Feast of the Archangels

ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL
ST. RAPHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

The liturgy for today celebrates the feast of the three archangels who have been venerated throughout the history of the Church, Michael (from the Hebrew Who is like God?) is the archangel who defends the friends of God against Satan and all his evil angels. Gabriel, (the Power of God), is chosen by the Creator to announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation. Raphael, (the Medicine of God), is the archangel who takes care of Tobias on his journey.

In Conversation With God : Feast Days July - December

I have a special fondness for angels, having read for the first time about these when we were in the hospital with my father-in-law after his stroke. That made a big impression on me at the time and I always have remembered that we can call not only on our friends for intercessory prayer, but also on angels for intercession and help. The prayer to St. Michael is one of my favorites.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray. And do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl around the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Just a little more on angels.

You should be aware that the word "angel" denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.

From a homily by Pope Saint Gregory the Great.

For even more information and how you can celebrate the Feast of the Archangels into your life at home today, go to Catholic Culture: Liturgical Year.

Sadly, I don't have any angel food cake (it really is not that sad an occurance as I abhor angel food cake), however I may stop by and pick up some heavenly, cloud-like meringues on the way home so we can celebrate properly!