#feast-day — Public Fediverse posts

Today the Church remembers Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who spent forty years ministering to enslaved Africans arriving at the port of Cartagena, Colombia.

When the ships arrived, Peter climbed aboard first, before anyone else, to bring food, medicine, and comfort to people who had endured unspeakable suffering on the crossing. He called himself "the slave of the slaves forever," choosing to serve the very people his society had cast aside as unworthy of dignity.

Scripture says, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Peter Claver built his entire life around that verse, seeing the face of Christ in every person he knelt beside.

His witness still challenges us. Outreach is not about convenience or comfort. It is about showing up for the people others overlook, with patience, with presence, and without expecting anything in return.

Saint Peter Claver, pray for us and for all who serve the forgotten among us.

#SaintFrancisParish #AugustaGA #CatholicFaith #SaintPeterClaver #FeastDay #Outreach #FaithInAction #ServeWithLove

Today the Church remembers Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who spent forty years ministering to enslaved Africans arriving at the port of Cartagena, Colombia.

When the ships arrived, Peter climbed aboard first, before anyone else, to bring food, medicine, and comfort to people who had endured unspeakable suffering on the crossing. He called himself "the slave of the slaves forever," choosing to serve the very people his society had cast aside as unworthy of dignity.

Scripture says, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Peter Claver built his entire life around that verse, seeing the face of Christ in every person he knelt beside.

His witness still challenges us. Outreach is not about convenience or comfort. It is about showing up for the people others overlook, with patience, with presence, and without expecting anything in return.

Saint Peter Claver, pray for us and for all who serve the forgotten among us.

#SaintFrancisParish #AugustaGA #CatholicFaith #SaintPeterClaver #FeastDay #Outreach #FaithInAction #ServeWithLove

Today the Church remembers Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who spent forty years ministering to enslaved Africans arriving at the port of Cartagena, Colombia.

When the ships arrived, Peter climbed aboard first, before anyone else, to bring food, medicine, and comfort to people who had endured unspeakable suffering on the crossing. He called himself "the slave of the slaves forever," choosing to serve the very people his society had cast aside as unworthy of dignity.

Scripture says, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Peter Claver built his entire life around that verse, seeing the face of Christ in every person he knelt beside.

His witness still challenges us. Outreach is not about convenience or comfort. It is about showing up for the people others overlook, with patience, with presence, and without expecting anything in return.

Saint Peter Claver, pray for us and for all who serve the forgotten among us.

#SaintFrancisParish #AugustaGA #CatholicFaith #SaintPeterClaver #FeastDay #Outreach #FaithInAction #ServeWithLove

Today the Church remembers Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who spent forty years ministering to enslaved Africans arriving at the port of Cartagena, Colombia.

When the ships arrived, Peter climbed aboard first, before anyone else, to bring food, medicine, and comfort to people who had endured unspeakable suffering on the crossing. He called himself "the slave of the slaves forever," choosing to serve the very people his society had cast aside as unworthy of dignity.

Scripture says, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Peter Claver built his entire life around that verse, seeing the face of Christ in every person he knelt beside.

His witness still challenges us. Outreach is not about convenience or comfort. It is about showing up for the people others overlook, with patience, with presence, and without expecting anything in return.

Saint Peter Claver, pray for us and for all who serve the forgotten among us.

#SaintFrancisParish #AugustaGA #CatholicFaith #SaintPeterClaver #FeastDay #Outreach #FaithInAction #ServeWithLove

Archangel Gabriel

In Judaism, Christianity, & other Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (or even Cebrail (Djebrail) in some cultures) is an archangel with the power to announce God’s will to mankind as the messenger of God. He’s like the Abrahamic Apollo. He’s mentioned in the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament, the New Testament, & the Quran.

In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to interpret his vision. Gabriel also shows up in the Jewish apocryphal 1st Book of Enoch & other Hebrew writings.

Along with the archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of the Israelites, defending them against the angels of the other peoples. Many sects of Christianity revere Gabriel as a saint.

In the New Testament’s Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appears to Zachariah, predicting the birth of John the Baptist. Gabriel later appears to Mary, mother of Jesus, to announce that she would conceive & bear a son via a virgin birth.

Islam regards Gabriel as an archangel sent by Allah/God to different prophets, including Muhammad (PBUH). The first 5 verses of the Al-Alaq (96th chapter of the Quran) are believed by Muslims to have been the 1st verses of revelations given by Gabriel to Muhammad (PBUH).

The only book in the Hebrew Bible that explicitly mentions Gabriel is the Book of Daniel, & Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to explain his visions (Daniel 8:15-26, 9:21-27). In Daniel’s final vision, an unnamed angel appears to him & speaks of receiving help from the archangel Michael in battle against the Prince of Persia (not the video game) & also Michael’s role in times to come. This unnamed angel is thought to be Gabriel.

Though not named specifically, the “man clothed with linen” mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel chapters 9 & 10 is interpreted as Gabriel in Yoma 77a of the Babylonian Talmud.

There are many references to Gabriel in the Book of Enoch. According to this book, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, & Gabriel complain to God about the many wrongs perpetuated by Azazel & Samyaza. Especially the fact that they revealed “eternal secrets” & sins to mankind & defiled themselves with human women who later gave birth to giant offspring. Or, 1 of our fav subjects to circle back to, the Nephilim. (We will be doing the Nephilim in a future post. It’s currently being researched right now. Along with the Watchers, the Nephilim’s dads.)

As a result, God decides to destroy the Earth (which has been corrupted by those pesky fallen angels; these fallen angels were led by Azazel & Samyaza) & all of its inhabitants except for Noah. God sends Gabriel & the other archangels to go after the fallen angels & cast them into the darkness until the day of their judgment.

In Chapter 20, Gabriel is listed as 1 of 7 holy angels who watch. In Chapter 40, Gabriel is listed as 1 of 4 presences who stand on the 4 sides of God. These 4 archangels will be the ones to cast the fallen angels into the abyss of condemnation on Judgment Day.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, Gabriel (along with Michael, Uriel, & Raphael) is 1 of the 4 angels that stand at the 4 sides of God’s throne & serve as guardian angels of the 4 parts of the Earth. Michael stands on/at the right hand of God. While Gabriel (who ranks beneath Michael) stands at the left. Michael & Gabriel often work together. But Michael is mainly occupied in Heaven, while Gabriel (as the messenger of God) typically executes God’s will on earth.

Gabriel is also associated with the metal gold (the color of fire). Alongside Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending the Israelites against the angels of the other nations.

Gabriel is 1 of God’s archangels in Kabbalah literature. He’s pictured working in concert with Michael as part of God’s court. He’s identified with the sefira (or the Counting of the Omar. It’s a period of 49 days known as sefira(h).) of Yesod (this is a node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life.). Gabriel isn’t to be prayed to because only God can answer & sends Gabriel as his agent/messenger/courier.

According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there’s a tree of life or the “tree of souls” that blossoms & produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, the Treasury of souls. This is located in the 7th Heaven. Gabriel reaches into the Treasury & takes out the 1st soul that comes into his hand.

Gabriel’s 1st appearance in the New Testament is found in the 1st part of Chapter 1 of Luke. This is where the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist is. John’s dad, Zachariah, was childless because John’s mom, Elizabeth, was barren. An angel shows up to Zechariah to announce the birth of his son. When Zechariah questions the angel, the angel names himself as Gabriel (Luke 1:5-25).

Gabriel’s next appearance is in the 2nd part of Luke, chapter 1. This time, to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary (Luke 1:26-38). In the 1st part of the passage, the angel identifies itself as Gabriel; in the 2nd part of the passage, the angel doesn’t. It’s the author of Luke who calls this angel Gabriel.

Gabriel is more frequently referenced in early Christian pseudepigraphic texts (these are texts whose authorship isn’t by who it’s claimed to be or a real author attributed to some bigger name of the past) than in Amy of the canonical Biblical texts.

Gabriel is mentioned in some of the infancy Gospels, like the Nativity Gospel of Mary, Protevangelium of James, & First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ. Gabriel is also mentioned in some of the early Christian apocalyptic texts, like the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra & Second Book of Enoch.

In Gnosticism, angels are portrayed as belonging to a pantheon of spiritual beings involved in the creation of the world. According to 1 ancient Gnostic manuscript, the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit. (Which we have posted!) Gabriel is a divine being & inhabitant of the pleroma (This refers to the total of divine powers.) that existed before the demiurge (This is an figure who is responsible for fashioning & maintaining the physical universe). There’s also a reference to Gabriel in Chapter 17 of the Gospel of Judas.

In the theology of the Mormon Church, Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. The 2 are regarded as the same individual. Noah was his mortal name & Gabriel being his heavenly name.

Gabriel’s fast day was exclusively celebrated on March 18 between 1588 & 1921. The feast of St. Gabriel was included by Pope Benedict XV in the General Roman Calender in 1921 for celebration on March 24.

In 1969, the day was officially transferred to September 29 for celebration in combination with the feasts of Michael & Raphael. Today, the September 29 date (known as Michaelmas) has been adopted by the Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran faith, Anglican Communion, & Western Orthodox churches.

The Eastern Orthodox Church & those Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite (a.k.a. the Rite of Constantinople is a liturgical rite developed in the Eastern Christian church of Constantinople.) celebrated the Feast of the Archangels (or Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers) on November 8.

For the churches that follow the Julian Calendar, November 9 currently falls on November 21 of the modern Gregorian Calendar (a 13-day difference).

The Eastern Orthodox commemorate Gabriel not only at the Feast of the Archangels, but also on 2 other days: March 26 the “Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel” & celebrates his role in the Annunciation. July 13, a.k.a. the “Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel.”

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Gabriel’s feast of 13 Paoni, 22 Koiak, & 26 Paoni. The medieval Coptic work Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel, attributes the feast day of 22 Koiak to the day Gabriel was given the rank of archangel in Heaven.

The Ethiopian Church celebrates Gabriel’s feast of December 18 (in the Ethiopian calendar). A sizable number of its believers making a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to “St. Gabriel” in Kulubi & Wonkshet on that day.

Gabriel is in many places in the Quran. He’s revered as 1 of the primary archangels & as the Angel of Revelation in Islam. He’s primarily mentioned in the verses 2:97, 2:98, 66:4 of the Quran. However, the Quranic text doesn’t refer to him as an angel. In the Quran, the archangel Gabriel appears named in 2:97 & 66:4, as well as in 2:98, where he’s mentioned along with the archangel Michael.

Tafsir (this is like the Jewish Midrash) narrates that Muhammad saw the archangel Gabriel in his full angelic splendor only 2x. The 1st time was when he received his 1st revelation. Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel was sent to numerous pre-Islamic Biblical prophets with revelation & divine injunctions, including Adam, whom Muslims believe was consoled by Gabriel sometime after Fall, too. He’s known by many names in Islam, such as “keeper of holiness.” In Hadith traditions, Jibril is said to have 600 wings.

In Islam, the tree of souls is referred to as the Sidrat al-Muntaha. This is identified as a Ziziphus spina-christi. This is also known as Christ’s thorn jujube.

Muslims believe that Gabriel was tasked with transmitting the scriptures from God to the prophets & messengers as Asbab al-Nuzul or revelation. Asbab al-Nuzul is occasions or circumstances of revelation names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. When Muhammad was questioned which angel is revealing the holy scriptures, he told the Jews they’re revealed by Gabriel.

Muslims also Revere Gabriel for several events that predate what they regard as the 1st revelation narrated in the Quran. Muslims believe that Gabriel was the angel who informed Zechariah of the Nativity of John the Baptist. As well as Mary about the future nativity of Jesus.

Gabriel was 1 of 3 angels who had earlier informed Abraham of the birth of Isaac. Gabriel also makes a famous appearance in the Hadith of Gabriel, in which he questions Muhammad on the core tenets of Islam.

Gabriel is also believed to have delivered punishment from God to the Sodomites by leveling the entire city of Sodom with the tip of his wing. According to a Hadith, Gabriel has the ability to regulate feelings or perception in humans. Particularly happiness or sadness.

Gabriel is believed to have helped Muhammad overcome adversaries significantly against an ifrit during the Night Journey. An ifrit is a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture. Gabriel is also believed to have helped Muhammad overcome his adversaries during the Battle of Badr.

The Yazidis worship 7 Archangels, including Gabriel (Jabra’il), Michael (Mikha’il), Raphael (Rapha’il), Dedra’il, Azra’il, Shamka’il, & Azazil. They’re emanations from God with which God entrusted the world. Yazidis associate Gabriel with Tawusi Melek (the “Peacock Angel”).

Mandaeans venerate Ptahil as the “4th Life.” Ptahil is an uthra (a divine messenger of the light), identified with Gabriel, who creates the poorly made material world with the help of Ruha, a sinful & fallen female ruler who inhabits the World of Darkness.

The creation of the material world occurs by God’s command. But is delegated to Ptahil (a subservient emanation or uthra) with the assistance of Gabriel & others.

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Archangel Gabriel

In Judaism, Christianity, & other Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (or even Cebrail (Djebrail) in some cultures) is an archangel with the power to announce God’s will to mankind as the messenger of God. He’s like the Abrahamic Apollo. He’s mentioned in the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament, the New Testament, & the Quran.

In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to interpret his vision. Gabriel also shows up in the Jewish apocryphal 1st Book of Enoch & other Hebrew writings.

Along with the archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of the Israelites, defending them against the angels of the other peoples. Many sects of Christianity revere Gabriel as a saint.

In the New Testament’s Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appears to Zachariah, predicting the birth of John the Baptist. Gabriel later appears to Mary, mother of Jesus, to announce that she would conceive & bear a son via a virgin birth.

Islam regards Gabriel as an archangel sent by Allah/God to different prophets, including Muhammad (PBUH). The first 5 verses of the Al-Alaq (96th chapter of the Quran) are believed by Muslims to have been the 1st verses of revelations given by Gabriel to Muhammad (PBUH).

The only book in the Hebrew Bible that explicitly mentions Gabriel is the Book of Daniel, & Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to explain his visions (Daniel 8:15-26, 9:21-27). In Daniel’s final vision, an unnamed angel appears to him & speaks of receiving help from the archangel Michael in battle against the Prince of Persia (not the video game) & also Michael’s role in times to come. This unnamed angel is thought to be Gabriel.

Though not named specifically, the “man clothed with linen” mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel chapters 9 & 10 is interpreted as Gabriel in Yoma 77a of the Babylonian Talmud.

There are many references to Gabriel in the Book of Enoch. According to this book, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, & Gabriel complain to God about the many wrongs perpetuated by Azazel & Samyaza. Especially the fact that they revealed “eternal secrets” & sins to mankind & defiled themselves with human women who later gave birth to giant offspring. Or, 1 of our fav subjects to circle back to, the Nephilim. (We will be doing the Nephilim in a future post. It’s currently being researched right now. Along with the Watchers, the Nephilim’s dads.)

As a result, God decides to destroy the Earth (which has been corrupted by those pesky fallen angels; these fallen angels were led by Azazel & Samyaza) & all of its inhabitants except for Noah. God sends Gabriel & the other archangels to go after the fallen angels & cast them into the darkness until the day of their judgment.

