Blessed Junipero Serra

What follows is only a sample of the Web Sites that promote and foster VOCATIONS.
1. Recruitment/Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Within the branches of military service there’s a recruiter different than any other. He is a priest-recruiter. His job is to help priests discern whether they have a call to become a chaplain in one of the branches of the U.S. Military.

2. VISION VOCATION NETWORK
Many exciting features to help you discern your life’s calling. Whether you are interested in consecrated life—such as becoming a nun, brother, priest, or monk—or simply looking for ways to deepen your faith through volunteer and study opportunities.

3. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS VOCATIONS HANDBOOK
As the largest Catholic fraternal society in the world, the
Knights of Columbus is happy to join in promoting priestly and
religious vocations in the Church. In carrying forward this work,
a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities is essential.

4. Explore the Possibilities of being a Poor Clare Nun
THIS SITE IS FOR YOUNG WOMEN WHO WANT TO LEARN MORE, HAVE A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH AND DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AS LIVED IN MONASTIC LIFE.

5. The Xaverian Brothers
The Xaverian Brothers, a congregation of lay religious, were founded by Theodore James Ryken (Brother Francis Xavier) in Bruges, Belgium, in1839, for the education of youth, especially in America.

6. Medical Missionaries of Mary
While we are a modern religious Congregation, our roots are in the ancient tradition of Saint Benedict. Our priority is to go to places of great need. We remain there until the local people can take over responsibility for their health care themselves. Through our website we tell the story of why, where and how we do this.

7. Sisters in Jesus the Lord
Sisters in Jesus the Lord is a private association seeking to
“bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people” (John Paul II), starting
with reviving the Roman Catholic Church in the Russian Far-East.

8. The Carmelite Monks in Wyoming
The Carmelite Monks are men who are consecrated to God through the Vows of Obedience, Chastity, and Poverty. They live a life of prayer, solitude, penance, and strict separation from the world. Their lives are completely dedicated to interceding for the Church and the world.

9. The Passionists (C.P. Congregation of the Passion)
The Passionists (C.P. Congregation of the Passion) are a religious community of priests, brothers, sisters and nuns in the Roman Catholic tradition. We also are comprised of many lay partners (a type of third order) as well as laity who advise and minister with us. See our website at: www.passionist.org See our sister’s blog at: PassionistNuns

10. Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence
The story of the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence provides a window into a response of the Church to the effects of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. It documents Mexican American womens spirituality, Tejano faith formation, and a documentation of the only Mexican American order of religious women that has been founded in the U.S.

18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

The USA Council of Serra International fosters and promotes vocations through prayer, awareness, affirmation and support.

here are vocations…

…which manifest themselves. They must be fostered.

… which are not conscious of themselves. They must be awakened.

… which do not dare manifest themselves. They must be found and encouraged.

… which are in fear of being lost. They must be reassured.

… which meet with opposition. They must be strengthened.

… which are paralyzed by poverty. They must be helped financially.

Look around you.

How many men and women in your parishes are caring and compassionate individuals who are good listeners, articulate speakers, and loving enthusiastic Catholics?

How many of these special, gifted people have ever been invited to consider becoming a priest, sister, brother, permanent deacon, or full-time lay minister?

Statistics show that 80% of the 18-30 year olds in the United States and Canada have never been asked to consider a Church Vocation.

About Vocation Ministry

Since 1935, Serra International has responded to this challenge through the first of its two objectives, fostering Church vocations. Through the years, Serra has supported the ministry of its members to call out and affirm dynamic men and women as they share their ministry in the service of the Church.

Serrans’ particular ministry focuses on promoting vocations to the ministerial priesthood and religious life. We know that men and women of all ages are seeking the opportunity to serve God and their neighbor.

Serrans, through their prayers and vocation activities, invite these men and women to explore their call to service in the Church.

To engage in those projects and programs that will prepare Serra clubs and parishes to assist their bishops and vocation directors in carrying out their vocation ministry in the diocese and parishes.

