Daily Gospel for Monday, 29 September 2014

Daily Gospel for Monday, 29 September 2014
"Peter replied, 'Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.'"(John 6:68-69)
Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael, archangels - Feast 
Feast of the Church:
Saints of the Day:
SAINT MICHAEL
 Archangel
(Feast)
"MI-CA-EL," or "Who is like God?" Such was the cry of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has been known as "Michael," the captain of the armies of God, the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul in strife with the powers of evil.
Thus he appears in Holy Scripture as the guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it is who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory, and who rescues the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One.
And since Christ's coming the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light.
Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trumpet, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saint Gabriel
Archangel
(Feast)
"I am Gabriel, who stand before God." (Luke 1, 19)
Saint Gabriel, whose name means "God's strength," is mentioned four times in the Bible.
In Daniel 8, he explains the vision of the horned ram as portending the destruction of the Persian Empire by the Macedonian Alexander the Great, after whose death the kingdom will be divided up among his generals, from one of whom will spring Antiochus Epiphanes.
In chapter 9, after Daniel had prayed for Israel, we read that "the man Gabriel . . . . flying swiftly touched me" and he communicated to him the mysterious prophecy of the "seventy weeks" of years which should elapse before the coming of Christ.
Most significant are Gabriel's two mentions in the New Testament: to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, and to foretell to Mary the Incarnation of the Word in her womb.
Saint Raphael
Archangel
(Feast)
Saint Raphael, whose name means "God has healed" because of his healing of Tobit's blindness in the Book of Tobit. 
Tobit is the only book in which he is mentioned. Here he first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". The story of the journey during which the protective influence of the angel is shown in many ways including the binding "in the desert of upper Egypt" of the demon who had previously slain seven husbands of Sara, daughter of Raguel, is related in Tobit 5-11.
After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobias, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tobit 12:15).
His office is generally accepted by tradition to be that of healing and acts of mercy.
Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael, archangels - Feast 
Book of Daniel 7:9-10 “As I was watching all this,
“Thrones were set in place
    and The Old One sat down.
His robes were white as snow,
    his hair was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
    its wheels blazing.
A river of fire
    poured out of the throne.
Thousands upon thousands served him,
    tens of thousands attended him.
The courtroom was called to order,
    and the books were opened.
11-13 “I kept watching. The little horn was speaking arrogantly. Then, as I watched, the monster was killed and its body cremated in a roaring fire. The other animals lived on for a limited time, but they didn’t really do anything, had no power to rule. My dream continued.
13-14 “I saw a human form, a son of man,
    arriving in a whirl of clouds.
He came to The Old One
    and was presented to him.
He was given power to rule—all the glory of royalty.
    Everyone—race, color, and creed—had to serve him.
His rule would be forever, never ending.
    His kingly rule would never be replaced.
Psalms 138: A David Psalm
1-3 Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”
    Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
    and say it again: “Thank you!”
Thank you for your love,
    thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
    most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
    you made my life large with strength.
4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God,
    all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”
They’ll sing of what you’ve done:
    “How great the glory of God!”
And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below;
    no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1:47 When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”
48 Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”
Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49 Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”
50-51 Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”
Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael, archangels - Feast 
Commentary of the Day:
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church 
11th Sermon on Psalm 90[91] « Qui habitat » 6, 10-11
Angels ascending and descending
« You will see angels ascending and descending above the Son of Man. » They ascend for themselves, they descend for us or, rather, they descend with us. Those blessed spirits ascend by means of the contemplation of God and descend to take care of us and keep us in all our ways (Ps 90[91],11). They ascend to God so as to enjoy his presence; they descend to us in obedience to his commands for he has commanded them to take care of us. However, in descending to us they are not deprived of the glory that is their happiness; they always see the Father’s face…
When they ascend to the contemplation of God they are seeking that truth by which, desiring, they are filled and which, possessing, they still desire. When they descend, they exercise mercy towards us since they keep us in all our ways. For those blessed spirits are God’s ministers sent to us to come to our aid (cf. Heb 1,14). And in this mission, it is not to God they render service but to us. In this they imitate the humility of the Son of God who did not come to be served but to serve and who lived amongst his disciples as though he had been their servant (Mt 20,28)…
God commanded his angels, not to draw you away from your path but to guard you carefully in it and lead you in God’s paths, those they follow themselves. How can that be, you ask? Certainly, the angels act in all purity, for love alone, but you, held back and chastened by the needs of your condition, at least lower yourself, condescend to your neighbor by giving an example of mercy towards him. Then, still in imitation of the angels, lift up your desire and, with all the fervor of your heart, strive to ascend to eternal truth.
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