In Chapter 20, Gabriel is listed as 1 of 7 holy angels who watch. In Chapter 40, Gabriel is listed as 1 of 4 presences who stand on the 4 sides of God. These 4 archangels will be the ones to cast the fallen angels into the abyss of condemnation on Judgment Day.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, Gabriel (along with Michael, Uriel, & Raphael) is 1 of the 4 angels that stand at the 4 sides of God’s throne & serve as guardian angels of the 4 parts of the Earth. Michael stands on/at the right hand of God. While Gabriel (who ranks beneath Michael) stands at the left. Michael & Gabriel often work together. But Michael is mainly occupied in Heaven, while Gabriel (as the messenger of God) typically executes God’s will on earth.

Gabriel is also associated with the metal gold (the color of fire). Alongside Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending the Israelites against the angels of the other nations.

Gabriel is 1 of God’s archangels in Kabbalah literature. He’s pictured working in concert with Michael as part of God’s court. He’s identified with the sefira (or the Counting of the Omar. It’s a period of 49 days known as sefira(h).) of Yesod (this is a node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life.). Gabriel isn’t to be prayed to because only God can answer & sends Gabriel as his agent/messenger/courier.

According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there’s a tree of life or the “tree of souls” that blossoms & produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, the Treasury of souls. This is located in the 7th Heaven. Gabriel reaches into the Treasury & takes out the 1st soul that comes into his hand.

Gabriel’s 1st appearance in the New Testament is found in the 1st part of Chapter 1 of Luke. This is where the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist is. John’s dad, Zachariah, was childless because John’s mom, Elizabeth, was barren. An angel shows up to Zechariah to announce the birth of his son. When Zechariah questions the angel, the angel names himself as Gabriel (Luke 1:5-25).

Gabriel’s next appearance is in the 2nd part of Luke, chapter 1. This time, to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary (Luke 1:26-38). In the 1st part of the passage, the angel identifies itself as Gabriel; in the 2nd part of the passage, the angel doesn’t. It’s the author of Luke who calls this angel Gabriel.

Gabriel is more frequently referenced in early Christian pseudepigraphic texts (these are texts whose authorship isn’t by who it’s claimed to be or a real author attributed to some bigger name of the past) than in Amy of the canonical Biblical texts.

Gabriel is mentioned in some of the infancy Gospels, like the Nativity Gospel of Mary, Protevangelium of James, & First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ. Gabriel is also mentioned in some of the early Christian apocalyptic texts, like the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra & Second Book of Enoch.

In Gnosticism, angels are portrayed as belonging to a pantheon of spiritual beings involved in the creation of the world. According to 1 ancient Gnostic manuscript, the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit. (Which we have posted!) Gabriel is a divine being & inhabitant of the pleroma (This refers to the total of divine powers.) that existed before the demiurge (This is an figure who is responsible for fashioning & maintaining the physical universe). There’s also a reference to Gabriel in Chapter 17 of the Gospel of Judas.

In the theology of the Mormon Church, Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. The 2 are regarded as the same individual. Noah was his mortal name & Gabriel being his heavenly name.

Gabriel’s fast day was exclusively celebrated on March 18 between 1588 & 1921. The feast of St. Gabriel was included by Pope Benedict XV in the General Roman Calender in 1921 for celebration on March 24.

In 1969, the day was officially transferred to September 29 for celebration in combination with the feasts of Michael & Raphael. Today, the September 29 date (known as Michaelmas) has been adopted by the Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran faith, Anglican Communion, & Western Orthodox churches.

The Eastern Orthodox Church & those Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite (a.k.a. the Rite of Constantinople is a liturgical rite developed in the Eastern Christian church of Constantinople.) celebrated the Feast of the Archangels (or Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers) on November 8.

For the churches that follow the Julian Calendar, November 9 currently falls on November 21 of the modern Gregorian Calendar (a 13-day difference).

The Eastern Orthodox commemorate Gabriel not only at the Feast of the Archangels, but also on 2 other days: March 26 the “Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel” & celebrates his role in the Annunciation. July 13, a.k.a. the “Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel.”

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Gabriel’s feast of 13 Paoni, 22 Koiak, & 26 Paoni. The medieval Coptic work Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel, attributes the feast day of 22 Koiak to the day Gabriel was given the rank of archangel in Heaven.

The Ethiopian Church celebrates Gabriel’s feast of December 18 (in the Ethiopian calendar). A sizable number of its believers making a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to “St. Gabriel” in Kulubi & Wonkshet on that day.

Gabriel is in many places in the Quran. He’s revered as 1 of the primary archangels & as the Angel of Revelation in Islam. He’s primarily mentioned in the verses 2:97, 2:98, 66:4 of the Quran. However, the Quranic text doesn’t refer to him as an angel. In the Quran, the archangel Gabriel appears named in 2:97 & 66:4, as well as in 2:98, where he’s mentioned along with the archangel Michael.

Tafsir (this is like the Jewish Midrash) narrates that Muhammad saw the archangel Gabriel in his full angelic splendor only 2x. The 1st time was when he received his 1st revelation. Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel was sent to numerous pre-Islamic Biblical prophets with revelation & divine injunctions, including Adam, whom Muslims believe was consoled by Gabriel sometime after Fall, too. He’s known by many names in Islam, such as “keeper of holiness.” In Hadith traditions, Jibril is said to have 600 wings.

In Islam, the tree of souls is referred to as the Sidrat al-Muntaha. This is identified as a Ziziphus spina-christi. This is also known as Christ’s thorn jujube.

Muslims believe that Gabriel was tasked with transmitting the scriptures from God to the prophets & messengers as Asbab al-Nuzul or revelation. Asbab al-Nuzul is occasions or circumstances of revelation names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. When Muhammad was questioned which angel is revealing the holy scriptures, he told the Jews they’re revealed by Gabriel.

Muslims also Revere Gabriel for several events that predate what they regard as the 1st revelation narrated in the Quran. Muslims believe that Gabriel was the angel who informed Zechariah of the Nativity of John the Baptist. As well as Mary about the future nativity of Jesus.

Gabriel was 1 of 3 angels who had earlier informed Abraham of the birth of Isaac. Gabriel also makes a famous appearance in the Hadith of Gabriel, in which he questions Muhammad on the core tenets of Islam.

Gabriel is also believed to have delivered punishment from God to the Sodomites by leveling the entire city of Sodom with the tip of his wing. According to a Hadith, Gabriel has the ability to regulate feelings or perception in humans. Particularly happiness or sadness.

Gabriel is believed to have helped Muhammad overcome adversaries significantly against an ifrit during the Night Journey. An ifrit is a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture. Gabriel is also believed to have helped Muhammad overcome his adversaries during the Battle of Badr.

The Yazidis worship 7 Archangels, including Gabriel (Jabra’il), Michael (Mikha’il), Raphael (Rapha’il), Dedra’il, Azra’il, Shamka’il, & Azazil. They’re emanations from God with which God entrusted the world. Yazidis associate Gabriel with Tawusi Melek (the “Peacock Angel”).

Mandaeans venerate Ptahil as the “4th Life.” Ptahil is an uthra (a divine messenger of the light), identified with Gabriel, who creates the poorly made material world with the help of Ruha, a sinful & fallen female ruler who inhabits the World of Darkness.

The creation of the material world occurs by God’s command. But is delegated to Ptahil (a subservient emanation or uthra) with the assistance of Gabriel & others.

Make a one-time donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a monthly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a yearly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Rate this:

Archangel Gabriel

In Judaism, Christianity, & other Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (or even Cebrail (Djebrail) in some cultures) is an archangel with the power to announce God’s will to mankind as the messenger of God. He’s like the Abrahamic Apollo. He’s mentioned in the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament, the New Testament, & the Quran.

In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to interpret his vision. Gabriel also shows up in the Jewish apocryphal 1st Book of Enoch & other Hebrew writings.

Along with the archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of the Israelites, defending them against the angels of the other peoples. Many sects of Christianity revere Gabriel as a saint.

In the New Testament’s Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appears to Zachariah, predicting the birth of John the Baptist. Gabriel later appears to Mary, mother of Jesus, to announce that she would conceive & bear a son via a virgin birth.

Islam regards Gabriel as an archangel sent by Allah/God to different prophets, including Muhammad (PBUH). The first 5 verses of the Al-Alaq (96th chapter of the Quran) are believed by Muslims to have been the 1st verses of revelations given by Gabriel to Muhammad (PBUH).

The only book in the Hebrew Bible that explicitly mentions Gabriel is the Book of Daniel, & Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to explain his visions (Daniel 8:15-26, 9:21-27). In Daniel’s final vision, an unnamed angel appears to him & speaks of receiving help from the archangel Michael in battle against the Prince of Persia (not the video game) & also Michael’s role in times to come. This unnamed angel is thought to be Gabriel.

Though not named specifically, the “man clothed with linen” mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel chapters 9 & 10 is interpreted as Gabriel in Yoma 77a of the Babylonian Talmud.

There are many references to Gabriel in the Book of Enoch. According to this book, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, & Gabriel complain to God about the many wrongs perpetuated by Azazel & Samyaza. Especially the fact that they revealed “eternal secrets” & sins to mankind & defiled themselves with human women who later gave birth to giant offspring. Or, 1 of our fav subjects to circle back to, the Nephilim. (We will be doing the Nephilim in a future post. It’s currently being researched right now. Along with the Watchers, the Nephilim’s dads.)

As a result, God decides to destroy the Earth (which has been corrupted by those pesky fallen angels; these fallen angels were led by Azazel & Samyaza) & all of its inhabitants except for Noah. God sends Gabriel & the other archangels to go after the fallen angels & cast them into the darkness until the day of their judgment.

In Chapter 20, Gabriel is listed as 1 of 7 holy angels who watch. In Chapter 40, Gabriel is listed as 1 of 4 presences who stand on the 4 sides of God. These 4 archangels will be the ones to cast the fallen angels into the abyss of condemnation on Judgment Day.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, Gabriel (along with Michael, Uriel, & Raphael) is 1 of the 4 angels that stand at the 4 sides of God’s throne & serve as guardian angels of the 4 parts of the Earth. Michael stands on/at the right hand of God. While Gabriel (who ranks beneath Michael) stands at the left. Michael & Gabriel often work together. But Michael is mainly occupied in Heaven, while Gabriel (as the messenger of God) typically executes God’s will on earth.

Gabriel is also associated with the metal gold (the color of fire). Alongside Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending the Israelites against the angels of the other nations.

Gabriel is 1 of God’s archangels in Kabbalah literature. He’s pictured working in concert with Michael as part of God’s court. He’s identified with the sefira (or the Counting of the Omar. It’s a period of 49 days known as sefira(h).) of Yesod (this is a node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life.). Gabriel isn’t to be prayed to because only God can answer & sends Gabriel as his agent/messenger/courier.

According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there’s a tree of life or the “tree of souls” that blossoms & produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, the Treasury of souls. This is located in the 7th Heaven. Gabriel reaches into the Treasury & takes out the 1st soul that comes into his hand.

Gabriel’s 1st appearance in the New Testament is found in the 1st part of Chapter 1 of Luke. This is where the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist is. John’s dad, Zachariah, was childless because John’s mom, Elizabeth, was barren. An angel shows up to Zechariah to announce the birth of his son. When Zechariah questions the angel, the angel names himself as Gabriel (Luke 1:5-25).

Gabriel’s next appearance is in the 2nd part of Luke, chapter 1. This time, to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary (Luke 1:26-38). In the 1st part of the passage, the angel identifies itself as Gabriel; in the 2nd part of the passage, the angel doesn’t. It’s the author of Luke who calls this angel Gabriel.

Gabriel is more frequently referenced in early Christian pseudepigraphic texts (these are texts whose authorship isn’t by who it’s claimed to be or a real author attributed to some bigger name of the past) than in Amy of the canonical Biblical texts.

Gabriel is mentioned in some of the infancy Gospels, like the Nativity Gospel of Mary, Protevangelium of James, & First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ. Gabriel is also mentioned in some of the early Christian apocalyptic texts, like the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra & Second Book of Enoch.

In Gnosticism, angels are portrayed as belonging to a pantheon of spiritual beings involved in the creation of the world. According to 1 ancient Gnostic manuscript, the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit. (Which we have posted!) Gabriel is a divine being & inhabitant of the pleroma (This refers to the total of divine powers.) that existed before the demiurge (This is an figure who is responsible for fashioning & maintaining the physical universe). There’s also a reference to Gabriel in Chapter 17 of the Gospel of Judas.

In the theology of the Mormon Church, Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. The 2 are regarded as the same individual. Noah was his mortal name & Gabriel being his heavenly name.

Gabriel’s fast day was exclusively celebrated on March 18 between 1588 & 1921. The feast of St. Gabriel was included by Pope Benedict XV in the General Roman Calender in 1921 for celebration on March 24.

In 1969, the day was officially transferred to September 29 for celebration in combination with the feasts of Michael & Raphael. Today, the September 29 date (known as Michaelmas) has been adopted by the Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran faith, Anglican Communion, & Western Orthodox churches.

The Eastern Orthodox Church & those Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite (a.k.a. the Rite of Constantinople is a liturgical rite developed in the Eastern Christian church of Constantinople.) celebrated the Feast of the Archangels (or Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers) on November 8.

For the churches that follow the Julian Calendar, November 9 currently falls on November 21 of the modern Gregorian Calendar (a 13-day difference).

The Eastern Orthodox commemorate Gabriel not only at the Feast of the Archangels, but also on 2 other days: March 26 the “Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel” & celebrates his role in the Annunciation. July 13, a.k.a. the “Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel.”

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Gabriel’s feast of 13 Paoni, 22 Koiak, & 26 Paoni. The medieval Coptic work Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel, attributes the feast day of 22 Koiak to the day Gabriel was given the rank of archangel in Heaven.

The Ethiopian Church celebrates Gabriel’s feast of December 18 (in the Ethiopian calendar). A sizable number of its believers making a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to “St. Gabriel” in Kulubi & Wonkshet on that day.

Gabriel is in many places in the Quran. He’s revered as 1 of the primary archangels & as the Angel of Revelation in Islam. He’s primarily mentioned in the verses 2:97, 2:98, 66:4 of the Quran. However, the Quranic text doesn’t refer to him as an angel. In the Quran, the archangel Gabriel appears named in 2:97 & 66:4, as well as in 2:98, where he’s mentioned along with the archangel Michael.

Tafsir (this is like the Jewish Midrash) narrates that Muhammad saw the archangel Gabriel in his full angelic splendor only 2x. The 1st time was when he received his 1st revelation. Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel was sent to numerous pre-Islamic Biblical prophets with revelation & divine injunctions, including Adam, whom Muslims believe was consoled by Gabriel sometime after Fall, too. He’s known by many names in Islam, such as “keeper of holiness.” In Hadith traditions, Jibril is said to have 600 wings.

In Islam, the tree of souls is referred to as the Sidrat al-Muntaha. This is identified as a Ziziphus spina-christi. This is also known as Christ’s thorn jujube.

Muslims believe that Gabriel was tasked with transmitting the scriptures from God to the prophets & messengers as Asbab al-Nuzul or revelation. Asbab al-Nuzul is occasions or circumstances of revelation names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. When Muhammad was questioned which angel is revealing the holy scriptures, he told the Jews they’re revealed by Gabriel.

Muslims also Revere Gabriel for several events that predate what they regard as the 1st revelation narrated in the Quran. Muslims believe that Gabriel was the angel who informed Zechariah of the Nativity of John the Baptist. As well as Mary about the future nativity of Jesus.

