2025-09-29 - 6:15 pm Celebration of the Holy Mass for Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time

Good evening and welcome to the celebration of the Holy Mass for Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. One of the nine choirs of angels. Today our readings invite us to reflect upon the presence of angels in the heavenly kingdom and in our own lives. The three archangels that we remember today each had a purpose of their own and yet their main purpose is to praise and glorify God. In the Book of Revelation we hear about St. Michael and how he defeated the devil and all the evil angels that accompanied him. St. Michael is known as the defender and protector of God. We have the St. Michael prayer which speaks of defending us from the wickedness and the snares of the devil. St. Gabriel is the messenger of God. He came to Mary at the annunciation and announced to Zechariah the birth of John the Baptist. St. Raphael is known as the healer of God. His role is described beautifully in the Book of Tobit. If you have not read the Book of Tobit it is something that you may want to do this week. It is a beautiful story of the healing that is brought about through St. Raphael. All three of our readings speak of angels. In our Gospel, Jesus speaks of the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. The angels have their purpose and it is all about doing the will of God. We can do likewise! Let us be mindful of our Guardian Angels as well! St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, pray for us! The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 138: "In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord".