SEPTEMBER 29 -- today's saints

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Catholic : One Thread

Jmj

Today, September 29, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints whose souls are now in heaven:

Sts. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael (angels)
St. Charles of Blois (French, duke, d. 1364)
St. Garcia (Spanish, abbot, c. 1073)
St. Grimoaldus (Italian, priest, c. 1135)
St. Gudelia (Persian, virgin, martyred c. 340)
St. Heracleas (Greek, early martyr)
St. John de Montmirail (French, nobleman, husband, father, later Cistercian monk, d. 1217)
St. Theodota (Greek, penitent prostitute, martyred in 318)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron saint -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John


-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 29, 2001

Answers



-- (_@_._), September 29, 2001.

Dear John: The Bible calls Sts. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael (angels) Archangels, while in your post they are called just angels. Is there a difference and how important that is?

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), September 30, 2001.


Jmj

Hello, Enrique.

Well, believe it or not, I intentionally used the generic word, "angels," to avoid controversy. It didn't work! This subject is more complex that one might guess.

I would say that God created living, immaterial/invisible, immortal, intelligent, free persons who are pure-spirit servants of his. These are called -- using the generic term -- angels. [The word comes from the Greek that can be transliterated as "aggelos," meaning "one sent" or "messenger."]
Therefore, no one can dispute that Saints Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael are "angels." Even CCC 335 calls the three of them "angels." And CCC 430, etc., refer to "the angel Gabriel."

But are the (generic) angels subdivided somehow? If so, do we know what "kind" of angels are Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael?

You said that the Bible calls the three saints "archangels," but that is not actually true.
In the Book of Tobit, the only book in which Raphael is named, he is referred to as an "angel" more than ten times, but never as an "archangel."
In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel is named twice, but not even identified as an angel.
In Luke 1, Gabriel is referred to nine times as an "angel," but never as an archangel.
In Jude 1:9, we find a passage that refers to "... the archangel Michael, contending with the devil ..."
Revelations 12:7, however, refers to "Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon ..."

Why, then, does the Church call the three saints "archangels?"

According to what I have just recently heard, there are two ways of grouping God's messengers:

(1) First, we can just speak of them in general terms. By these, all God's spirit-servants are called "angels," and the most prominent three among them [the only ones mentioned in the Bible] are called "archangels." This is based on the meaning of the Greek prefix, "arch-" (ruling). So it is under this terminology that the Church calls Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael "archangels" in her Liturgy. It is thought that St. Jude was doing the same in so referring to St. Michael. (Interestingly, the Church does not call any of the three "archangels" in the Catechism!)

(2) The second way of grouping God's spirit-servants is according to "choirs." The Catechism says:
"331. Christ is the centre of the angelic world. They are his angels: 'When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him.' [Mt 25:31] They belong to him because they were created through and for him: 'for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through him and for him.' [Col 1:16]"

That passage mentions four groups of spirits that traditionally are called "choirs of angels." But are their only four choirs? Not according to this passage from the old Catholic Encyclopedia:

Though the doctrine it contains regarding the choirs of angels has been received in the Church with extraordinary unanimity, no proposition touching the angelic hierarchies is binding on our faith. The following passages from St. Gregory the Great ... will give us a clear idea of the view of the Church's doctors on the point: 'We know on the authority of Scripture that there are nine orders of angels, namely 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.'
"St. Thomas [Aquinas] ... divides the angels into three hierarchies each of which contains three orders. Their proximity to the Supreme Being serves as the basis of this division. In the first hierarchy he places the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; in the second, the Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; in the third, the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels."

So you may ask, "To which of the nine choirs do our three saints belong?" According to what I have read, theologians are not in agreement about an answer, and probably never will be! Even St. Michael is considered, by some writers, to be the most important angel of the lowest choir (Angels) ... or the highest of the Seraphim, by other writers ... or a unique angel, higher than all the rest, by still other writers!
Let's hope that we find out in heaven.

All you holy angels, pray for us!
God bless you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 30, 2001.


[Here are some September 29 saints/blessed to be added to those listed in the opening message:]

Sts. Dadas, Casdoe, and Gabdelas (Persian ... nobleman, wife, and fellow Christian ... martyred in 368)
St. Fraternus (French, bishop, martyred in 450)
St. Ludwin [also known as Liutwin] (German, widower, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 713)
St. Quiriacus (Greek, hermit in Palestine, 6th century)
St. Rhipsime and companions (Armenian, virgins, martyred in 290)
Bl. Richard Rolle de Hampole (English, hermit, mystic, advisor to Cistercian nuns, d. 1349)

JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 29, 2002.


Jmj

On September 29, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints and blesseds whose souls are now in heaven:

Sts. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael (angels)

St. Charles of Blois (French, duke, d. 1364)
Sts. Dadas, Casdoe, and Gabdelas (Persian ... nobleman, wife, and fellow Christian ... martyred in 368)
St. Fraternus of Auxerre (French, bishop, martyred in 450)
St. Garcia of Artanza (Spanish, abbot, c. 1073)
St. Grimoaldo of Pontecorvo (Italian, priest, c. 1135)
St. Gudelia (Persian, virgin, martyred c. 340)
St. Heracleas of Thrace (Greek, early martyr)
St. John of Montmirail [Jean] (French, nobleman, husband, father, later Cistercian monk, d. 1217)
St. Ludwin of Trier [also known as Liutwin] (German, widower, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 713)
St. Quiriacus (Greek, hermit in Palestine, 6th century)
St. Rhipsime and companions (Armenian, virgins, martyred in 290)
Bl. Richard Rolle de Hampole of Thornton (English, hermit, mystic, advisor to Cistercian nuns, d. 1349)
St. Theodota of Thrace (Greek, penitent prostitute, martyred in 318)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 29, 2003.



Moderation questions? read the FAQ