Following the Thread Of Fantasy

There seems to be a bit of confusion concerning the celebration of St. Raphael's feast day. Depending upon which Catholic or Episcopalian web site you land on, the saint's day falls on October 21 or 24 or September 29 or some combination of these dates. Personally, I like the October 24th date, which is a Traditional Double Major Feast of Saint Raphael the Archangel. Wow!

Some Catholic web sites inform that the individual feast days of the three archangelic saints mentioned in the Catholic Bible (Michael, Gabriel and Raphael) were dropped in favor of celebrating their feasts jointly. Could be, but then I wonder whether the liturgy used on Raphael's old feast day was also suppressed. The cult that claims to be always the same sure does change a lot. I suppose the careful Catholic who sincerely wishes to worship Raphael, with dulia of course, would be well advised to show up for Mass on all the dates, just to cover all the options.

I have not been able to discover when archangel Raphael was canonized or who did the canonizing. Why one would canonize an archangel, or any angel for that matter, escapes me. When God created angels, He endowed them with supernatural powers. We know from Scripture (Job 1:6; 2:1; Revelation 5:1) that angels have ready access to the Throne of God and that they are immortal. Scriptures tell us that man was created a “little lower than the angels” (Psalms 8:4-8; Hebrews 2:6-8). Seems to me that converting a powerful being like an archangel into a Catholic saint amounts to adjusting the order of God's Creation. Oh, well. Who can truly understand the ways of Catholicism?

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.--Psalms 8:4-8

As I searched for an answer to the question of who canonized Raphael, I came across a Catholic USENET bulletin board moderated by a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. One of the participants asked how it could be that the Catholic Church considers Raphael, Michael and Gabriel to all be archangels when the only being mentioned in the Bible as having that status is Michael (Jude 1:9). Brother Rich's “It may be…” response speaks volumes concerning how some in Mother Church fill in the gaps in the inspired Scriptures:

It may be that since Michael the Archangel is named that at least the other two that are named are also Archangels. I do not know why sometimes they are refered (sic) to as Angels and sometimes as Archangels outside of Scripture.—Brother Rich, S.F.O., Br Rich - archangels??, June 7, 1999 (my emphasis)

“I do not know…” I am forced to acknowledge what is to me a rare example of theological honesty from a Catholic apologist, but it does not answer the question. Another honest and respected (by me, at least) Catholic theologian, journalist and writer named John Deedy provides insights into the multiple archangels issue. After citing several mentions of angels in the Scriptures, Deedy wrote:

With a biblical pedigree such as that it was inevitable that a complex theology would evolve, and indeed one did. Angelology offered the names of only a handful of angels—Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Chamuel, Jophiel and Zadkiel. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael were the only ones actually mentioned in the Scriptures. But lack of a long roster of names did not daunt believers. Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) joined references to angels in the Scriptures and gave his blessing to the proposition that there were nine orders or choirs of angels in heaven, divided, according to the gifts given them and the tasks assigned, into three hierarchies of three choirs each. In the first circle were Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones; in the second, Virtues, Powers and Dominations; in the third, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Still, Gregory's was not the first such listing of a celestial hierarchy. The initial development of an organized hierarchy of angels actually belonged to Jewish literature of the period between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D.—John Deedy, Retrospect: The Origins of Catholic Beliefs and Practices, © 1990 Thomas More Press, pp. 207-08

At this point some readers who may not have grown up in the Catholic Church might be wondering where all those archangelic names came from. Michael and Gabriel were introduced to us in the Christian canonical Scriptures. Catholicism's version of the Scriptures includes the apocryphal book called Tobit, wherein one learns something of Raphael and his angelic responsibilities.

"I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord"--Tobit 12:15

One hagiography tells us a bit more about Raphael, whose name means “God has healed.”

The Book of Tobit tells us that Raphael was sent by God in response to the prayers of Tobit and Sarah for healing (Chapter 3). Tobit was stricken with cataracts and Sarah was plagued by a demon. Tobias, Tobit's son, was directed to use the odor of burning fish liver to repel the demon so that he could marry Sarah. Raphael then instructed Tobias to use the gall of a fish in Tobit's eyes to cure his blindness.-- Alexis "Ace" Romero, St. Philomena's Catholic Museum

In her fantasies, the Catholic Church has attributed a number of healing roles and, of course, miracles to Raphael. Some might object to my referring to the miracles ascribed by Catholics to the healing ministry of Raphael as fantasies. They might even argue that these marvelous accounts have been confirmed by their church. The nature of such confirmations is suggested in these words from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Regarding the functions attributed to Raphael we have little more than his declaration to Tobias (Tobit 12) that when the latter was occupied in his works of mercy and charity, he (Raphael) offered his prayer to the Lord, that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sara, his son's wife, from the devil...Many commentators…identify Raphael with the "angel of the Lord" mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is based both on the significance of the name and on the healing role attributed to Raphael in the Book of Tobias. The Church assigns the feast of St. Raphael to 24 October. The hymns of the Office recall the healing power of the archangel and his victory over the demon…The Epistle of the Mass is taken from the twelfth chapter of Tobias, and the Gospel from John 5:1-4, referring to the pool called Probatica, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Thus the conjecture of the commentators referred to above is confirmed by the official Liturgy of the Church.---F. Driscoll James, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII, Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by Kevin Knight, w/Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur (my emphasis)

Did you notice how that works? First we see that “many commentators” lay the foundation for Raphael's role in Catholic Angelology by identifying him with the “angel of the Lord.” The mortar used in laying this foundation is the significance of the angel's name in Hebrew and the account of his labors in the apocryphal book of Tobit. I suppose this is a variant of the classic Catholic hermeneutic: He could have done it. He should have done it. Therefore, he did do it. And then it was “confirmed by the official Liturgy of the Church.”

Give me a break!

First, someone writes a fantastic account of the life and trials of a mythical being they call Tobias. Then, some folks in the upper levels of the then-apostasizing/once-Christian church include the fairy tale in a corrupted version of the Canon of Scripture. After that, commentators—no doubt Catholic—“discover” a link between the so-called archangel Raphael in the apocryphal book of Tobit and the angel of the Lord who stirred the waters at the pool Bethesda (John 5:1-4). Drawing on this tenuous connection linking apocryphal fantasy with biblical truth, the Catholic Church developed a Liturgy that, we are to believe, “confirms” what we are told was once a “conjecture” of early commentators. Marvelous.

Mythical Saint Raphael has responsibilities that extend beyond burning fish livers and curing one disabled person per year at the pool Bethesda. Catholics and others who commune with spirits report a number of services Raphael performs for the living.

Raphael's name means "God heals." This identity came about because of the biblical story which claims that he "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the apocryphal book of Enoch. Raphael is also identified as the angel who moved the waters of the healing sheep pool. He is also the patron of the blind, of happy meetings, of nurses, of physicians and of travelers. His feast day is celebrated on September 29th.-- Catholic Online Saints, ©1999-2003 Catholic Online. All Rights Reserved.

Catholic Heritage informs, in its March-April 1996 issue, that Raphael is considered to be the patron of light, love, health and joy.

Raphael is a busy archangel. The Catholic Community Forum site informs that fictitious Raphael is patron of:

apothecaries, blind people, bodily ills, doctors, druggists, archdiocese of Dubuque Iowa, eye disease, eye problems, guardian angels, happy meetings, insanity, love, lovers, mental illness, mentally ill people, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, archdiocese of Seattle Washington, shepherdesses, shepherds, sick people, sickness, travellers, young people

One might ask what is the difference between archangels and plain angels? A Catholic priest explains the difference:

The Catholic Church teaches that God created invisible spirits called angels before the creation of the visible world. Angels are personal beings possessing understanding and free will. According to St. Gregory the Great, the word "angel" "denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have always been spirits, but they can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels, while those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels."-- John Patrick Bertolucci, Spirituality Today

Either that explanation is flawed, or Raphael is busily proclaiming “messages of supreme importance” while at the same time watching over happy meetings or curing someone's hemorrhoids. Am I wrong, or do writers of Catholic fantasy seem never to check for conflicts before publishing?

Did you notice that Raphael is patron of guardian angels? I suppose that makes him sort of a guardian angel for guardian angels. Is Raphael an officer angel? Does he outrank enlisted angels? What are guardian angels? Do guardian angels exist? I can't answer the first two questions, but they are things to ponder. As to the latter two questions, priest Bertolucci has a wishy-washy Catholic answer:

The doctrine that each person has an angel assigned to watch over and intercede for him or her, a "guardian" angel, is a longstanding tradition in the Church, but it has never been defined as an article of faith—Ibid.

Bertolucci and the Catholic Church may not be willing to infallibly define the existence and mission of guardian angels, but John Paul II at least is willing to take a determined stand on the matter:

. . . we understand how the Church could come to the conviction that God has entrusted to the angels a ministry in favor of people Therefore the Church confesses her faith in the guardian angels, venerating them in the liturgy with an appropriate feast and recommending recourse to their protection by frequent prayer, as in the invocation "Angel of God." This prayer seems to draw on the treasure of the beautiful words of St. Basil: "Every one of the faithful has beside him an angel as tutor and pastor, to lead him to life"' (cf. St. Basil, Adv. Eunonium, III, 1; cf. also St. Thomas, Summa Theol. I, q.11, a.3).—John Paul II, Catechesis on the Angels, General Audience, August 6, 1986

Time and again, Catholic apologists argue with great fervor, that Catholics do not worship angels or other created beings. Yet how to explain the feast days and liturgies and special Masses dedicated to the archangels Michael, Gabriel and their fantasy peer Raphael? It's simple enough: they're just part of the strange gospel of Catholicism.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.--Psalms 1:1-6