"I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God." Tobit 12:15
In our last meditation, we met the Archangel St. Michael. Today, we are joined by the Archangel St. Raphael. He is one of the seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord, and one of the only three mentioned by name in the Bible. He appears, by name, only in the Book of Tobit. Raphael's name means "God heals" or "healing from God." This identity came about because of the biblical story that claims he "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the apocryphal book of Enoch.
Disguised as a human in the Book of Tobit, Raphael travels alongside Tobit's son, Tobiah. Once Raphael returns from his journey with Tobiah, he declares to Tobit that he was sent by the Lord to heal his blindness and deliver Sarah, Tobiah's future wife, from the demon Asmodeus. It is then that his true healing powers are revealed and he makes himself known as "the Angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" Tobit 12:15.
The demon Asmodeus killed every man Sarah married on the night of the wedding, before the marriage could be consummated. Raphael guided Tobiah and taught him how to safely enter the marriage with Sarah. Raphael is credited with driving the evil spirit from Sarah and restoring Tobit's vision, allowing him to see the light of Heaven and for receiving all good things through his intercession.
Although only the archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name in the New Testament, the Gospel of John speaks of the pool at Bethesda, where many ill people rested, awaiting the moving of the water. "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" John 5:1-4. Because of the healing powers often linked to Raphael, the angel spoken of is generally associated with St. Raphael, the Archangel.
Even though St. Raphael is best known as the patron saint of the blind and bodily ills, he is also the patron saint of marriage, travelers, happy meetings, nurses, physicians and medical workers.
St. Raphael is a protector of marriages. In a sacramental marriage, two are bound up together so completely that they live as if a single organism in two persons. I remember when Rafael and I got married, Father Jose Luis Menendez told us: "when you walked into St. Dominic today, you walked in as two separate persons. When you walk out, you will walk out as one." I didn't understand this very well back then, but now, thirty-one years later, I get it. In a sacramental marriage, we are bound together in a relationship of reciprocal self denial and self offering. It is a perfect blending of sexual love and love of friendship (eros and agapei). When these two are separated, we encounter all the problems that we see in marriages and relationships today. Friendship and sexual love become opposing forces, such that husbands and wives may "want" one another without liking one another, they may want to "have" one another but not want to "live for" one another, they may want to be with one another in the bedroom but not around each other at the kitchen table or in the living room. The opposite may also be true when the friendship overshadows the "sexual love." They may live together but may not share a bedroom, they may share a bed but sleep on separate corners, they may pretend to the world that they are in a happy marriage when what they are in is a happy friendship.
During this year alone, three couples that I know have filed for divorce. One of them is in their first decade of marriage but the other two have over thirty years together. When I mentioned to my daughter about one such couple, she told me: "I thought that after a certain number of years, a marriage was safe from falling apart." Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. We have to renew our vows each and every day.
St. Raphael Archangel, "the healing of God," guide us into the deepest and most profound healing of all: the healing of the inner heart. Guard our marriages and allow us to see in our spouses the face of Christ. Guard our lives together so a spirit of friendship always reigns within our homes. Guard the marriage bed so our love is always pure.
This week, as we approach Christmas and the birth of baby Jesus, let's follow the example of Joseph and Mary, who put the needs of each other before their own. And let's ask St. Raphael, the healing angel, to heal those areas in our lives that need healing.
Sources:
1-The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
2-Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
3-"Entertaining Angels" by Mike Aquilina (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)
4-"Angels and Saints" by Scott Hahn 2014
5-"Angels Throughout the Ages" by Dr. Richard Bulzacchelli (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)
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