Gabriel was 1 of 3 angels who had earlier informed Abraham of the birth of Isaac. Gabriel also makes a famous appearance in the Hadith of Gabriel, in which he questions Muhammad on the core tenets of Islam.

Gabriel is also believed to have delivered punishment from God to the Sodomites by leveling the entire city of Sodom with the tip of his wing. According to a Hadith, Gabriel has the ability to regulate feelings or perception in humans. Particularly happiness or sadness.

Gabriel is believed to have helped Muhammad overcome adversaries significantly against an ifrit during the Night Journey. An ifrit is a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture. Gabriel is also believed to have helped Muhammad overcome his adversaries during the Battle of Badr.

The Yazidis worship 7 Archangels, including Gabriel (Jabra’il), Michael (Mikha’il), Raphael (Rapha’il), Dedra’il, Azra’il, Shamka’il, & Azazil. They’re emanations from God with which God entrusted the world. Yazidis associate Gabriel with Tawusi Melek (the “Peacock Angel”).

Mandaeans venerate Ptahil as the “4th Life.” Ptahil is an uthra (a divine messenger of the light), identified with Gabriel, who creates the poorly made material world with the help of Ruha, a sinful & fallen female ruler who inhabits the World of Darkness.

The creation of the material world occurs by God’s command. But is delegated to Ptahil (a subservient emanation or uthra) with the assistance of Gabriel & others.

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Immaculate Conception

This is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was/is free from original sin from the moment of her conception. It’s 1 of the 4 Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. The feast day of the Immaculate Conception is December 8.

It wasn’t defined as a dogma until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. While the Immaculate Conception asserts Mary’s freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) had previously affirmed her freedom from personal sin non-dogmatically.

Many Protestant churches reject this doctrine as unscriptural. Some Anglicans accept this as a pious devotion. The teaching of the Immaculate Conception among Oriental Orthodoxy varies. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church & the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church accept it.

Anne (who eventually becomes a saint), the mom of the Virgin Mary & Jesus’ maternal grandma, shows up for the 1st time in the 2nd-century apocryphal Gospel of James. Anne & her husband Joachim (who also became a saint) were infertile. But God heard their prayers. Mary was then conceived.

Within the Gospel of James, Mary’s conception happens without physical sexual intercourse between Anne & Joachim. This is to demonstrate Mary’s purity. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that Mary was conceived by her parents like we all were.

Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, & Cyrus of Jerusalem came up with the idea of Mary as the new Eve. While yet immaculate & incorrupt, she wasn’t subject to original sin. Ephraim the Syrian said she was as innocent as Eve before the Fall.

Ambrose asserted Mary’s incorruptibility, attributing her virginity to grace & immunity from sin. Severus, the Bishop of Antioch, agreed to affirm Mary’s purity & immaculateness. John of Damascus extended the supernatural influence of God to Mary’s parents. This suggests they were purified by the Holy Spirit during her generation. According to John of Damascus, even the material of Mary’s origin was deemed pure & holy.

By the 4th century, the idea of Mary being free from sin was more widespread. But her being free from original sin, passed down from the OGs Adam & Eve, raised questions. The question became more acute when the feast of Mary’s conception brought the objection that, as adult spicy time is sinful, & to celebrate Mary’s conception was to celebrate a sinful act. (Let’s get 1 thing straight: God doesn’t make married adult spicy time between 2 consenting MARRIED adults a sin! He (God) in fact encourages a healthy marital sex life. “Be fruitful & multiply,” ring any bells! And how exactly do we multiply? This is the conclusion of our TED talk.)

The feast of Mary’s conception came from the Eastern Church in the 7th century. It reached England in the 11th century. From there, it spread out to Europe. It was given official approval in 1477 & extended to the whole church in 1693. The word “immaculate” wasn’t used until 1854.

This doctrine caused a “civil war” between the Franciscans & the Dominicans during the Middle Ages. The Franciscan “Scotists” were in favor & the Dominican “Thomists” against it.

The English ecclesiastic & scholar Eadmer (circa 1060-circa 1126) reasoned that Mary might have been conceived without original sin because of God’s omnipotence. It was also appropriate for her role as Mother of God. Potuit, decuit, fecit: “it was possible, it was fitting, therefore it was done.”

Others, like St. Bernard of Clairvaux (of the St. Bernard dog breed fame, 1090-1153) & Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) objected because if Mary were free of original sin at her superfluous conception. Then she would have no need of redemption. Thus making Christ’s saving redemption unneeded.

In 1439, the Council of Basel, in schism with Pope Eugene IV (who lived at the Council of Florence), declared the Immaculate Conception a “pious opinion” consistent with faith & Scripture. The Council of Trent made no explicit declaration on the topic. But did exempt her from the universality of original sin.

They also affirmed that she remained free from all stains of sin during her life, even the venial ones. By 1571, the revised Roman Breviary set out an elaborate celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.

Some devotees go so far as to hold that Anne had conceived Mary just by kissing her husband. They also believe that (St.) Anne’s dad & grandma had likewise been conceived without spicy adult time. However, (St.) Bridget of Sweden (circa 1303-1373) told how Mary herself had revealed to her that Anne & Joachim conceived their daughter through a spicy adult time, which was sinless because it was pure & free of sexual lust.

In the 16th & 17th centuries, Spain exploded with Immaculatist devotion. This led the Habsburg monarchs to demand the Holy See elevate this belief to the status of dogma.

In France in 1830, Catherine Laboure (May 2, 1806-December 31, 1876) saw a vision of Mary standing on a globe while a voice commanded her to have a medal made in imitation of what she saw. The medal said, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” which was a confirmation from Mary herself that she was conceived without sin. Laboure’s vision marked the beginning of a great 19th-century Marian revival.

In 1849, Pope Pius IX issued the encyclical Ubi primum, soliciting the bishops of the church for their views on whether the doctrine should be defined as dogma. 90% of those who responded were supportive. Although the Archbishop of Paris, Marie-Dominique-Auguste Sibour, warned that the Immaculate Conception “could be proved neither from the Scriptures nor from tradition.”

In 1854, the Immaculate Conception dogma was proclaimed with the bull Ineffabilis Deus. Ineffabilis Deus found the Immaculate Conception in the Ark of Salvation (Noah’s Ark), Jacob’s Ladder, the Burning Bush at Sinai, the Enclosed Garden from the Song of Song/Song of Solomon, & many more passages.

The pope’s advisors singled out 2 Bible passages: Genesis 3:15 – “I’ll put enmity between you & the woman.” This is a prophecy which reached fulfillment in the figure of the Woman in Revelation, crowned with stars & trampling the Dragon underfoot. Luke 1:28 – Specifically the phrase “full of grace” by which Gabriel greeted Mary was another reference to her Immaculate Conception: “she was never subject to the curse & was, together with her Son, the only partaker of perpetual benediction.”

Four years after the proclamation of the dogma, in 1858, the young Bernadette Soubirous (of the Lourdes grotto fame) said that Mary appeared to her at Lourdes in southern France, to announce that she was the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church later endorsed the apparition as authentic. There are other “approved” Marian apparitions in which Mary identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. For example, Our Lady of Gietrzwald in 1877, Poland.

The feast day of the Immaculate Conception is December 8. The Roman Missal (which contains texts & rubrics (a set of rules)) & the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours (a set of Catholic prayers) include references to Mary’s Immaculate Conception in the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Its celebration seems to have begun in the Eastern church in the 7th century & may have spread to Ireland by the 8th century. The earliest well-attested record in the Western Church is from England early in the 11th century. It was suppressed there after the Norman Conquest (1066). The 1st thorough exposition of the doctrine was a response to this suppression. It continued to spread through the 15th century despite accusations of heresy from the Thomists & strong objections from several prominent theologians.

Beginning around 1140, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Yes, like the dog breed. That’s where the dog breed got its name.), a Cistercian monk (This is a religious order of monks & nuns that branched off from the Benedictines.), wrote to Lyons Cathedral to express his surprise & dissatisfaction that it had recently begun to be observed there.

But in 1477, Pope Lixtus IV, who was a devoted Immaculist, put it on the Roman calendar via the papal bull called Cum praexcelsa. In 1481 & 1483, Pope Sixtus IV published 2 more bulls which prohibited anyone from preaching or teaching against the Immaculate Conception, or for either side to accuse the other of heresy, under threats of excommunication.

Pope Pius V kept the Feast on the Tridentine calendar. But suppressed the word “Immaculate.” Pope Gregory XV, in 1622, prohibited any public or private assertion that Mary was conceived in sin. In 1624, Pope Urban VIII allowed the Franciscans to establish a military order dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo & Eritrean Orthodox Tewahed Churches believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on August 13 (Nehasie 7).

Eastern Orthodoxy does not exempt Mary from original sin. But they do affirm Mary’s purity & preservation from personal sin.

In the mid-1800s, some Catholics who were unable to accept the doctrine of papal infallibility left the Roman Church & formed the Old Catholic Church. They reject the Immaculate Conception.

Protestants overwhelmingly condemned the announcement of Ineffabilis Deus. Protestants teach that Mary was a sinner, saved through grace, like everyone else.

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Archangel Raphael

The name Raphael comes from the Hebrew Rafa’el, meaning “God has healed” or “Medicine of God.”

He’s not mentioned in the Tanakh/Old Testament or the New Testament; he’s definitely in the Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is a deuterocanonical work recognized by Catholic & Orthodox churches. He’s also mentioned in 1 Enoch, both books date from around the 3rd & 2nd centuries BC.

In later Jewish tradition(s), he became identified as 1 of the 3 heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. While the Bible doesn’t name him, Midrashic tradition identifies Raphael as 1 sent to heal Abraham’s pain after his circumcision.

Later Christian tradition(s) identified him with healing & as the angel who stirred the waters at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2-4. But he isn’t specifically named in this passage.

In Islam, his name is Israfil. He’s understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73. In this passage, he’s standing with a trumpet to his lips eternally, ready to announce the Day of Judgment.

In Gnostic tradition(s), Raphael is represented on the Ophite Diagram. This diagram is/are a ritual & esoteric diagram used by the Ophite sect of Gnosticism.

In the Book of Tobit, Raphael takes the human form of a man named Azarias. He serves as a protector for young Tobias on a perilous journey to Media. Azarias instructs Tobias on how to use the heart, liver, & gall of a giant fish to create medicinal ointments. These are used to drive away a demon (Asmodeus) & to cure the blindness of Tobias’ dad, Tobit.

Because Raphael safely guided Tobias across vast distances, he became the patron saint of travelers, pilgrims, & even modern-day hitchhikers.

His name comes from the Hebrew meaning “to heal,” & can be translated as “God has healed.” In Tobit, he goes by the name Azariah while in disguise as a man. In the book, he acts like a doctor/physician & expels, uses an extraordinary fish to heal Tobit’s eyes, & binds the demon Asmodeus. While in 1 Enoch, he’s “set over all disease & every wound of the children of the people.” He also binds the armies of Azazel & throws them into the valley of fire.

According to the Babylonian Talmud, Raphael was 1 of 3 angels who appeared to Abraham in the Oak Grove (Oak wood/trees have been used for millennia in spiritual traditions) of Mamre, in the Hebron region.

Michael walked in the middle because he was the “greatest,” with Gabriel on his right & Raphael on his left. Each had a specific mission they were commanded to carry out: Gabriel’s was to destroy Sodom; Michael’s was to tell Sarah that she was going to have Isaac; & Raphael’s was to heal Abraham from his recent circumcision & to save Lot. Now, the healing of the circumcision is HUGE in this context. Because Abraham was the 1st Hebrew/Jew to get a circumcision. AND he was a grown old man when he got it. He wasn’t a baby who’d “forget” the pain & healed up in a couple of days.

In the Midrash Konen, it’s revealed that Raphael was originally named Libbiel (“God is my heart”). In the Midrash, God takes counsel with His angels before He creates Adam, the 1st man. The angels weren’t all of 1 opinion, with differing views & reasons.

The Angel of Love & Angel of Justice both were in favor of Man’s creation as he (humans) would be affectionate & loving, alongside practicing Justice. The Angel of Truth & the Angel of Peace opposed Man’s creation, as he (humans) would be full of lies & be quarrelsome.

To invalidate his protest, God cast the Angel of Truth down from Heaven to Earth. When the others cried out against the treatment of their companion, He said, “Truth will spring back out of the earth.” Before their objections, God had only told the Angels of the good that would be among the humans. But didn’t tell them of the evil, either.

Despite not knowing the whole truth, the angels were nevertheless prompted to cry out: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” God replied: “The fowl of the air & the fish of the sea, what were they created for? Of what avail a larder full of appetizing dainties, & no guest to enjoy them?” The angels couldn’t but exclaim: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the Earth! Do as is pleasing in Thy sight.” For not a few of the angels, their opposition bore fatal consequences.

When God summoned the band under the Archangel Michael & asked their opinion on the creation of man, they answered scornfully: “What in man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visited him?” God stretched out his little finger, & all were consumed by fire except their Chief Michael. And the same fate befell under the leadership of the archangel Gabriel; he alone of all was saved from destruction.

The 3rd band consulted by the Archangel Libbiel. He learned from his predecessors’ horrible fate, so he warned his troops. “You’ve seen what misfortune overtook the angels who said, ‘What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Let us have care not to do likewise, lest we suffer the same dire punishment. Gor God will not refrain from doing in the end what He has planned. Therefore, we should yield to His wishes.”

Having been warned, the angels spoke: “Lord of the world (Not the universe? Huh.), it’s well that Thou hast thought of creating man. Do Thou create him according to Thy will. And as for us, we’ll be his attendants & his minsters, & reveal unto him all our secrets.”

Thereupon, God changed Archangel Libbiel’s name to Raphael, the Rescuer, because his Host of Angels had been rescued by his sage advice. He was appointed the Angelic Prince of Healing, who has in his safekeeping all the celestial remedies, the types of medical remedies used on Earth.

In the Midrash Tanhuma (a.k.a. Yelammedenu, this is the name given to a homiletic Midrash on the ENTIRE Torah), Satan became envious of the righteous. R. Matthew bar Heresh, after seeing him sitting occupied in Torah study, without looking at anyone’s wife or any other woman.

Believing it to be impossible for a righteous man to exist in the world without sin, Satan asks God how He sees Rabbi Matthew; He sees him as completely righteous. Satan then asks for permission to test Rabbi Matthew (Is this starting to sound like the Job story to anyone else?), which God grants again.

So Satan transforms himself into a beautiful woman upon finding the rabbi studying the Torah. After seeing that Satan would continue to truly & tempt him from all sides. He (the Rabbi) used hot pins to blind himself, so his evil inclination prevailed. Satan trembles in dismay & goes back to report to God.

When God gets the report, He calls Raphael, Prince of the Healing Arts, commanding Raphael to go heal the rabbi’s eyes. When Raphael goes to the rabbi to heal him, Raphael reveals his identity & mission. Rabbi Matthew tells Raphael that he doesn’t want to be healed.

Raphael returns to God & tells God what the rabbi said. When hearing this, God commands Raphael to tell the rabbi not to fear, because his evil inclination will not prevail. When the rabbi heard this from Raphael’s mouth, the rabbi accepted the healing & wasn’t afraid.

