St. Raphael the Archangel
Today in the Traditional Calendar of the Church is a 3rd Class Feast of St. Raphael, the Archangel. St. Raphael is the patron saint of the Port Area of Legazpi City . The Most Reverend Lucilo B. Quiambao, D.D. the Diocese's auxiliary Bishop is the pastor. In the Bible, Tobit 12:7-15 shows us a very beautiful narrative of the words of the archangel as recorded in the Scriptures. "It is good to hide the secret of a king: but honourable to reveal and confess the works of God...." Here the Archangel revealed himself to Tobias as the one who carried his prayers, supplications, and works of mercy before the throne of God in Heaven. He was sent by God to heal Tobias, and to deliver Sara from the oppression of Satan. This passage reveals to us that angels aside from intercessors, servants of God, they are also sent to help us in our trials. It is expected that those who trust in the Lord will face trials, but God will send His angels to help us overcome the trials. The purpose of these trials is to confirm us and provide as assurance. This is also a test of our character and faith. Like gold, we have to undergo the furnace of purification to remove the dross and ugliness of sin. How sad that in the modern world, with the confidence found by humankind in science, many deny the existence of angels. They consider angels as merely mythological figures with no correspondence in reality. With the resurgence of secularism, materialism and false conception about science, more and more people are denying the reality of angels. Many in our modern world have considered science as their "god". Science has become a false god and secularism has become a false religion. Don't we realize that the financial meltdown in the world today’s shows us that after all money and power are but fleeting? and that those who trust in these will fade away just as money and financial security could fade in a moment? We say that socialism has failed, but today we see too that capitalism has failed too. But or us Christians we should be happy that God will provide for us and that He will send His angels to help us. We believe in angels and we know that they are our friends, fellow servants of the Most High and they minister to those who were appointed by God to be saved. As St. Paul said to the Hebrews, these are ministers of God sent to minister to those called to salvation. ST. RAPHAEL, pray for us.
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