26th Tuesday in Ordinary Time - Year A

Hi, this is Father Nick Smith, pastor of St. Patrick's in Perry.

Today, the church celebrates the feast of the three archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

The ministry of angels holds a very important place in the Christian life.

God made the angels before he made any other part of his creation, including us.

And yet he has placed the angels at the service of creation, especially at the service of human beings and their salvation.

Every angel is given a special mission and, in particular, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael hold special tasks throughout salvation history as recorded in scripture.

Michael, the great defender of the church, defender of the world against Satan and all his wiles, Gabriel, the great messenger to Zechariah and the Blessed Virgin Mary regarding the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.

Raphael, taking care of the servant of God Tobias in the book of Tobit.

These three angels show us what it means to be at the disposal of God's will in all things, to give themselves totally over to the service of the church and of the world because God has asked them to.

Let us pray for the intercession of these angels who look upon the face of God always.

They show us what it means to give ourselves totally to the will of God.

They will defend us, protect us and serve us.

And we, on our part, can befriend them on the journey towards heaven.

May God bless you and let us continue praying for each other.