In Rabbeinu Bahya, a commentary on the Torah written by Rabbi Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340), the Camp of Ephraim (situated to the west of the Tabernacle (Numbers 2:18)), corresponded to the celestial camp headed by the archangel Raphael, supported by the angels Zavdiel & Achziel.

It’s also said that this is the camp that Moses alluded to when he prayed that Miriam be asked from her tzaraath by saying “please God heal her” (Numbers 12:13). He appealed to the attribute represented by Raphael.

In the Beginning of Wisdom, an introduction to Kabbalistic thought composed by Rabbi Aharon Meir Altshuler (1835-1905) in Warsaw between 1887 and 1893. Raphael is said to be the Sephirah of Tiphereth (Beauty). He’s said to act as an intermediate conduit between Chesed (Kindness) corresponding to Michael, & Din (Judgment) corresponding to Gabriel. Uriel (a.k.a. Nuriel) is also said to act as an intermediate conductor alongside Raphael.

It’s explained that when he inclines to Chesed, he’s called Uriel. But when he inclines Din, he’s called Nuriel. In the same context, the Sefer Ha Bahir calls Raphael, the “Prince of Peace” (“Sar Salom”). The text states that the reconciliation between Michael (the prince of God’s right) & Gabriel (the prince of God’s left) is the meaning of the verse, “He imposes peace in His heights” (Job 23:2). With Raphael being the Archangel of Air that establishes peace between fire & water.

In Kabbalistic astrology, Raphael is most commonly associated with the Sun (alongside Michael) & Mercury (the planet). The Zohar associates him with the image of man in the tetramorph (A symbolic arrangement of 4 differing elements, or the combination of 4 disparate elements in 1 unit) of the Four Holy Living Creatures (these are a class of heavenly beings in Judaism, described in the 1st & 10th chapters of the Book of Ezekiel), alongside the zodiac sign of Aquarius, & in ration to the image of man; the Sephriah of Malkhuth (Kingdom) & the Earth.

As well as Tiphereth & Malkhuth, the Zohar also has Raphael corresponding to the Sephirah of Hod (Majesty), the Euphrates river, the left leg of the body, & the Israelite tribe of Ephraim.

It’s also customary in Judaism to invoke Raphael as 1 of the Four Archangels after 1 recites the Shema (This is a Jewish prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the Jewish morning & evening prayer services.) before going to bed; with Michael by your right side, Gabriel by your left side, Uriel before you, & Raphael behind you.

The New Testament only names 2 archangels (Michael & Gabriel, respectfully). But because of Raphael’s association with healing, he became identified with the unnamed angel of John 5:1-4, who periodically stirred up the Pool of Bethesda.

Because of his actions in the Book of Tobit & the Gospel of John, Raphael is considered a protector & healer. Thus, the patron of travelers, the blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, & Catholic studies.

He’s perhaps most seen in depictions of Tobias & the Angel, from the Book of Tobit, showing him walking with Tobias & his dog through a landscape. The subject became very popular in Italy from about 1450 for a century, as devotion to Raphael increased, at least partly through confraternities dedicated to him. A confraternity is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, & approved by the Church hierarchy.

In altarpieces & the like, Tobias, his fish, & his dog may be used as identifying attributes of Raphael.

Raphael is said to guard pilgrims on their journey, & when depicted as a single figure, is often depicted holding a staff. Also, he’s often pictured holding or standing on a fish, which alludes to his healing of Tobit with the fish’s gall. Early mosaics often show him & other archangels in the clothing of a Byzantine courtier.

The feast day of Raphael was included for the 1st time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, on October 24. With the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the feast was transferred to September 29 for celebration together with the archangels Saints Michael & Gabriel.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum permitted, within certain limits for public use, the General Roman Calendar of 1960, which has October 24 as Raphael’s feast day. He’s commemorated in some Spanish dioceses on the old date & with a procession on May 7 in Cordoba, Spain.

In the Diocese of Warsaw-Praga, he’s commemorated on October 3 (with Michael & Gabriel). The feast was transferred from September 29 (Devotion of St. Florian’s Cathedral).

The archangel Raphael is commemorated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on November 8 in the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers.

In the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the dedication of the church of St. Raphael on the back of a whale is commemorated on August 26 (or 3 Pagumen, this is an intercalary month of the ancient Egyptian, Coptic, & Ethiopean calendars are a period of 5 days in common years & 6 days in leap years in addition to those calendars’ 12 standard months, sometimes reconned as their 13th month.).

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Raphael’s feast on Kouji Nabot 3 & Koiak 13.

In the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate, St. Raphael the Archangel is commemorated on October 24.

The Archangel Raphael is said to have appeared in Cordoba, Spain, during the 16th century. In response to the city’s appeal, Pope Innocent X allowed the local celebration of a feast in the Archangel’s honor on May 7, the date of the principal apparition.

St. John of God (founder of the Hospital order that bears his name) is also said to have received visitations from Saint Raphael, who encouraged & instructed him.

In tribute to this, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God’s facilities are called “Raphael Centers” to this day. The 18th-century Neapolitan nun, St. Maria Francesca of the 5 Wounds, is also said to have seen apparitions of St. Raphael.

In the Mormon tradition, Doctrine & Covenants 128:21 (this is part of a letter dated Sept. 7, 1842) refers to an appearance or manifestation of Raphael to Joseph Smith as 1 of several angels who had appeared to him either together or separately.

Raphael is a venerated archangel, according to Islamic tradition. In Islam, he’s called Israfil. Israfil will blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Day of Judgment (Yawn al-Qiyamah). The trumpet is constantly poised at his lips, ready to go at Allah’s orders.

Certain Islamic sources indicate that, created at the beginning of time, Israfil has 4 wings, & is so tall as to be able to reach from the earth to the pillars of Heaven. A beautiful angel who is a master of music, Israfil sings praises to God in 1,000 different languages, the breath of which is used to inject life into hosts of angels who add to the songs themselves.

Further, he’s probably the highest angel, since he also mediates between God & other archangels, reading on the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfooz) to transmit the commands of God. Although disputed, some reports assert he visited Muhammad prior to the archangel Gabriel.

According to Sufi traditions reported by Imam Rafa’il, the Ghawth or Qutb (‘perfect human being’) is someone who has a heart that resembles that of the archangel Israfil, signifying the loftiness of this angel. The next in are the saints who are known as the Umdah or Awtad, amongst whom the highest ones have their hearts resembling that of the archangel Mikhail (Michael), & the rest of the lower-ranking saints having the heart of Jibrail (Gabriel), & that of the previous prophets before the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The earth is believed to always have 1 of the Qutb.

In another account, Rafa’il is mentioned by name in the Islamic tradition narrated by Ath-Tha’labi from Ali. He’s said to have met Dhu al-Qarnayn, who’s mentioned in the last part of Sura 18 of the Quran, al-Kahf (“The Cave”). Dhu al-Qarnayn (The 2 Horned One) is believed by some to be Alexander the Great.

The angel told Dhu al-Qarnayn about the Water of Life (Ayn al-Hayat). Hearing that there was such a spring, Dhu al-Qarnayn wanted to drink the Water of Life. But the only 1 who had succeeded in drinking it was his cousin, Khidir. In Islamic tradition, Khidr is the mystical guide popularly quoted, especially in Sufi traditions, who has attained a long life & appears to have selected Islamic saints throughout the times.

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Archangel Uriel

Uriel means “God is my flame.” His name could be spelled Auriel or Oriel. He’s one of the archangels who’s mentioned in Rabbinic tradition & in certain Christian traditions.

He’s well known in the Russian Orthodox tradition & in folk Catholicism (in both he’s considered to be 1 of the 7 major archangels). In Anglicanism, he’s also well known in European esoteric medieval literature.

Uriel is also known as a master of knowledge & archangel of wisdom. He’s associated with the truth.

In apocryphal, kabbalistic, & occult works, Uriel has been equated (or confused) with Urial, Nuriel, Uryan, Jeremiel, Vretil, Sariel, Puruel, Phanuel, Azrael, & Raphael.

In the Secret Book of John (an early Gnostic work), Uriel is placed in control of the demons who help Yaldabaoth create Adam.

Of the 7 Archangels in the angelology of Judaism, only 2 of them (Gabriel & Michael) are mentioned by name in the canonized Jewish scripture. Where a 4th archangel is added to the named 3 (to represent the 4 cardinal points), Uriel is generally the 4th. Uriel is listed as the 4th angel by Christian Gnostics, under the name of Phanuel.

Uriel appears in the 2nd Book of Esdras, which is found in the Biblical apocrypha (called Esdras IV in the Vulgate). In this, the prophet Ezra asks God a series of questions, & God sends Uriel to instruct him. According to the Revelation of Esdras, the angels who will rule at the end of the world are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Gabuthelon, Beburos, Zebuleion, Aker, & Arphugitonos. The final 5 listed appear only in the book & nowhere else in apocryphal or apocalyptics works.

In Christian apocryphal Gospels, Uriel plays a role (differing between the sources) in the rescue of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, from the Massacre of the Innocents ordered by King Herod. He carries John & his mom, St. Elizabeth, to join the Holy Family after their flight into Egypt. Their reunion is pictured in da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks (a.k.a. Madonna of the Rocks).

Uriel is often identified as a cherub & the angel of repentance. He stood at the Garden of Eden with a fiery sword, or as the angel who’s over the world & over Tartarus. In the Apocalypse of Peter, he appears as the angel of repentance, who is graphically represented as being as pitiless as any demon.

In the Life of Adam & Eve, Uriel is regarded as the spirit (1 of the cherubs) of the 3rd chapter of Genesis. He’s also identified as 1 of the angels who helped bury Adam & Abel in Eden. He checked the doors of Egypt for lamb’s blood during the plague. He held the key to the pit during the end times, & led Abraham to the west.

In modern angelology, Uriel is identified variously as a seraph, cherub, regent of the sun, flame of God, angel of the divine presence, presider over Tartarus/Hell, archangel of salvation, & in later scriptures, identified with Phanuel (“God has turned”). He’s often pictured carrying a book or a papyrus scroll representing wisdom. Uriel is a patron of the arts.

In the Eastern Orthodox churches, Uriel is commemorated together with the other archangels & angels with a feast day of the “Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers” on November 8 of the liturgical calendar. For those churches which follow the Julian calendar, November 8 & falls on November 21 on the modern Gregorian calendar.

He’s regarded as the patron saint of the arts & sciences. In addition, every Monday throughout the year is dedicated to the angels.

The Anglicans & Coptic Christians of Ethiopia & Eritrea venerate archangel Uriel. According to the latter, July 11 is his feast day. In the Ethiopian Homily on the Archangel Uriel, he’s pictured as 1 of the great archangels & as the angelus interpres who has interpreted prophecies to Enoch & Ezra, & the helper of both of them.

According to the Homily, at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, Uriel dipped his wing in the blood & water flowing from Christ’s flank & Filled a cup with it. Carrying the cup, he & the archangel Michael rushed into the world & sprinkled it all over Ethiopia.

In every place where a drop of blood fell, a church was built. Thus, Uriel is often pictured carrying a chalice filled with the blood of Christ in Ethiopian Orthodox iconography. Uriel is honored in the Lutheran Churches as well, with churches including statuary of the archangels Gabriel, Uriel, Michael, & Raphael.

At the Council of Rome of 745, Pope Zachary (intending to clarify the church’s teaching on angels & curbs a tendency toward angel worship) condemned obsession with angelic intervention & angelology. But reaffirmed the approval of the practice of the reverence of angels.

This Synod struck many angels’ names from the list of those eligible for veneration in the church of Rome, including Uriel. Only the reverence of the archangels is mentioned in the recognized Catholic canon of scriptures, namely, Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael, remained acceptable.

In the 16th century, Archangel Uriel appeared before the Sicilian friar Antonio Lo Duca & told him to build a church in the Termini area. Lo Duca told Pope Pius IV about the apparition, and the pope then asked Michelangelo to design the church, which became the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels & of the Martyrs located at the Esedra Plaza.

In the 1st half of the 11th century, Bulgarian followers of the duelist heresy called Bogomilism, who lived in the dukedom of Ahtum in present-day Banat, invoked Uriel in rituals. This was witnessed by Gerard of Csanad, the Catholic bishop of the area after 1028. Uriel was also named in a small exorcism in the 15th century.

The Book of Enoch (which presents itself as written by Enoch) mentions Uriel in many of its component books. In chapter IX, part of “The Book of the Watchers” (2nd century BC), only 4 angels are named. Those angels are Michael, Uriel, Raphael, & Gabriel. Though some versions have a 5th angel: Suryal or Suriel.

However, chapter XX later lists 7 angels’ names & functions. Those angels are “Uriel, 1 of the holy angels, who’s over the world & over Tartarus,” Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, & Remiel.

The Book of the Watchers tells us that Uriel, Raphael, & Gabriel were present before God to testify on behalf of humankind. They ask for divine intervention during the reign of the fallen Grigori (fallen watchers). These fallen ones took human wives & had half-“angel,” half-human offspring called the Nephilim.

Uriel was responsible for warning our boy Noah about the upcoming deluge. After judgment has been brought up on the Nephilim & the Fallen Ones, including the 2 main leaders, Samyaza & Azazel. Uriel then acts as a guide for Enoch for the rest of the Book of Watchers.

In the traditions & hagiography of the Episcopal & other Anglican churches, Uriel is mentioned as an archangel. He’s recognized as the patron saint of the sacrament of confirmation. In some Episcopal churches, Uriel is also regarded as the keeper of beauty & light, & regent of the sun & constellations.

In iconography, he’s shown holding in his right hand a Greek Ionic column, which symbolizes perfection in aesthetics & man-made beauty, and in his left hand is a staff topped with the sun. He is celebrated in the Anglican liturgical calendars of the Feast of the Archangels. The Church of St. Uriel the Archangel at Sea Girt, New Jersey, is a testimony to Anglicans’ devotion to Uriel.

In Hermetic Kabbalah, Uriel’s name is commonly spelled Auriel. He’s regarded as the archangel of the North, & of the element of Earth. According to the teaching of the modern Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Uriel is the archangel of North & East, & is associated with the vegetation of the Earth. In iconography, he’s depicted holding stems of ripened wheat & wearing robes of citrine (a medium deep shade of golden yellow), russet (dark brown with a reddish-orange tinge), olive (like green olives), & black.

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Archangel Michael

Also called Michael the Taxiarch. A taxiarch is used in the Greek language to mean “brigadier,” or a commander of a company. In Greek Orthodoxy, it refers to the Archangels Michael or Gabriel as leaders of the heavenly hosts.

Michael is an archangel & warrior of God in Christianity, Islam, & Judaism. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in the 2nd or 3rd centuries BC Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic. In these works, he’s the chief of the angels & archangels. He’s the guardian prince of Israel & is responsible for the care of the people of Israel.

Christianity conserved nearly all of Jewish traditions concerning him. He’s mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7-12, where he does battle with Satan, & in the Epistle of Jude, where the archangel & the devil have an argument over the body of Moses.

The Book of Enoch lists Michael as 1 of 7 archangels. The remaining names are: Uriel, Raguel, Raphael, Sariel, Gabriel, & Remiel. He’s mentioned again in the last chapters of the Book of Daniel, a Jewish apocalypse composed in the 2nd century BC, in which a man clothed in linen tells Daniel that he & “Michael, your prince” are engaged in a battle with the “prince of Persia,” after which, at the end-time, “Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.”