To continue to develop and distribute new manuals and promotional videos dealing with such topics as: affirmation of vowed religious, ordained priests, Single Adult Discernment retreats, parish vocation committees, and programs for youth groups.

Key Areas of Emphasis

Prayer

Hail Mary, full of grace;
all generations call you blessed. Hail Mother of God; when asked by the angel
to bear the Son of the Most High,
filled with faith, you responded:
“Let it be done unto me.”

Holy Mother of Jesus, at the wedding feast at Cana,
you prompted your Son to perform his first sign.

Be with us as we discern our life’s work
and guide us in the way we are called to follow
in the footsteps of your Son.

Holy Mother of the Savior, at the foot of the cross
you mourned the death of your only Son.

Bless and embrace the loving parents of all priests,
deacons, brothers and sisters.

Holy Mother of the Good Shepherd,
turn your motherly care to this nation.

Intercede for us to the Lord of the harvest
to send more laborers to the harvest
in this land dedicated to your honor.

Queen of Peace, Mirror of Justice, Health of the Sick,
inspire vocations in our time.

Let the word of your Son be made flesh anew
in the lives of persons anxious to proclaim
the good news of everlasting life.
Amen.

Awareness

The National Coalition for Church Vocations is a partnership of the:

• National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors
• National Religious Vocation Conference
• J. S. Paluch Company, Inc.
• Priests of the Sacred Heart
• Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus
• USA Council of Serra International

NCCV is a charitable not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization.

Mission
NCCV exists for the purpose of promoting Catholic Church vocations, especially by providing quality resources for vocation ministry, awareness, education, and discernment. We believe that:

• Vocation ministry is a way of participating in the mission of Jesus.
• Each Christian vocation is rooted in the baptismal call to holiness and invites mutual respect and encouragement.
• The involvement of the church community through prayer, support, and invitation is essential in the discernment of each Christian vocation.

“The task of promoting vocations should increasingly express a joint commitment of the whole church.”
– John Paul II
Affirmation

“Every Vocation is a personal and unique event but also a community and ecclesial event. No one is called to walk alone. Every Vocation is raised up by the Lord as a gift for the Christian community, which must be able to benefit from the Vocation.”
-Pope John Paul II

Support

Is your child or grandchild kind, outgoing, faith filled, caring, intelligent? Do you think that he or she would make a good priest, sister, or religious brother? Have you ever talked to your child or grandchild about the possibility of priesthood or religious life? Surveys tell us that young Catholics think seriously about church vocations, but that no one has ever asked them. 

A unique miraculous appearance of the Holy Trinity before St Alexander Svirsky occurred in Northern Russia in 1508. Saint Alexander Svirsky the Wonder-worker was the only man on earth, apart from the forefather Abraham, who became privileged to see the Holy Trinity with his own eyes.

Archbishops and bishops around the world who decide to celebrate the Ascension on Sunday instead of Thursday in their own (arch)diocese are faithfully following the rubrics of the Roman Missal.I say, “Good for them.” Nothing like seeing bishops make liturgical choices which are among the choices listed in the Missal.

The initial rubric for the Ascension in the 2002 Roman Missal is:

Ubi sollemnitas Ascensionis non est de praecepto servanda, assignatur, tamquam diei proprio, dominicae VII Paschae.
(i.e., it may be moved to the 7th Sunday of Easter)

The initial rubric for Feria Quinta (Thursday) of the 6th Week of Easter is:

In regionibus ubi sollemnitas Ascensionis fit dominica sequenti.
(In regions where the Ascension is on the following Sunday.)

And, the page heads for Feria Sexta and Sabbato (Friday and Saturday) are:

In Feriis Post Ascensionem vel Dominicam VI Paschae.
(Weekdays after Ascension or 6th Sunday of Easter)

So, the bishops are free to make this choice. The choice is in the universal Roman Missal. It is not just a thing of one country, or region. It is a free choice in the Roman liturgy for all bishops to make for their own dioceses.

They are following the rubrics.

Why Are You Staring at the Sky?

Gospel Commentary for Feast of the Ascension by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

ROME, MAY 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- In the first reading an angel says to the disciples: “Men of Galilee, why are you staring at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from among you and assumed into heaven, shall one day return in the same way in which you saw him go to heaven.”

This is an occasion to clarify once and for all what we mean by “heaven.” Among almost all people, heaven indicates the habitation of the divinity. Even the Bible uses this spatial language: “Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace to men on earth.”

With the advent of the scientific era, all these religious meanings attributed to the word “heaven” are now in crisis. The heavens are the space in which our planet and the whole solar system moves, and nothing else. We all have heard of the remark attributed to the Soviet astronaut after returning from his trip through the cosmos: “I traveled through outer space a long time and didn’t see God anywhere!”

It is important therefore to try to clarify what we Christians mean when we say “Our Father who art in heaven,” or when we say that someone “went to heaven.” In these cases the Bible adapts itself to the common way of speaking (we do it today too, even in the scientific era, when we say that the sun “rises” and “sets”). But the Bible knows well and teaches that God is “in heaven, on earth and everywhere,” that he is the one who “created the heavens” and, if he created them, cannot be “contained” by them. That God is “in the heavens” means that he “dwells in inaccessible light,” that he is as far beyond us “as the heavens are above the earth.”

We Christians also agree that in talking about heaven as God’s dwelling place we understand it more as a state of being than a place. When we speak about God it would be nonsense to say that he is literally “above” or “below,” “up” or “down.” We are not therefore saying that heaven doesn’t exist but only that we lack the categories with which to adequately represent it. Suppose we ask a person who is blind from birth to describe the different colors to us: red, green, blue. … He could not tell us anything since we only perceive colors through our eyes. This is what it is like for us in regard to “heaven” and to eternal life, which is outside space and time.

In light of what we have said, what does it mean to proclaim that Jesus “ascended into heaven”? We find the answer in the Creed. “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”

That Christ has ascended into heaven means that he “is seated at the right hand of the Father,” that is, as man too, he has entered into God’s world; that he has been constituted the Lord and head of all things, as St. Paul says in the second reading.

In regard to us, “going to heaven” or going to “paradise” means going and being “with Christ” (Philippians 1:23). Our heaven is the risen Christ together with whom we shall form a “body” after our resurrection but also, in a provisional and imperfect way, immediately after our death. It is sometimes objected that no one has returned from heaven to assure us that it truly exists and is not just a pious illusion. It’s not true! There is one who — if we know how to recognize him — returns from heaven every day in the Eucharist to assure us and to renew his promises.

The words of the angel — “Men of Galilee, why are you staring at the sky?” — also contain an implicit reproof: We should not just “stare into the sky” and speculate about the beyond, but rather we should live in expectation of his return, follow his mission, bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth, improve life in this world.

He has gone to heaven but without leaving earth. He has only disappeared from our field of vision. Indeed in the Gospel he himself assures us: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

* * *

Father Raniero Cantalamessa is the Pontifical Household preacher. The readings for this Sunday are Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20.

When Pope Benedict XVI sits down with interreligious leaders in Washington April 17, the participants will follow a set program that leaves little room for surprises. Likewise, the pope’s meeting the next day in New York with ecumenical representatives features prayers, talks and symbolic gestures, but not free-ranging dialogue.

At ground zero, pope will pray for victims and families, world peace.

Describing the site as “the scene of incredible violence and pain,” the prayer asks God to grant eternal light and peace to all who died there when terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Center. It also recalls those who died the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.

According to the missal, the pope will pray: “God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth.”

The pope will ask God to “turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.”

And he will say, “God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events.

“Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain,” the prayer says.

“Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all,” it concludes.

one of the most notable stops during the April 15-20 visit will be the Holy Father’s prayer at ground zero, the site where the World Trade Center stood before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The prayer for that visit is included in the texts posted by the Vatican:

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths
and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here-
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and
Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.

Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives
with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.

Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.

Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Everyone knows someone-a spouse, a sister or brother, a co-worker, a neighbor, a college roommate. That someone may even be you.While active Catholics throughout the United States outnumber any other Christian denomination, the second largest group of baptized U.S. Christians, close to the number of any single Protestant denomination some say, is Catholics not regularly attending Mass.

Over 17 million Catholics have drifted away from the faith, according to Paulist Father John Hurley, director of the Office for Evangelization of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The reasons for their absence vary; among them may be a marriage outside of the Catholic Church, disagreement with the church on certain issues, relocating to a new area, worshipping with another denomination or simply being too busy or feeling there’s no need for religion in one’s life.

“Almost in every family there’s a relative no longer practicing,” said Archbishop-emeritus John F. Donoghue of Atlanta, Georga “… They miss things, like the Eucharist, but maybe don’t feel welcomed. I want to assure them that they are welcomed and want to help them get back.”

The CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH article 2177 states: The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.”

Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio, Texas said, ” Many Catholics who, although they go to Mass and fulfill other external requirements of the church, live their personal, family and public lives as if God did not exist.” God is precisely, God: the all-powerful being, creator of the world, creator of our own existence, the one who maintains life in us, the only being capable of giving us everything we need and granting us eternal happiness.”No object or person is comparable to God in greatness, goodness, power and love. It is therefore a logical conclusion, for anyone who claims to believe in God: that God not only must be the most important thing in our lives, but also the source from which all our actions spring.” “Anyone who believes in God knows that not only he or she owes God everything they have, but that God loves him or her as no one else is capable of loving them.” “That is why the Compendium of the Catechism explains that the words of the first commandment: “‘Adore the Lord your God and worship him alone’… mean to adore God as the Lord of everything that exists; to render to him the individual and community worship which is his due; to pray to him with sentiments of praise, of thanks, and of supplication; to offer him sacrifices, above all the spiritual sacrifice of one’s own life, united with the perfect sacrifice of Christ; and to keep the promises and vows made to him.” (Compendium, 443)

At a recent meeting of a Knights of Columbus Parish Council, the Lector lamented that membership totaled 139, but only 20 or 30 members ever attend meetings or participate in Council projects.

Our Lady of Lourdes [1938] – Spokane Diocese (West End, Stevens County)
   West End, WA – Mailing address: P.O. Box 214, Wellpinit, WA 99138;
   Phone: (509) 722-3067.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church in West End is a stone church, the only one in the diocese. It was built by Jesuit Father Pat Savage in 1938, a work that took three years. A parish history relates that Father Savage hauled rock from around the area in a 10-ton truck with hard rubber tires. Parishioners, area residents and a Swiss stonemason by the name of Placidus Petshew, assisted Father Savage. They used a tripod and winch to put the stones in place: large ones on the bottom, smaller ones on top.

The church exterior is very definitely red. The mortar between the stones is painted red and the metal roof is red. The church originally had a red clay tile roof but it was not moisture-proof and had to be replaced.

Over the church entry are the Latin words “Aula Dei et Porta Coeli” – “House of God and Gate to Heaven.”

The church may be unique in its rock construction, but parishioners and pastor say it used to be very hard to heat. The job is easier now with a modern furnace. In the heat of summer, though, the church interior is cool.

There are two half-circle windows at either end of the church. At one time they held stained glass windows that came from a theater in Spokane. In one of those occurrences that people no longer remember clearly, the windows were taken out and replaced with white and gold plexiglass. Worked into the windows’ design are three crosses, with the center one larger than the other two.

The sanctuary’s crucifix hangs on a backdrop of green fabric which is bordered by hangings of gold fabric. At either side are traditional statues of Mary and the Sacred Heart on some very beautiful stands painted gold. A statue of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, somewhat smaller than the other two, stands next to the Sacred Heart. The altar, which is covered with an Indian-patterned blanket, rests on a huge gnarled cherry tree stump. The pews are solid beam knotty pine. Nothing hangs on the walls except for the stations of the cross.

