
the longest prologue, detail of any angels found in Sacred Scripture.
Needless to say it was given to Tobit and Tobias who are two men to us.
What then are some of the implications of the message of Raphael in our
own lives of meditation and devotion?
First, Raphael tells us that God sends His angels to help us in our
needs. This is the teaching of the Church and the deeper and more grave
our needs, the more sure we can be that God is providing us with
angelic assistance. In other words, the more serious the need the more
sure we can be that an angel is there to help us. This is not angelic
poetry, this is our faith. Raphael tells us Tobit and his son and is
telling us “Bless God.”
What does “Bless God” mean? To bless God means to speak to God, and as
we have seen we begin to pray when we first think of God. We are told
that we are to share God, show Him our appreciation of what He has done
for us. Talk to God and tell Him how much you need Him and love Him.
The more you pray to Him, the more you reap. That is why Raphael
replies, “That is why God sends us trials.” We all have grace to remind
us to pray to God and to speak to God. In another word to pray.
What is he telling us? What Raphael told father and son and is telling
us in this language. To publicize what God has done for us. As we have
seen before the retreat is over, more than once, the angels will help
those who they hear the lines to use. Make known what God has done for
you. Proclaim God’s goodness to all. Do not keep God’s gifts to you in
secret. Share, communicate what God has given to you.
We continue. Raphael insists on prayer as an imperative “Pray, pray,
pray.” Talk to God, talk with God. It is all part of our faith—God is
always speaking to us. He wants us to engage Him in conversation in
prayer. Raphael at length, praises the father for His great charity
telling us therefore to practice charity.
Practice charity, see the needs of others before they can tell you what
they need. The deepest needs of people, they do not expect. Charity
begins in the mind. When the mind sees someone in need the heart goes
out to that one in need. Finding the need and filling it. Whatever verb
we use, help others, assist others, give to others. The deepest need
anyone has is our love for them.
No matter what we can give them materially, what the human heart most
wants is love. Raphael goes on, how this needs to be underlined and
memorized.
Says Raphael: “God tries those who love Him.” What a statement. This is
God’s way of enabling us to grow in our love for Him. Love is in the
will. The main reason we have a free will is to love God. But how this
needs to be understood, the more demanding, the more difficult, the
more reluctant we are to do something, and yet we do it, the more our
will is used to do what our conscience tells us is the will of God.
Thank God for the trials in your lives. Express your gratitude for the
hardships and trials He gives us. Quoting the archangel Raphael, God
sometimes enables us who love Him to love Him more through trials. How
we need to hear this. God’s graces can be pleasant and enjoyable, but
the graces can also be difficult and painful. Never deceive yourself
that what is pleasing to us is displeasing to God. Raphael talked to
Tobias’ son and is teaching us this.
Finally, Raphael told father and son to be at peace. As we have seen on
Christmas morning, again not just one angel, but a host of angels tell
us “Peace on earth to men of Good will”. Whatever else we should learn
but from not only Raphael, but from God speaking through His angels, is
that we should not just be at peace but cultivate peace in our minds
and in our hearts. What is peace of mind? Peace of mind is the
experience of knowing the truth. Behind that statement stands years of
experience. One allegedly developed country after another has tried
everything that this world can offer, but are not at peace. Why not?
Because we are only as much at peace in our minds as our minds possess
the truth. That is why when God became man, He identified Himself as,
“I am the truth.”
What is the truth? Truth is our minds corresponding with reality. Yet,
millions are living in a dream world of unreality. They do not posses
the truth, and the truth, I repeat, is the agreement of the mind with
reality. I keep telling one audience after another, statisticians tells
us that ninety percent of reading American read is fiction. How we need
to guard our minds from reading bewitched by the untruth.
How do we acquire the truth? We acquire it, of course, from God’s
revelation. But it is one thing to say posses the truth-such as there
are three persons in one God, or I know that God became man in the
person of Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ, the living God-man is
present here on earth in the Holy Eucharist. But if we are to grow in
this peace of mind, we are to grow in our understanding of the truth
that God has revealed.
That is the main purpose of meditation. By prayerfully reflecting on
God’s revealed truth we grow in our grasp and understanding of what God
has revealed. And our minds grow in this blessed gift of peace of mind.
But, as Raphael told father and son and is telling us, we are to have
also peace of heart. A synonym for peace of heart is peace of will.
What is peace of heart? Peace of heart is the experience of doing God’s
will. And that is the only true source and foundation of joy in this
valley of tears. We shall have peace of heart only in the measure that
we are doing God’s will. Ah, what an examination of conscience we must
all make. How faithful to God’s will am I? How ready am I to accept the
cross He sends me? How willing am I to share with others what God has
so generously given me? How much attention do I give to prayer in my
life? So the litany goes on. Peace of heart is the experience of doing
the will of God, and that experience is the happiness of spirit. Know
God’s will with the mind and doing it with the will.
As Christ later on will tell us, we are to be peace makers. We shall
bring peace to others only if we are at peace ourselves. We will bring
peace to others by sharing with them the truth which we believe. We
shall bring peace to others only in the degree that we ourselves are
generous, loyal and doing the will of God. All of this and far more is
locked up in the most detailed and deepest revelation of an angel sent
by God to teach us how we are to live our lives here on earth in
anticipation of joining the choirs of angels in a heavenly eternity.
Lord of the angels, we thank you for providing for our needs by sending
your angels to help us. Your angel Raphael’s name means “God heals,”
send us your angels to heal us from such bodily infirmity as you wish
us to have removed. But, dear Lord, heal us especially in our spirit
from the sickness of soul so that healthy in mind and body we may bless
you, the Lord of the angels, and that we may grow in our love for you,
healed by you through your angels here on earth and that we may reach
you and join you for all eternity.