Enoch was instrumental in establishing the pre-eminent place of Michael among the angels & archangels. In later Jewish works, he’s said to be their chief, mediating the Torah, & standing at the right hand of the throne of God.

In the traditions of the Qumran community, he defends, or leads, the people of God in the end-time battle. In other writings, he’s responsible for the care of Israel & acts as commander of the heavenly armies. He’s Israel’s advocate, contesting Satan’s claim to the body of Moses.

He intercedes between God & humanity & serves as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. (So would this make him Aaron’s equal? We’re sincerely asking. Let us know your take in the comments.) He accompanies the souls of the righteous dead to Paradise.

The 7 archangels (or 4, as traditions differ, but always include Michael) were associated with the branches of the menorah, the sacred 7-branched lamp stand in the Temple, as the 7 spirits before the throne of God. This is reflected in the Book of Revelation 4:5. Michael is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7-12, where he does battle with Satan & casts him out of heaven so that he no longer has that exclusive access to God as accuser (his former role in the Old Testament).

Satan’s fall at the coming of Jesus marks the separation of the New Testament from Judaism. In Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked God for permission to “sift” the disciples, the goal being to accuse them. But the accusation by Jesus, who thus takes on the role played by angels, & especially by Michael, in Judaism.

Michael is mentioned by anem for the 2nd time in the Epistle of Jude, which is an impassioned plea for the believers to engage in battle against the incursion of the error. In verses 9-10, the author denounces the heretics by contrasting them with the archangel Michael, who, in disputing with Satan over the body of Moses.

According to rabbinic tradition, Michael acted as the advocate of Israel. Sometimes he had to fight with the princes of other nations (Daniel 10:13), & particularly with the angel Samael, Israel’s accuser. Their hostility dates from the time Samael was thrown from heaven & tried to drag Michael down with him, requiring God’s intervention.

The rabbis declare that Michael came into his role as defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs. Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said Michael rescued Abraham from the furnace into which he’d been thrown by Nimrod. Some say he was the “one that had escaped” (Genesis 14:13), who told Abraham that Lot had been taken captive & who protected Sarah from defilement by Abimelech.

Michael prevented Isaac’s being sacrificed by his dad by substituting a ram in his place. He saved Jacob, while still in his mom’s womb, from death at the hands of Samuel. Michael later prevented Laban from hurting Jacob. The midrash Exodus Rabbah holds that Michael exercised his function as an advocate of Israel at the time of the Exodus & destroyed Sennacherib’s army.

Epiphanius of Salamis (circa 310-circa 320-403), in his Coptic-Arabic Hexaemeron, referred to Michael as a replacement of Satan. Accordingly, after Satan fell, Michael was appointed to the function Satan served when he was still 1 of the noble angels.

A painting of Michael slaying a serpent became a major art piece at the Michaelion after Constantine defeated Licinius near there in 324. This contributed to the standard iconography that developed of Michael as a warrior saint slaying a dragon. The Michaelion was a magnificent church & in time became a model for hundreds of other churches in Eastern Christianity.

In the 4th century, St. Basil the Great’s homily, De Angelis, St. Michael over all the angels. He was called “Archangel” because he heralds other angels, the title archangelos applied to him in Jude 1:9. The angelology of Pseudo-Dionysius, which was widely read as of the 6th century, gave Michael a rank in the hierarchy of angels.

Later, in the 13th century, others such as Bonventure believed him to be Prince of the Seraphim, the 1st of the 9 angelic orders. According to Thomas Aquinas, Michael is the Prince of the last & lowest choir, the Angels.

Catholics often refer to Michael as “Holy Michael, the Archangel” or “St. Michael.” He’s generally referred to in Christian liturgies as “St. Michael,” as in the Litany of the Saints. In a shortened archangel, is mentioned by name, omitting Saints Gabriel & Raphael.

In Roman Catholic teachings, St. Michael has 4 main roles or offices. His 1st role is the leader of the Army of God & the leader of celestial forces in triumphing over the powers of Hell. He’s viewed as the angelic model for the virtues of the “spiritual warrior,” his conflict with evil taken as “the battle within.”

The 2nd & 3rd roles of Michael in Catholic teachings deal with death. In his 2nd role, he’s the angel of death, carrying the souls of Christians to Heaven. In his 3rd role, he weighs souls on his perfectly balanced scales. The scales are a common object he holds in art.

In his 4th role, St. Michael, the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament, is also Guardian of the Church. St. Michael was revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages. The names of villages around the Bay of Biscay reflect this history.

The Eastern Orthodox give Michael the title Archistrategos, or “Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts.” The Eastern Orthodox pray to their guardian angels & above all, to Michael & Gabriel. The Eastern Orthodox have always had a strong devotion to angels. In modern times, they’re referred to by the term “Bodiless Powers.” Several feasts dedicated to Archangel Michael are celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox throughout the year.

In Russia, many monasteries, cathedrals, courts, & merchant churches are dedicated to the Chief Commander Michael. Most Russian cities have a church or chapel dedicated to the archangel Michael. In Ukraine, the archangel Michael is the patron saint of Kyiv. He became popular from the time of Prince Vsevolod of Kyivan Rus’.

While in the Serbian Orthodox Church, St. Sava has a special role as the establisher of its autocephaly & largest Belgrade church devoted to him, the capital Belgrade’s Orthodox cathedral, the see church of the patriarch, is devoted to Michael.

The place of Michael in the Coptic Church of Alexandra is as a saintly intercessor. He’s the 1 who presents to God the prayers of the just, who accompanies the souls of the dead to Heaven, who defeats the devil. He’s celebrated liturgically on the 12th of each Coptic month.

In Alexandria, a church was dedicated to him in the early 4th century on the 12th of the month of Paoni. The 12th month of Hathor is the celebration of Michael’s appointment in Heaven, where Michael became the chief of the angels.

Seventh-Day Adventists believe that “Michael” is but 1 of many titles applied to the pre-existent Christ, or Son of God. According to Adventist theology, Michael was/is considered the “Eternal Word,” & the 1 by whom all things were created. The Word was then born, incarnated as Jesus.

They believe that the name “Michael” signifies “One Who Is Like God” & that, as the “Archangel” or “chief or head of the angels,” he led the angels; thus, the statement in Revelation 12:7-9 refers to Jesus as Michael.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Michael is another name for Jesus in Heaven, in His pre-human & post-resurrection existence. They say the definite article in Jude 9 identifies Michael as the only archangel. They consider Michael to be synonymous with Christ, described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, & with the sound of the trumpet.”

They believe the prominent roles assigned to Michael in Daniel 12:1, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 16, & Revelation 19:14 are identical to Jesus’ roles, being the 1 chosen to lead God’s people & as the only 1 who “stands up,” identifying the 2 as the same spirit being.

Because they identify Michael with Jesus, he’s considered the 1st & greatest of all God’s heavenly “sons,” God’s chief messenger, who takes the lead in vindicating God’s sovereignty, sanctifying his name, fighting the wicked forces of Satan & protecting God’s covenant people on earth. Jehovah’s Witnesses also identify Michael with the “Angel of the Lord” who led & protected the Israelites in the wilderness.

Members of the Mormon Church believe that Michael is Adam (of Adam & Eve fame), the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7), a prince, & the patriarch of the human family. They also hold that Michael assisted Jehovah (the pre-mortal form of Jesus) in the creation of the world under the direction of God the Father (Elohim). Under the direction of the Father, Michael also cast Satan out of Heaven.

In Islam, Mika’il (Michael) is 1 of 4 archangels along with Jibril (Gabriel, whom he’s often paired with), Israfil (trumpeter angel) & ‘Azra’il (angel of death). In other Islamic literature, Michael is associated with mercy. He asks God for forgiveness for humans & is 1 of the 1st angels who obeyed God’s orders to bow before Adam.

From the tears of Michael, angels of mercy are created as his helpers. Like Gabriel, with whom he’s often mentioned together, Michael is also a messenger. While Gabriel delivers messages from Heaven to humans, Michael delivers messages to the angelic world.

As the angel to execute God’s providence, he’s also associated with natural phenomena & causes rain upon the lands. Unlike Christian traditions, Michael is rarely shown as a warrior-angel, with a few references to the Battle of Badr by Suyuti as an exception.

The Miraj literature on occasion mentions both Gabriel & Michael as 2 angels who showed Muhammad Paradise & Hell. He’s mentioned in Shia supplication (Dua), reportedly handed down by the 6th Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, in the prayers for blessings for the Bearers of the Throne.

The figures of Michael & Gabriel/Jibril serve as dual pillars of angelology. While they show up in the same texts, their “personalities” & mythological roles are distinct. Michael is the celestial soldier & protector. While Gabriel is the bridge between the divine mind & the human ear.

The name Michael (Mikha’el) translates from Hebrew as a rhetorical question: “Who is like God?” This name is actually a battle cry used during the primordial war in Heaven.

In the Book of Daniel, Michael is described as the “Great Prince” who stands guard over the people of Israel. Jewish Midrash expands on this. It suggests that Michael is the high priest of the Heavenly Temple. When other nations’ guardian angels argue against Israel, Michael acts as the defense in the celestial courtroom. Because after all, God is the judge of all.

Michael’s most iconic role comes from the Book of Revelation. Here, he leads an army of God against the Dragon (a.k.a. Satan). He’s almost always dressed in Roman/Medieval armor, standing over a defeated demon/dragon, holding a spear/sword.

In Catholic traditions, Michael has a secondary role as the Psychopomp. A Psychopomp is a conductor or a guide of souls. The 1 who “weighs” souls at the moment of death. This is why he’s sometimes shown with scales.

In Islamic tradition, Mikail (Michael) is 1 of 4 archangels. While Jibril feeds the soul (through revelation), Mikail is the Angel of Sustenance. He’s responsible for the forces of nature, specifically rain & lightning. Legends say he’s so moved by the majesty of God that he hasn’t smiled since the creation of Hell.

In the United States, Michael is the patron saint of paratroopers, police officers, & the military.

In the General Roman Calendar, the Anglican Calendar of Saints, & the Lutheran Calendar of Saints, Michael’s feast day is Michaelmas Day (September 29). The day is also the feast day of St. Gabriel & Raphael, in the General Roman Calendar & the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels in the Church of England.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Michael’s principal feast day is November 8. November 21, if they’re using the Gregorian calendar. Honoring him along with the rest of the “Bodiless Powers of Heaven” (angels) as their Supreme Commander, & the Miracle at Chonae is celebrated on September 6.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the main feast day is on 12 Hathor (between November 9 & December 9) & 12 Paoni (between June 8 & July 7). He is celebrated liturgically on the 12th of each Coptic month.

On April 7, the Oriental Orthodox Church commemorates the deliverance of the prophet Jeremiah from prison by Michael.

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Archangel Michael

Also called Michael the Taxiarch. A taxiarch is used in the Greek language to mean “brigadier,” or a commander of a company. In Greek Orthodoxy, it refers to the Archangels Michael or Gabriel as leaders of the heavenly hosts.

Michael is an archangel & warrior of God in Christianity, Islam, & Judaism. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in the 2nd or 3rd centuries BC Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic. In these works, he’s the chief of the angels & archangels. He’s the guardian prince of Israel & is responsible for the care of the people of Israel.

Christianity conserved nearly all of Jewish traditions concerning him. He’s mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7-12, where he does battle with Satan, & in the Epistle of Jude, where the archangel & the devil have an argument over the body of Moses.

The Book of Enoch lists Michael as 1 of 7 archangels. The remaining names are: Uriel, Raguel, Raphael, Sariel, Gabriel, & Remiel. He’s mentioned again in the last chapters of the Book of Daniel, a Jewish apocalypse composed in the 2nd century BC, in which a man clothed in linen tells Daniel that he & “Michael, your prince” are engaged in a battle with the “prince of Persia,” after which, at the end-time, “Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.”

Enoch was instrumental in establishing the pre-eminent place of Michael among the angels & archangels. In later Jewish works, he’s said to be their chief, mediating the Torah, & standing at the right hand of the throne of God.

In the traditions of the Qumran community, he defends, or leads, the people of God in the end-time battle. In other writings, he’s responsible for the care of Israel & acts as commander of the heavenly armies. He’s Israel’s advocate, contesting Satan’s claim to the body of Moses.

He intercedes between God & humanity & serves as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. (So would this make him Aaron’s equal? We’re sincerely asking. Let us know your take in the comments.) He accompanies the souls of the righteous dead to Paradise.

The 7 archangels (or 4, as traditions differ, but always include Michael) were associated with the branches of the menorah, the sacred 7-branched lamp stand in the Temple, as the 7 spirits before the throne of God. This is reflected in the Book of Revelation 4:5. Michael is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7-12, where he does battle with Satan & casts him out of heaven so that he no longer has that exclusive access to God as accuser (his former role in the Old Testament).

Satan’s fall at the coming of Jesus marks the separation of the New Testament from Judaism. In Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked God for permission to “sift” the disciples, the goal being to accuse them. But the accusation by Jesus, who thus takes on the role played by angels, & especially by Michael, in Judaism.

Michael is mentioned by anem for the 2nd time in the Epistle of Jude, which is an impassioned plea for the believers to engage in battle against the incursion of the error. In verses 9-10, the author denounces the heretics by contrasting them with the archangel Michael, who, in disputing with Satan over the body of Moses.

According to rabbinic tradition, Michael acted as the advocate of Israel. Sometimes he had to fight with the princes of other nations (Daniel 10:13), & particularly with the angel Samael, Israel’s accuser. Their hostility dates from the time Samael was thrown from heaven & tried to drag Michael down with him, requiring God’s intervention.

The rabbis declare that Michael came into his role as defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs. Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said Michael rescued Abraham from the furnace into which he’d been thrown by Nimrod. Some say he was the “one that had escaped” (Genesis 14:13), who told Abraham that Lot had been taken captive & who protected Sarah from defilement by Abimelech.

Michael prevented Isaac’s being sacrificed by his dad by substituting a ram in his place. He saved Jacob, while still in his mom’s womb, from death at the hands of Samuel. Michael later prevented Laban from hurting Jacob. The midrash Exodus Rabbah holds that Michael exercised his function as an advocate of Israel at the time of the Exodus & destroyed Sennacherib’s army.

Epiphanius of Salamis (circa 310-circa 320-403), in his Coptic-Arabic Hexaemeron, referred to Michael as a replacement of Satan. Accordingly, after Satan fell, Michael was appointed to the function Satan served when he was still 1 of the noble angels.

A painting of Michael slaying a serpent became a major art piece at the Michaelion after Constantine defeated Licinius near there in 324. This contributed to the standard iconography that developed of Michael as a warrior saint slaying a dragon. The Michaelion was a magnificent church & in time became a model for hundreds of other churches in Eastern Christianity.

In the 4th century, St. Basil the Great’s homily, De Angelis, St. Michael over all the angels. He was called “Archangel” because he heralds other angels, the title archangelos applied to him in Jude 1:9. The angelology of Pseudo-Dionysius, which was widely read as of the 6th century, gave Michael a rank in the hierarchy of angels.

Later, in the 13th century, others such as Bonventure believed him to be Prince of the Seraphim, the 1st of the 9 angelic orders. According to Thomas Aquinas, Michael is the Prince of the last & lowest choir, the Angels.