The hall is on the north side of the church. Our Lady of Lourdes also has a cemetery located out back. It too is used and has many wreaths and memorials.

Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington.  It is the largest electric power producing facility and the largest concrete structure in the United States. The reservoir formed by the dam is called Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake, named after the United States president who presided over the completion of the dam.

The mighty Columbia River has drawn people to its waters for over 9,000 years. Historically the rich fishery of the river was used for survival and prosperity. Today Lake Roosevelt’s visitors continue to enjoy the river’s recreational offerings of fishing, camping, hunting and boating.

A coulee (or coulée) is a deep steep-sided ravine formed by erosion, commonly found in the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. The word coulee comes from the French Canadian coulée, from French word couler meaning “to flow”. The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. It stretches for about sixty miles southwest of the Grand Coulee Dam ending at Soap Lake.

The Inchelium-Gifford Ferry is operated on Lake Roosevelt by the Colville Confederated Tribes on behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The run connects Inchelium with State Route 25 in Stevens County and has been in operation since 1898.

Jesus Christ: the revelation of God Love to all humanity, Pope says at Augustine’s tomb Rome, April 23 (CNA).-After his visit to the University of Pavia on Sunday, Benedict XVI traveled to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro to celebrate Vespers. Before entering the basilica, the Holy Father paused on the patio of the convent of St. Augustine where he blessed the cornerstone of a new Augustinian cultural center, which the Order intends to dedicate to him.

Once inside the basilica, the Pope incensed the urn containing the relics of St. Augustine and, after greeting Bishop Giovanni Giudici of Pavia and Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, prior general of the Augustinian Order, pronounced his homily.

“In this moment of prayer I would like to gather here, at the tomb of the ‘Doctor gratiae,’ a significant message for the journey of the Church,” said the Pope. “This message comes to us from the encounter between the Word of God and the personal experience of the great bishop of Hippo. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, … is the revelation of the face of God Love to all human beings as they travel along the paths of time towards eternity.”

“This is the heart of the Gospel,” the Holy Father declared, “the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine’s eyes and brought him to encounter the ‘beauty, ever ancient and ever new’ in which alone the human heart finds peace.”

“Here before the tomb of St. Augustine,” the Pope continued, “I would like once again to consign ideally to the Church and to the World my first Encyclical, which contains this central message of the Gospel: ‘Deus caritas est,’ God is love,” and which is “greatly indebted to the thought of St. Augustine who was enamoured of the Love of God.”

“In the wake of the teachings of Vatican Council II and of my venerated predecessors, I am convinced … that contemporary humanity has need of this essential message. … Here everything must begin and here everything must lead, all pastoral activity and all theological treatises.”

“Love is the heart of Church life and of her pastoral activity. … Only those who have a personal experience of the Lord’s love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the road of following Christ. … Following Christ is above all a question of love.”

The Holy Father went on: “May your membership of the Church and your apostolate always stand out for their freedom from any kind of personal interest and for their unreserved adhesion to Christ’s love. Young people in particular need to receive the announcement of freedom and joy, the secret of which is in Christ. He is the most authentic response to the expectations of their hearts which are troubled by the many questions they carry within.”

“Following the footsteps of St. Augustine, you too must be a Church that frankly announces the ‘good news’ of Christ. … The Church is not simply an organization for collective expression nor, at the other extreme, is she the sum of individuals living a private religion. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to living in the world the commandment of love that He left us.”

“I encourage you,” the Holy Father concluded, “to pursue the ‘exalted degree’ of Christian life which considers charity as the bond of perfection, and which must also be translated into a form of moral life inspired by the Gospel.”

At the conclusion of Vespers, the Pope went to Pavia’s “P. Fortunati” stadium where he traveled by helicopter to the airport of Milan. There he boarded a plane that took him back to Rome where he landed shortly before 8.30 p.m.

The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts.

