The Sacred Scriptures have revealed the proper names of only three Angels, all of whom belong to the Choir of the Archangels. The names are well known to all, namely: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael.Ancient apocryphal literature of the Old Testament contains several other names of Archangels in addition to the three just mentioned , but the Church does not permit proper names of Angels that are not found in the canonical books of the Bible ( all such names that were taken from apocryphal writings were rejected starting with Pope Zachary, in 745 ) .
Scripture gives no indication of the precise time of the creation of angels; it is assumed that they were created very early. Like us, angels were created in and receive God's grace and love. But because, unlike us, they are non-bodily creatures, their response to God's love did not require time and reflection to grow and mature. As soon as they were created and received grace, they had the opportunity to respond to God's love and be welcomed into bliss. For them, this choice was once and for all time.
This feast celebrates the three Archangels who were sent to man to proclaim wondrous messages, to defend mankind against the wickedness of the devil , to rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death .
Saint Archangel Michael's name is coming from the Hebrew
In the Apocalypse (chapter XII) we find the most dramatic reference to St. Michael. Here John recounts the great battle in Heaven, when the wicked angels under Lucifer revolt against God, and how Michael, leading the faithful angels, defeats the hosts of evil and drives them out
As long as God's children are exposed to the attacks of evil in this world, Saint Michael's battle cry: "Who is like God?" will continue to scare and shatter all the forces of evil, and his powerful intervention in the struggle in behalf of the children of God will never cease.
Saint Archangel Gabriel's name comes from the Hebrew meaning "Man of God."
The name has alternately been translated "God is mighty" or "the strength/power of God." He was the blessed Archangel of Annunciation who revealed to humanity the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Beside the great role of God's messenger of Annunciation Saint Archangel Gabriel is met often in the Holy Bible , starting in Luke 1, when He was announcing other great news to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. Zachariah initially refuses to believe that his barren wife, Elizabeth, and he will have a child in their old age. This is the moment in which Gabriel says, "I am Gabriel. I stand before God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this this good news" (Luke 1:19)1. Finally, Gabriel was present during the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord , when he announced Christ's Resurrection to the Myrrh-bearing Women outside the tomb.
Saint Raphael's name means "God has healed."
Saint Raphael Archangel is one of seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord. The history of Tobias, father and son, contains the grandest angelophany of the whole Bible, and it all revolves around the manifestation of the Archangel Raphael under the assumed name and form of a beautiful young man named Azarias. At the very end of his long mission the Archangel revealed his own identity and his real name, together with the actual purpose of his mission: "And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver Sara thy son's wife from the devil. For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord." The health-giving ministry of Saint Raphael may still be seen in the miraculous cures that have taken place up to our own times in many of the sacred Shrines throughout the Christian world.
Therefore let us faithfully pray : Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. Amen.
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