Catholics often refer to Michael as “Holy Michael, the Archangel” or “St. Michael.” He’s generally referred to in Christian liturgies as “St. Michael,” as in the Litany of the Saints. In a shortened archangel, is mentioned by name, omitting Saints Gabriel & Raphael.

In Roman Catholic teachings, St. Michael has 4 main roles or offices. His 1st role is the leader of the Army of God & the leader of celestial forces in triumphing over the powers of Hell. He’s viewed as the angelic model for the virtues of the “spiritual warrior,” his conflict with evil taken as “the battle within.”

The 2nd & 3rd roles of Michael in Catholic teachings deal with death. In his 2nd role, he’s the angel of death, carrying the souls of Christians to Heaven. In his 3rd role, he weighs souls on his perfectly balanced scales. The scales are a common object he holds in art.

In his 4th role, St. Michael, the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament, is also Guardian of the Church. St. Michael was revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages. The names of villages around the Bay of Biscay reflect this history.

The Eastern Orthodox give Michael the title Archistrategos, or “Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts.” The Eastern Orthodox pray to their guardian angels & above all, to Michael & Gabriel. The Eastern Orthodox have always had a strong devotion to angels. In modern times, they’re referred to by the term “Bodiless Powers.” Several feasts dedicated to Archangel Michael are celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox throughout the year.

In Russia, many monasteries, cathedrals, courts, & merchant churches are dedicated to the Chief Commander Michael. Most Russian cities have a church or chapel dedicated to the archangel Michael. In Ukraine, the archangel Michael is the patron saint of Kyiv. He became popular from the time of Prince Vsevolod of Kyivan Rus’.

While in the Serbian Orthodox Church, St. Sava has a special role as the establisher of its autocephaly & largest Belgrade church devoted to him, the capital Belgrade’s Orthodox cathedral, the see church of the patriarch, is devoted to Michael.

The place of Michael in the Coptic Church of Alexandra is as a saintly intercessor. He’s the 1 who presents to God the prayers of the just, who accompanies the souls of the dead to Heaven, who defeats the devil. He’s celebrated liturgically on the 12th of each Coptic month.

In Alexandria, a church was dedicated to him in the early 4th century on the 12th of the month of Paoni. The 12th month of Hathor is the celebration of Michael’s appointment in Heaven, where Michael became the chief of the angels.

Seventh-Day Adventists believe that “Michael” is but 1 of many titles applied to the pre-existent Christ, or Son of God. According to Adventist theology, Michael was/is considered the “Eternal Word,” & the 1 by whom all things were created. The Word was then born, incarnated as Jesus.

They believe that the name “Michael” signifies “One Who Is Like God” & that, as the “Archangel” or “chief or head of the angels,” he led the angels; thus, the statement in Revelation 12:7-9 refers to Jesus as Michael.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Michael is another name for Jesus in Heaven, in His pre-human & post-resurrection existence. They say the definite article in Jude 9 identifies Michael as the only archangel. They consider Michael to be synonymous with Christ, described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, & with the sound of the trumpet.”

They believe the prominent roles assigned to Michael in Daniel 12:1, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 16, & Revelation 19:14 are identical to Jesus’ roles, being the 1 chosen to lead God’s people & as the only 1 who “stands up,” identifying the 2 as the same spirit being.

Because they identify Michael with Jesus, he’s considered the 1st & greatest of all God’s heavenly “sons,” God’s chief messenger, who takes the lead in vindicating God’s sovereignty, sanctifying his name, fighting the wicked forces of Satan & protecting God’s covenant people on earth. Jehovah’s Witnesses also identify Michael with the “Angel of the Lord” who led & protected the Israelites in the wilderness.

Members of the Mormon Church believe that Michael is Adam (of Adam & Eve fame), the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7), a prince, & the patriarch of the human family. They also hold that Michael assisted Jehovah (the pre-mortal form of Jesus) in the creation of the world under the direction of God the Father (Elohim). Under the direction of the Father, Michael also cast Satan out of Heaven.

In Islam, Mika’il (Michael) is 1 of 4 archangels along with Jibril (Gabriel, whom he’s often paired with), Israfil (trumpeter angel) & ‘Azra’il (angel of death). In other Islamic literature, Michael is associated with mercy. He asks God for forgiveness for humans & is 1 of the 1st angels who obeyed God’s orders to bow before Adam.

From the tears of Michael, angels of mercy are created as his helpers. Like Gabriel, with whom he’s often mentioned together, Michael is also a messenger. While Gabriel delivers messages from Heaven to humans, Michael delivers messages to the angelic world.

As the angel to execute God’s providence, he’s also associated with natural phenomena & causes rain upon the lands. Unlike Christian traditions, Michael is rarely shown as a warrior-angel, with a few references to the Battle of Badr by Suyuti as an exception.

The Miraj literature on occasion mentions both Gabriel & Michael as 2 angels who showed Muhammad Paradise & Hell. He’s mentioned in Shia supplication (Dua), reportedly handed down by the 6th Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, in the prayers for blessings for the Bearers of the Throne.

The figures of Michael & Gabriel/Jibril serve as dual pillars of angelology. While they show up in the same texts, their “personalities” & mythological roles are distinct. Michael is the celestial soldier & protector. While Gabriel is the bridge between the divine mind & the human ear.

The name Michael (Mikha’el) translates from Hebrew as a rhetorical question: “Who is like God?” This name is actually a battle cry used during the primordial war in Heaven.

In the Book of Daniel, Michael is described as the “Great Prince” who stands guard over the people of Israel. Jewish Midrash expands on this. It suggests that Michael is the high priest of the Heavenly Temple. When other nations’ guardian angels argue against Israel, Michael acts as the defense in the celestial courtroom. Because after all, God is the judge of all.

Michael’s most iconic role comes from the Book of Revelation. Here, he leads an army of God against the Dragon (a.k.a. Satan). He’s almost always dressed in Roman/Medieval armor, standing over a defeated demon/dragon, holding a spear/sword.

In Catholic traditions, Michael has a secondary role as the Psychopomp. A Psychopomp is a conductor or a guide of souls. The 1 who “weighs” souls at the moment of death. This is why he’s sometimes shown with scales.

In Islamic tradition, Mikail (Michael) is 1 of 4 archangels. While Jibril feeds the soul (through revelation), Mikail is the Angel of Sustenance. He’s responsible for the forces of nature, specifically rain & lightning. Legends say he’s so moved by the majesty of God that he hasn’t smiled since the creation of Hell.

In the United States, Michael is the patron saint of paratroopers, police officers, & the military.

In the General Roman Calendar, the Anglican Calendar of Saints, & the Lutheran Calendar of Saints, Michael’s feast day is Michaelmas Day (September 29). The day is also the feast day of St. Gabriel & Raphael, in the General Roman Calendar & the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels in the Church of England.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Michael’s principal feast day is November 8. November 21, if they’re using the Gregorian calendar. Honoring him along with the rest of the “Bodiless Powers of Heaven” (angels) as their Supreme Commander, & the Miracle at Chonae is celebrated on September 6.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the main feast day is on 12 Hathor (between November 9 & December 9) & 12 Paoni (between June 8 & July 7). He is celebrated liturgically on the 12th of each Coptic month.

On April 7, the Oriental Orthodox Church commemorates the deliverance of the prophet Jeremiah from prison by Michael.

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Why Italians Eat Zeppole on St. Joseph’s Day: Traditions, History & Meaning #StJosephsDay #FeastDay #TraditionAndFaith #CatholicCulture #ItalianHeritage #CelebrateTogether #FestiveVibes #DiscoverMore https://www.gsnsp.com/why-italians-eat-zeppole-st-josephs-day-traditions/

Saint Patrick is honored as the patron saint of Ireland 🙏

Captured as a young man and taken into slavery, he found strength in prayer. After escaping, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary, preaching, baptizing, and building churches across the land.

His life shows courage, forgiveness, and trust in God’s plan. On March 17, we remember his faith and his mission to share the Good News ✝️

https://young-catholics.com/750/st-patrick/

#SaintPatrick #CatholicSaints #FeastDay #FaithAndMission

Saint Patrick is honored as the patron saint of Ireland 🙏

Captured as a young man and taken into slavery, he found strength in prayer. After escaping, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary, preaching, baptizing, and building churches across the land.

His life shows courage, forgiveness, and trust in God’s plan. On March 17, we remember his faith and his mission to share the Good News ✝️

https://young-catholics.com/750/st-patrick/

#SaintPatrick #CatholicSaints #FeastDay #FaithAndMission

Saint Patrick is honored as the patron saint of Ireland 🙏

Captured as a young man and taken into slavery, he found strength in prayer. After escaping, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary, preaching, baptizing, and building churches across the land.

His life shows courage, forgiveness, and trust in God’s plan. On March 17, we remember his faith and his mission to share the Good News ✝️

https://young-catholics.com/750/st-patrick/

#SaintPatrick #CatholicSaints #FeastDay #FaithAndMission

St. Joseph’s Day: Italian Traditions and the Zeppole, Why Italians Eat Zeppole on St. Joseph’s Day, History & Meaning #stjosephsday #FestaDiSanGiuseppe #stjoseph #zeppole #italianpastries #italianfood #bakingfromscratch #Recipe #italiantraditions #feastday https://www.gsnsp.com/why-italians-eat-zeppole-st-josephs-day-traditions/

📍
"Today, January 18th, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint Athanasius the Great."🙏
#SaintAthanasiusTheGreat
#Orthodox #FeastDay #Faith #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon

📍
"Today, January 18th, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint Athanasius the Great."🙏
#SaintAthanasiusTheGreat
#Orthodox #FeastDay #Faith #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon

📍
"Today, January 18th, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint Athanasius the Great."🙏
#SaintAthanasiusTheGreat
#Orthodox #FeastDay #Faith #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon

📍
"Today, January 18th, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint Athanasius the Great."🙏
#SaintAthanasiusTheGreat
#Orthodox #FeastDay #Faith #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon

📍
"Today, January 18th, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint Athanasius the Great."🙏
#SaintAthanasiusTheGreat
#Orthodox #FeastDay #Faith #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon

Saint Anthony the Great is the patron of Animals, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. 10 facts for his feast day.

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2026/01/17-january-st-anthony-great.html

#Saints #Religion #AnthonyTheGreat #FeastDay

Saint Anthony the Great is the patron of Animals, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. 10 facts for his feast day.

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2026/01/17-january-st-anthony-great.html

#Saints #Religion #AnthonyTheGreat #FeastDay

Saint Anthony the Great is the patron of Animals, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. 10 facts for his feast day.

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2026/01/17-january-st-anthony-great.html

#Saints #Religion #AnthonyTheGreat #FeastDay

Saint Anthony the Great is the patron of Animals, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. 10 facts for his feast day.

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2026/01/17-january-st-anthony-great.html

#Saints #Religion #AnthonyTheGreat #FeastDay

Saint Anthony the Great is the patron of Animals, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. 10 facts for his feast day.

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2026/01/17-january-st-anthony-great.html

#Saints #Religion #AnthonyTheGreat #FeastDay

Celebrating Hild

Today is the Feast Day of Hild of Whitby,1 patron saint of learning and culture (including poetry), who died on this day in 680, having spent 66 years kicking ass and not bothering to take names. We believe she was originally buried at her main foundation of Streoneshalh, now known as Whitby, but sometime after Whitby was destroyed by Viking raids, her remains were, apparently, translated to…well, somewhere else. No one knows. Various religious foundations have claimed her—not unlike Arthur; saintly relics were (and still are) big business—but no one knows for sure.

There are several grave markers from Whitby though I have images of none of them (and none are for Hild). However, there are also several from Hereteu, or Hartlepool (where Hild was abbess for a while before founding and moving to Whitby). One intriguing stone, dated ‘mid-seventh to mid-eighth century,’ was found under the head of some skeletal remains. The runes spell out hildi þryþ, that is, the feminine personal name Hildithryth:

As we don’t know Hild’s full name, it might be tempting to assume this is our Hild’s stone.2 But I doubt it. For one thing it was part of a group of similar burials, and as abbess, saint, and royal advisor I doubt she would have been buried among others. Plus, of course, she was more than likely buried at Whitby. And as Hartlepool was also most likely destroyed by Vikings (as with mos records of this time and place, much was lost in the Viking raids from the late eighth through ninth centuries—all we know is that, after Hild, Hartlepool essentially vanishes from history) no one in their right mind would have transferred her there.

So here’s how I imagine her pillow stone3:

You’ll see I’ve made her cross round-ended and equal-armed, more like the kind of cross I think she would have worn, rather than the more traditional long upright and shorter crosspiece of the Hartlepool marker.

Enough about her death. Back to her life: Why is Hild patron saint of learning and culture/poetry? Learning, because she trained five bishops who became renowned for their own erudition—one of whom, John of Beverley, was the one who ordained and mentored the Venerable Bede—the only British person ever to have been learned enough to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church. Poetry, because she pretty much midwived Engish literature: the earliest surviving piece of Old English is Cædmon’s Hymn, composed at Hild’s behest at Whitby.

I’m not religious but I mark the day because Hild—and Whitby, its abbey, and ammonites—marked my life, in particular my writing life, indelibly.

My first novel was Ammonite, which was published when I was 32. The author photo I used for that book was taken at Whitby Abbey when I was 30. You can tell from the look on my face how much the place affects me. (And in fact I like this photo so much it forms the basis for the cover of my upcoming book, She Is Here.)

In my third novel, The Blue Place, Aud talks longingly of Whitby—now mostly known for the abbey founded by Hild in 657. In Whitby you can commonly find three species of fossil ammonites, or snakestones—the beach is littered with them. A whole genus of ammonites, Hildoceras, is named for Hild. This is Hildoceras bifrons. It’s what I think of when I think of ammonites.

Ammonites fascinate me. Their shell growth—developing into that lovely spiral—is guided by phi. And phi (Φ = 1.618033988749895… ), the basis of the Golden Ratio or Divine Proportion, has all sorts of interesting mathematical properties. The proportions generated by phi lie at the heart of myriad things: the proportions of graceful buildings4, the orderly whorl of a sunflower, ammonites, Fibonacci numbers, population growth, and more. (If you’re interested, a good place to start is Wikipedia.) Phi is what creates the underlying pattern in much of nature. I think phi is responsible for what Hild may think of as God.

There is a legend that ammonites result from Hild getting pissed off one day and turning all the local snakes to stone. The legend was so well-established after her death, that, in the later middle ages and even up until Victorian times, enterprising locals carved heads on the stones and sold them as the snakes she petrified.5

Here’s what H. bifrons looks like as a snakestone:

And here’s a much more finely carved specimen:

When I was working on my black and white zoomorphic series, I tried to draw a snakestone. It turned out to be remarkably difficult to get the proportions mathematically pleasing. I started with a different genus, a ceratite, with a kind of wavy division to each of its segments, because they seemed to grow in more mathematically predictable ways. They’re just not what I think of as a classic ammonite; they seemed a bit, well, boring. I tried jazzing them up a bit—make them look as though they’re dancing to form a kindof ammonite triskele inside a Lindisfarne Gospels style interlace wreath. Better—but not great.

So then I tried yet another genus, a…well, actually I forget what it’s called, maybe a baculite? Anyway:

You won’t find these in Britain, but I like the crinkly look. It had possibilities. So I copied that, and then turned it into a snakestone. Much better!