When the Bible speaks of God “justifying” someone, it means that God, the all-holy or “righteous” One, so transforms a person that the individual shares somehow in God’s own holiness, and hence it is really “right” for God to love him or her. In other words, God is not playing games, acting as if we were lovable when we are not.

By saying Joseph was “just,” the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.

The rest we can easily surmise. Think of the kind of love with which he wooed and won Mary, and the depth of the love they shared during their marriage.

It is no contradiction of Joseph’s manly holiness that he decided to divorce Mary when she was found to be with child. The important words of the Bible are that he planned to do this “quietly” because he was “a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame” (Matthew 1:19).

The just man was simply, joyfully, wholeheartedly obedient to God—in marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding the precious pair to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years of quiet faith and courage.

Comment:

The Bible tells us nothing of Joseph in the years after the return to Nazareth except the incident of finding Jesus in the Temple (see Luke 2:41–51). Perhaps this can be taken to mean that God wants us to realize that the holiest family was like every other family, that the circumstances of life for the holiest family were like those of every family, so that when Jesus’ mysterious nature began to appear, people couldn’t believe that he came from such humble beginnings: “Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary…?” (Matthew 13:55a). It was almost as indignant as “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46b).

Quote:

“He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord’” (St. Bernardine of Siena).

St. Raphael

The name of this archangel (Raphael = “God has healed”) does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Septuagint only in the Book of Tobias. 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 adventurous 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 picturesquely related in Tobit 5-11, to which the reader is referred. 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. Cf. Revelation 8:2). Of these seven “archangels” which appear in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only three, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, are mentioned in the canonical Scriptures. The others, according to the Book of Enoch (cf. xxi) are Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while from other apocryphal sources we get the variant names Izidkiel, Hanael, and Kepharel instead of the last three in the other list.

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. The Jewish category of the archangels is recognized in the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 4:15; Jude 9), but only Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name. Many commentators, however, identify Raphael with the “angel of the Lord” mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is base 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 lessons of the first Nocturn and the Antiphons of the entire Office are taken from the Book of Tobias, and the lessons of the second and third Nocturns from the works of St. Augustine, viz. for the second Nocturn a sermon on Tobias (sermon I on the fifteenth Sunday), and for the third, a homily on the opening verse of John, v. 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. (Catholic Encyclopedia > R > St. Raphael)

Prayer for Healing

Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners.

I beg you, assist me in all my needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are the “medicine of God” I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul and the ills that afflict my body. I especially ask of you the favor (here mention your special intention), and the great grace of purity to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Litany in Honor of St. Raphael

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, King of Angels, have mercy on us.

Mary, Queen of the Angels, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, whose name means “God has healed”, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, preserved with the good Angels in God’s kingdom, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, one of the seven spirits that stand before the Most High, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, ministering to God in heaven, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, noble and mighty Messenger of God, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, devoted to the Holy Will of God, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, who offered to God the prayers of the father Tobit, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, traveling-companion of the young Tobiah, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, who guarded your friends from danger, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, who found a worthy wife for Tobiah, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, who delivered Sarah from the evil spirits, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, who healed the father Tobit of his blindness, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, guide and protector on our journey through life, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, strong helper in time of need, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, conqueror of evil, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, guide and counselor of your people. pray for us.
Saint Raphael, protector of pure souls, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, patron Angel of youth, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Angel of joy, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Angel of happy meetings, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Angel of chaste courtship, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Angel of those seeking a marriage partner, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Angel of a happy marriage, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Angel of home life, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, Guardian of the Christian family, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, protector of travelers, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, patron of health, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, heavenly physician, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, helper of the blind, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, healer of the sick, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, patron of physicians, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, consoler of the afflicted, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, support of the dying, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, herald of blessings, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, defender of the church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world; spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world; graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world; have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O glorious Saint Raphael the Archangel,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
God, you graciously gave the Archangel Raphael as a companion to Your servant Tobiah on his journey. Grant us, Your servants, that we may ever enjoy his protection and be strengthened by his help. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.