Earlier this year we were at Worldcon, where we bumped into a friend, Wendy, aka MaudPunk, and got talking about all things metal work—Wendy loves to forge Early Medieval replicas from bronze, silver, copper, etc. (She’s made me several things, including this brooch.) She was wearing a great pendant she’d made, based on the Fairford Duck. Kelley really wanted one. No, she wanted two—one silver, one copper.

I like the duck well enough, but that’s not what fired up my neurones. Ever since Tor commissioned a lovely enamel brooch/pin for Spear, I’ve enjoyed wearing it on my jacket lapel. I get many compliments (“Is that Tiffany?”). The Spear pin is boldly coloured, which I love, but it does occasionally limit my sartorial choices. So I’ve been subconsciously looking for something more neutral. And I thought: A snakestone! In silver! And wouldn’t you know, Wendy had already designed a snakestone pendant; it did not take much persuasion to commission one as a pin.

And, lo, just in time for our birthdays, we got a package with what we’d asked for:

And here’s the pin in all its glory—straight out of its lovely linen pouch:

It’s hand-carved in wax then cast in the metal of your choice, then ground and polished by hand. Here it is on my jacket lapel, where it will stay for at least a couple of weeks, after which I’ll probably alternate with the enamel pin:

So Hild and her ammonite are still bringing me enormous pleasure, and still—as is only fitting for the patron saint of culture and education—helping me learn new things.

Tonight I will raise a glass to Hild, to ammonites, to Whitby, and to all things beautifully made and perfectly proportioned. wes þu hal! Or maybe wæs hæil! I dunno, Old English is not exactly my forte—but drinking and merrymaking is 🙂

1. At least it’s her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church. The Anglican Communion celebrates on the 18th. I’m not a practising Christian but was raised Catholic, so tend to follow their dates. No one knows when Hild was born, but long ago I decided it was some time in the last half of October. At some point I’ll pick a day, and then I’ll have two dates to celebrate! ↩︎
2. Hild means ‘battle’, and thryth translates to something like ‘strength’ or ‘power’, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. There again, I’ve always preferred the idea of Hild being Hildeburg, that is Battle Fortress: obdurate, adamant, immovable. ↩︎
3. Yep, it would have made more sense for it to be square, or more landscape than portrait format, but, well, I didn’t think of that until just now… ↩︎
4. Ever wondered why Georgian mansions feel so gracious and pleasing? Their formal rooms follow the Golden Ratio. ↩︎
5. The legend is so well established that it forms part of Whitby’s coat of arms. ↩︎

Celebrating Hild

Today is the Feast Day of Hild of Whitby,1 patron saint of learning and culture (including poetry), who died on this day in 680, having spent 66 years kicking ass and not bothering to take names. We believe she was originally buried at her main foundation of Streoneshalh, now known as Whitby, but sometime after Whitby was destroyed by Viking raids, her remains were, apparently, translated to…well, somewhere else. No one knows. Various religious foundations have claimed her—not unlike Arthur; saintly relics were (and still are) big business—but no one knows for sure.

There are several grave markers from Whitby though I have images of none of them (and none are for Hild). However, there are also several from Hereteu, or Hartlepool (where Hild was abbess for a while before founding and moving to Whitby). One intriguing stone, dated ‘mid-seventh to mid-eighth century,’ was found under the head of some skeletal remains. The runes spell out hildi þryþ, that is, the feminine personal name Hildithryth:

As we don’t know Hild’s full name, it might be tempting to assume this is our Hild’s stone.2 But I doubt it. For one thing it was part of a group of similar burials, and as abbess, saint, and royal advisor I doubt she would have been buried among others. Plus, of course, she was more than likely buried at Whitby. And as Hartlepool was also most likely destroyed by Vikings (as with mos records of this time and place, much was lost in the Viking raids from the late eighth through ninth centuries—all we know is that, after Hild, Hartlepool essentially vanishes from history) no one in their right mind would have transferred her there.

So here’s how I imagine her pillow stone3:

You’ll see I’ve made her cross round-ended and equal-armed, more like the kind of cross I think she would have worn, rather than the more traditional long upright and shorter crosspiece of the Hartlepool marker.

Enough about her death. Back to her life: Why is Hild patron saint of learning and culture/poetry? Learning, because she trained five bishops who became renowned for their own erudition—one of whom, John of Beverley, was the one who ordained and mentored the Venerable Bede—the only British person ever to have been learned enough to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church. Poetry, because she pretty much midwived Engish literature: the earliest surviving piece of Old English is Cædmon’s Hymn, composed at Hild’s behest at Whitby.

I’m not religious but I mark the day because Hild—and Whitby, its abbey, and ammonites—marked my life, in particular my writing life, indelibly.

My first novel was Ammonite, which was published when I was 32. The author photo I used for that book was taken at Whitby Abbey when I was 30. You can tell from the look on my face how much the place affects me. (And in fact I like this photo so much it forms the basis for the cover of my upcoming book, She Is Here.)

In my third novel, The Blue Place, Aud talks longingly of Whitby—now mostly known for the abbey founded by Hild in 657. In Whitby you can commonly find three species of fossil ammonites, or snakestones—the beach is littered with them. A whole genus of ammonites, Hildoceras, is named for Hild. This is Hildoceras bifrons. It’s what I think of when I think of ammonites.

Ammonites fascinate me. Their shell growth—developing into that lovely spiral—is guided by phi. And phi (Φ = 1.618033988749895… ), the basis of the Golden Ratio or Divine Proportion, has all sorts of interesting mathematical properties. The proportions generated by phi lie at the heart of myriad things: the proportions of graceful buildings4, the orderly whorl of a sunflower, ammonites, Fibonacci numbers, population growth, and more. (If you’re interested, a good place to start is Wikipedia.) Phi is what creates the underlying pattern in much of nature. I think phi is responsible for what Hild may think of as God.

There is a legend that ammonites result from Hild getting pissed off one day and turning all the local snakes to stone. The legend was so well-established after her death, that, in the later middle ages and even up until Victorian times, enterprising locals carved heads on the stones and sold them as the snakes she petrified.5

Here’s what H. bifrons looks like as a snakestone:

And here’s a much more finely carved specimen:

When I was working on my black and white zoomorphic series, I tried to draw a snakestone. It turned out to be remarkably difficult to get the proportions mathematically pleasing. I started with a different genus, a ceratite, with a kind of wavy division to each of its segments, because they seemed to grow in more mathematically predictable ways. They’re just not what I think of as a classic ammonite; they seemed a bit, well, boring. I tried jazzing them up a bit—make them look as though they’re dancing to form a kindof ammonite triskele inside a Lindisfarne Gospels style interlace wreath. Better—but not great.

So then I tried yet another genus, a…well, actually I forget what it’s called, maybe a baculite? Anyway:

You won’t find these in Britain, but I like the crinkly look. It had possibilities. So I copied that, and then turned it into a snakestone. Much better!

Earlier this year we were at Worldcon, where we bumped into a friend, Wendy, aka MaudPunk, and got talking about all things metal work—Wendy loves to forge Early Medieval replicas from bronze, silver, copper, etc. (She’s made me several things, including this brooch.) She was wearing a great pendant she’d made, based on the Fairford Duck. Kelley really wanted one. No, she wanted two—one silver, one copper.

I like the duck well enough, but that’s not what fired up my neurones. Ever since Tor commissioned a lovely enamel brooch/pin for Spear, I’ve enjoyed wearing it on my jacket lapel. I get many compliments (“Is that Tiffany?”). The Spear pin is boldly coloured, which I love, but it does occasionally limit my sartorial choices. So I’ve been subconsciously looking for something more neutral. And I thought: A snakestone! In silver! And wouldn’t you know, Wendy had already designed a snakestone pendant; it did not take much persuasion to commission one as a pin.

And, lo, just in time for our birthdays, we got a package with what we’d asked for:

And here’s the pin in all its glory—straight out of its lovely linen pouch:

It’s hand-carved in wax then cast in the metal of your choice, then ground and polished by hand. Here it is on my jacket lapel, where it will stay for at least a couple of weeks, after which I’ll probably alternate with the enamel pin:

So Hild and her ammonite are still bringing me enormous pleasure, and still—as is only fitting for the patron saint of culture and education—helping me learn new things.

Tonight I will raise a glass to Hild, to ammonites, to Whitby, and to all things beautifully made and perfectly proportioned. wes þu hal! Or maybe wæs hæil! I dunno, Old English is not exactly my forte—but drinking and merrymaking is :)

1. At least it’s her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church. The Anglican Communion celebrates on the 18th. I’m not a practising Christian but was raised Catholic, so tend to follow their dates. No one knows when Hild was born, but long ago I decided it was some time in the last half of October. At some point I’ll pick a day, and then I’ll have two dates to celebrate! ↩︎
2. Hild means ‘battle’, and thryth translates to something like ‘strength’ or ‘power’, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. There again, I’ve always preferred the idea of Hild being Hildeburg, that is Battle Fortress: obdurate, adamant, immovable. ↩︎
3. Yep, it would have made more sense for it to be square, or more landscape than portrait format, but, well, I didn’t think of that until just now… ↩︎
4. Ever wondered why Georgian mansions feel so gracious and pleasing? Their formal rooms follow the Golden Ratio. ↩︎
5. The legend is so well established that it forms part of Whitby’s coat of arms. ↩︎

#ammonite #brooch #CædmonSHymn #feastDay #hild #jewellery #MaudPunk #menewood #oldEnglish #phi #pin #snakestone #theBluePlace #whitby

Celebrating Hild

Today is the Feast Day of Hild of Whitby,1 patron saint of learning and culture (including poetry), who died on this day in 680, having spent 66 years kicking ass and not bothering to take names. We believe she was originally buried at her main foundation of Streoneshalh, now known as Whitby, but sometime after Whitby was destroyed by Viking raids, her remains were, apparently, translated to…well, somewhere else. No one knows. Various religious foundations have claimed her—not unlike Arthur; saintly relics were (and still are) big business—but no one knows for sure.

There are several grave markers from Whitby though I have images of none of them (and none are for Hild). However, there are also several from Hereteu, or Hartlepool (where Hild was abbess for a while before founding and moving to Whitby). One intriguing stone, dated ‘mid-seventh to mid-eighth century,’ was found under the head of some skeletal remains. The runes spell out hildi þryþ, that is, the feminine personal name Hildithryth:

As we don’t know Hild’s full name, it might be tempting to assume this is our Hild’s stone.2 But I doubt it. For one thing it was part of a group of similar burials, and as abbess, saint, and royal advisor I doubt she would have been buried among others. Plus, of course, she was more than likely buried at Whitby. And as Hartlepool was also most likely destroyed by Vikings (as with mos records of this time and place, much was lost in the Viking raids from the late eighth through ninth centuries—all we know is that, after Hild, Hartlepool essentially vanishes from history) no one in their right mind would have transferred her there.

So here’s how I imagine her pillow stone3:

You’ll see I’ve made her cross round-ended and equal-armed, more like the kind of cross I think she would have worn, rather than the more traditional long upright and shorter crosspiece of the Hartlepool marker.

Enough about her death. Back to her life: Why is Hild patron saint of learning and culture/poetry? Learning, because she trained five bishops who became renowned for their own erudition—one of whom, John of Beverley, was the one who ordained and mentored the Venerable Bede—the only British person ever to have been learned enough to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church. Poetry, because she pretty much midwived Engish literature: the earliest surviving piece of Old English is Cædmon’s Hymn, composed at Hild’s behest at Whitby.

I’m not religious but I mark the day because Hild—and Whitby, its abbey, and ammonites—marked my life, in particular my writing life, indelibly.

My first novel was Ammonite, which was published when I was 32. The author photo I used for that book was taken at Whitby Abbey when I was 30. You can tell from the look on my face how much the place affects me. (And in fact I like this photo so much it forms the basis for the cover of my upcoming book, She Is Here.)

In my third novel, The Blue Place, Aud talks longingly of Whitby—now mostly known for the abbey founded by Hild in 657. In Whitby you can commonly find three species of fossil ammonites, or snakestones—the beach is littered with them. A whole genus of ammonites, Hildoceras, is named for Hild. This is Hildoceras bifrons. It’s what I think of when I think of ammonites.

Ammonites fascinate me. Their shell growth—developing into that lovely spiral—is guided by phi. And phi (Φ = 1.618033988749895… ), the basis of the Golden Ratio or Divine Proportion, has all sorts of interesting mathematical properties. The proportions generated by phi lie at the heart of myriad things: the proportions of graceful buildings4, the orderly whorl of a sunflower, ammonites, Fibonacci numbers, population growth, and more. (If you’re interested, a good place to start is Wikipedia.) Phi is what creates the underlying pattern in much of nature. I think phi is responsible for what Hild may think of as God.

There is a legend that ammonites result from Hild getting pissed off one day and turning all the local snakes to stone. The legend was so well-established after her death, that, in the later middle ages and even up until Victorian times, enterprising locals carved heads on the stones and sold them as the snakes she petrified.5

Here’s what H. bifrons looks like as a snakestone:

And here’s a much more finely carved specimen:

When I was working on my black and white zoomorphic series, I tried to draw a snakestone. It turned out to be remarkably difficult to get the proportions mathematically pleasing. I started with a different genus, a ceratite, with a kind of wavy division to each of its segments, because they seemed to grow in more mathematically predictable ways. They’re just not what I think of as a classic ammonite; they seemed a bit, well, boring. I tried jazzing them up a bit—make them look as though they’re dancing to form a kindof ammonite triskele inside a Lindisfarne Gospels style interlace wreath. Better—but not great.

So then I tried yet another genus, a…well, actually I forget what it’s called, maybe a baculite? Anyway:

You won’t find these in Britain, but I like the crinkly look. It had possibilities. So I copied that, and then turned it into a snakestone. Much better!

Earlier this year we were at Worldcon, where we bumped into a friend, Wendy, aka MaudPunk, and got talking about all things metal work—Wendy loves to forge Early Medieval replicas from bronze, silver, copper, etc. (She’s made me several things, including this brooch.) She was wearing a great pendant she’d made, based on the Fairford Duck. Kelley really wanted one. No, she wanted two—one silver, one copper.

I like the duck well enough, but that’s not what fired up my neurones. Ever since Tor commissioned a lovely enamel brooch/pin for Spear, I’ve enjoyed wearing it on my jacket lapel. I get many compliments (“Is that Tiffany?”). The Spear pin is boldly coloured, which I love, but it does occasionally limit my sartorial choices. So I’ve been subconsciously looking for something more neutral. And I thought: A snakestone! In silver! And wouldn’t you know, Wendy had already designed a snakestone pendant; it did not take much persuasion to commission one as a pin.

And, lo, just in time for our birthdays, we got a package with what we’d asked for:

And here’s the pin in all its glory—straight out of its lovely linen pouch:

It’s hand-carved in wax then cast in the metal of your choice, then ground and polished by hand. Here it is on my jacket lapel, where it will stay for at least a couple of weeks, after which I’ll probably alternate with the enamel pin:

So Hild and her ammonite are still bringing me enormous pleasure, and still—as is only fitting for the patron saint of culture and education—helping me learn new things.

Tonight I will raise a glass to Hild, to ammonites, to Whitby, and to all things beautifully made and perfectly proportioned. wes þu hal! Or maybe wæs hæil! I dunno, Old English is not exactly my forte—but drinking and merrymaking is 🙂

1. At least it’s her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church. The Anglican Communion celebrates on the 18th. I’m not a practising Christian but was raised Catholic, so tend to follow their dates. No one knows when Hild was born, but long ago I decided it was some time in the last half of October. At some point I’ll pick a day, and then I’ll have two dates to celebrate! ↩︎
2. Hild means ‘battle’, and thryth translates to something like ‘strength’ or ‘power’, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. There again, I’ve always preferred the idea of Hild being Hildeburg, that is Battle Fortress: obdurate, adamant, immovable. ↩︎
3. Yep, it would have made more sense for it to be square, or more landscape than portrait format, but, well, I didn’t think of that until just now… ↩︎
4. Ever wondered why Georgian mansions feel so gracious and pleasing? Their formal rooms follow the Golden Ratio. ↩︎
5. The legend is so well established that it forms part of Whitby’s coat of arms. ↩︎

Celebrating Hild

Today is the Feast Day of Hild of Whitby,1 patron saint of learning and culture (including poetry), who died on this day in 680, having spent 66 years kicking ass and not bothering to take names. We believe she was originally buried at her main foundation of Streoneshalh, now known as Whitby, but sometime after Whitby was destroyed by Viking raids, her remains were, apparently, translated to…well, somewhere else. No one knows. Various religious foundations have claimed her—not unlike Arthur; saintly relics were (and still are) big business—but no one knows for sure.

There are several grave markers from Whitby though I have images of none of them (and none are for Hild). However, there are also several from Hereteu, or Hartlepool (where Hild was abbess for a while before founding and moving to Whitby). One intriguing stone, dated ‘mid-seventh to mid-eighth century,’ was found under the head of some skeletal remains. The runes spell out hildi þryþ, that is, the feminine personal name Hildithryth:

As we don’t know Hild’s full name, it might be tempting to assume this is our Hild’s stone.2 But I doubt it. For one thing it was part of a group of similar burials, and as abbess, saint, and royal advisor I doubt she would have been buried among others. Plus, of course, she was more than likely buried at Whitby. And as Hartlepool was also most likely destroyed by Vikings (as with mos records of this time and place, much was lost in the Viking raids from the late eighth through ninth centuries—all we know is that, after Hild, Hartlepool essentially vanishes from history) no one in their right mind would have transferred her there.

So here’s how I imagine her pillow stone3:

You’ll see I’ve made her cross round-ended and equal-armed, more like the kind of cross I think she would have worn, rather than the more traditional long upright and shorter crosspiece of the Hartlepool marker.

Enough about her death. Back to her life: Why is Hild patron saint of learning and culture/poetry? Learning, because she trained five bishops who became renowned for their own erudition—one of whom, John of Beverley, was the one who ordained and mentored the Venerable Bede—the only British person ever to have been learned enough to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church. Poetry, because she pretty much midwived Engish literature: the earliest surviving piece of Old English is Cædmon’s Hymn, composed at Hild’s behest at Whitby.

I’m not religious but I mark the day because Hild—and Whitby, its abbey, and ammonites—marked my life, in particular my writing life, indelibly.

My first novel was Ammonite, which was published when I was 32. The author photo I used for that book was taken at Whitby Abbey when I was 30. You can tell from the look on my face how much the place affects me. (And in fact I like this photo so much it forms the basis for the cover of my upcoming book, She Is Here.)

In my third novel, The Blue Place, Aud talks longingly of Whitby—now mostly known for the abbey founded by Hild in 657. In Whitby you can commonly find three species of fossil ammonites, or snakestones—the beach is littered with them. A whole genus of ammonites, Hildoceras, is named for Hild. This is Hildoceras bifrons. It’s what I think of when I think of ammonites.

Ammonites fascinate me. Their shell growth—developing into that lovely spiral—is guided by phi. And phi (Φ = 1.618033988749895… ), the basis of the Golden Ratio or Divine Proportion, has all sorts of interesting mathematical properties. The proportions generated by phi lie at the heart of myriad things: the proportions of graceful buildings4, the orderly whorl of a sunflower, ammonites, Fibonacci numbers, population growth, and more. (If you’re interested, a good place to start is Wikipedia.) Phi is what creates the underlying pattern in much of nature. I think phi is responsible for what Hild may think of as God.

There is a legend that ammonites result from Hild getting pissed off one day and turning all the local snakes to stone. The legend was so well-established after her death, that, in the later middle ages and even up until Victorian times, enterprising locals carved heads on the stones and sold them as the snakes she petrified.5

Here’s what H. bifrons looks like as a snakestone:

And here’s a much more finely carved specimen:

When I was working on my black and white zoomorphic series, I tried to draw a snakestone. It turned out to be remarkably difficult to get the proportions mathematically pleasing. I started with a different genus, a ceratite, with a kind of wavy division to each of its segments, because they seemed to grow in more mathematically predictable ways. They’re just not what I think of as a classic ammonite; they seemed a bit, well, boring. I tried jazzing them up a bit—make them look as though they’re dancing to form a kindof ammonite triskele inside a Lindisfarne Gospels style interlace wreath. Better—but not great.

So then I tried yet another genus, a…well, actually I forget what it’s called, maybe a baculite? Anyway:

You won’t find these in Britain, but I like the crinkly look. It had possibilities. So I copied that, and then turned it into a snakestone. Much better!

Earlier this year we were at Worldcon, where we bumped into a friend, Wendy, aka MaudPunk, and got talking about all things metal work—Wendy loves to forge Early Medieval replicas from bronze, silver, copper, etc. (She’s made me several things, including this brooch.) She was wearing a great pendant she’d made, based on the Fairford Duck. Kelley really wanted one. No, she wanted two—one silver, one copper.

I like the duck well enough, but that’s not what fired up my neurones. Ever since Tor commissioned a lovely enamel brooch/pin for Spear, I’ve enjoyed wearing it on my jacket lapel. I get many compliments (“Is that Tiffany?”). The Spear pin is boldly coloured, which I love, but it does occasionally limit my sartorial choices. So I’ve been subconsciously looking for something more neutral. And I thought: A snakestone! In silver! And wouldn’t you know, Wendy had already designed a snakestone pendant; it did not take much persuasion to commission one as a pin.

And, lo, just in time for our birthdays, we got a package with what we’d asked for:

And here’s the pin in all its glory—straight out of its lovely linen pouch:

It’s hand-carved in wax then cast in the metal of your choice, then ground and polished by hand. Here it is on my jacket lapel, where it will stay for at least a couple of weeks, after which I’ll probably alternate with the enamel pin:

So Hild and her ammonite are still bringing me enormous pleasure, and still—as is only fitting for the patron saint of culture and education—helping me learn new things.

Tonight I will raise a glass to Hild, to ammonites, to Whitby, and to all things beautifully made and perfectly proportioned. wes þu hal! Or maybe wæs hæil! I dunno, Old English is not exactly my forte—but drinking and merrymaking is :)

1. At least it’s her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church. The Anglican Communion celebrates on the 18th. I’m not a practising Christian but was raised Catholic, so tend to follow their dates. No one knows when Hild was born, but long ago I decided it was some time in the last half of October. At some point I’ll pick a day, and then I’ll have two dates to celebrate! ↩︎
2. Hild means ‘battle’, and thryth translates to something like ‘strength’ or ‘power’, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. There again, I’ve always preferred the idea of Hild being Hildeburg, that is Battle Fortress: obdurate, adamant, immovable. ↩︎
3. Yep, it would have made more sense for it to be square, or more landscape than portrait format, but, well, I didn’t think of that until just now… ↩︎
4. Ever wondered why Georgian mansions feel so gracious and pleasing? Their formal rooms follow the Golden Ratio. ↩︎
5. The legend is so well established that it forms part of Whitby’s coat of arms. ↩︎

#ammonite #brooch #CædmonSHymn #feastDay #hild #jewellery #MaudPunk #menewood #oldEnglish #phi #pin #snakestone #theBluePlace #whitby

October 18 is the #EpiscopalChurch celebrates the #FeastDay of #StLuke the Evangelist, companion of St. Paul, & a physician of the Church. Today’s #Gospel reading is Luke 4:14-21

Having completed a #SoulShop workshop yesterday about #SuicidePrevention for church leaders, the verses that stand out to me today are 18-19 about bringing good news to the poor, freeing captives, freeing the oppressed, helping the blind to see, & proclaiming the year of God’s favor (these verses also apply to the #NoKings events today). What #Jesus is saying, & doing, in these verses is giving people #Hope That is a very important thing. Hope keeps us alive. Hope keeps us going, working towards & praying for a tomorrow when God’s promises for our lives & the world are manifest on earth as in heaven. We, as members of the #JesusMovement are called to have Hope & to share it with all others, freely, without judgement or expectation, as our Redeemer did & does.

How will you share Hope with someone else today?

October 18 is the #EpiscopalChurch celebrates the #FeastDay of #StLuke the Evangelist, companion of St. Paul, & a physician of the Church. Today’s #Gospel reading is Luke 4:14-21

Having completed a #SoulShop workshop yesterday about #SuicidePrevention for church leaders, the verses that stand out to me today are 18-19 about bringing good news to the poor, freeing captives, freeing the oppressed, helping the blind to see, & proclaiming the year of God’s favor (these verses also apply to the #NoKings events today). What #Jesus is saying, & doing, in these verses is giving people #Hope That is a very important thing. Hope keeps us alive. Hope keeps us going, working towards & praying for a tomorrow when God’s promises for our lives & the world are manifest on earth as in heaven. We, as members of the #JesusMovement are called to have Hope & to share it with all others, freely, without judgement or expectation, as our Redeemer did & does.

How will you share Hope with someone else today?

October 18 is the #EpiscopalChurch celebrates the #FeastDay of #StLuke the Evangelist, companion of St. Paul, & a physician of the Church. Today’s #Gospel reading is Luke 4:14-21

Having completed a #SoulShop workshop yesterday about #SuicidePrevention for church leaders, the verses that stand out to me today are 18-19 about bringing good news to the poor, freeing captives, freeing the oppressed, helping the blind to see, & proclaiming the year of God’s favor (these verses also apply to the #NoKings events today). What #Jesus is saying, & doing, in these verses is giving people #Hope That is a very important thing. Hope keeps us alive. Hope keeps us going, working towards & praying for a tomorrow when God’s promises for our lives & the world are manifest on earth as in heaven. We, as members of the #JesusMovement are called to have Hope & to share it with all others, freely, without judgement or expectation, as our Redeemer did & does.

How will you share Hope with someone else today?

October 18 is the #EpiscopalChurch celebrates the #FeastDay of #StLuke the Evangelist, companion of St. Paul, & a physician of the Church. Today’s #Gospel reading is Luke 4:14-21

Having completed a #SoulShop workshop yesterday about #SuicidePrevention for church leaders, the verses that stand out to me today are 18-19 about bringing good news to the poor, freeing captives, freeing the oppressed, helping the blind to see, & proclaiming the year of God’s favor (these verses also apply to the #NoKings events today). What #Jesus is saying, & doing, in these verses is giving people #Hope That is a very important thing. Hope keeps us alive. Hope keeps us going, working towards & praying for a tomorrow when God’s promises for our lives & the world are manifest on earth as in heaven. We, as members of the #JesusMovement are called to have Hope & to share it with all others, freely, without judgement or expectation, as our Redeemer did & does.

How will you share Hope with someone else today?

St. Rose of Lima

She was born Isabel Flores de Oliva (April 20, 1586-August 24, 1617). She was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire. She was known for her life of severe penance & her care of the poor of the city through her own private efforts.

Rose of Lima was born to a noble family & is the patroness saint of embroidery, gardening, cultivation of blooming flowers, florists, embroiderers, sewing lace, gardeners, people ridiculed or misunderstood for their piety, the resolution of family quarrels, against vanity, & the indigenous peoples of the Americas. She was the 1st person born in the Americas to be canonized as a saint.

As a saint, Rose of Lima has been designated as a co-patroness of the Philippines, along with Pudentiana. Both saints were moved to Second-class patronage in September 1942 by Pope Pius XII. But Rose remains the main patroness of Peru & the local people of Latin America. Her image was formerly featured on the highest denomination banknote of Peru.

Her nickname “Rose” comes from a story in her infancy: a servant claimed to have seen her face change into a rose. In 1597, Isabel was confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was also declared a saint. She then formally changed her name to Rose (Rosa in Spanish) at that time.

When she was a young girl, she copied Catherine of Siena. She started praying 3x a week & performed severe penances in secret. She was admired for her beauty. She cut off her hair & rubbed peppers on her face, to distract from her beauty. She was upset that men were starting to notice her, & not for her spirituality. She turned away all of her suitors. Her family wasn’t having any of that.

Much to her parents’ chigrin, Rose spent a LOT of time thinking about the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily. This is rare, & odd, for the time. She wanted to take a vow of virginity. But her parents didn’t want that! Out of frustration, her dad gave her a room to herself at the family home.

In addition to fasting, she permanently abstained from eating meat. She helped the sick & hungry around her community. She would bring them to the room, her dad built, to take care of the sick. To help her family financially, Rose would sell fine needlework she made. She would also take flowers to the market to sell as well.

To help the poor, she would make & sell lace & embroidery. This was in addition to all the prayer & she did penance in a small grotto she’d built. She was otherwise a recluse. She only left her room to go to church.

She attracted the attention of the friars of the Dominican Order. She wanted to become a nun. But her dad wasn’t hearing any of that noise. So instead, she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, while she was living in her parents’ home.

When she was 20, she started wearing the habit of a tertiary & took a vow of perpetual virginity. A tertiary is a lay member of a religious order’s Third Order, who lives in the secular (worldly) world while they strive for Christian perfection by following the spiritual way of life associated with that particular order. The First Order is the clergy, the Second Order is the religious women in the community (official nuns).

She allowed herself only 2 hours a night of sleep, at most, so she could have more time to devote to prayer. She also wore a heavy metal crown made of silver, that had small spikes on the inside. This was to imitate the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus.

For 11 years, she lived like this. Throughout this time, there would be periods of ecstasy. She passed away on August 24, 1617, at the age of 31. She had been battling a long illness. It’s said that she prophesied her death date.

Her funeral was held in the cathedral. It was attended by all the public authorities of Lima. August 23 is her feast day. It’s August 30th in the Traditional calendar.

Rose was beatified by Pope Clement IX on May 10, 1667. She was canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement I. She was the first Catholic in the Americas to be officially declared a saint.

Her shine is inside of the convent of St. Dominic in Lima. The Catholic Church says that many miracles happened after her death: she cured a leper; & at the time of her death, the city of Lima smelled like roses; roses started falling from the sky.

Rose’s skull, surmounted with a crown of roses, is on public display at the Basilica in Lima, Peru.

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#10May1667 #12April1671 #1597 #20April1586 #24August1617 #Americas #ArchbishopOfLima #August23 #August30 #Basilica #Beatified #BlessedSacrament #Canonized #Cathedral #CatherineOfSiena #Convent #CrownOfThorns #CultivationOfBloomingFlowers #DominicanOrder #Embroidery #Embroilerers #fasting #FeastDay #FineNeedlework #Florists #Gardeners #Gardening #IndigenousPeoples #IsabelFloresDeOliva #Lace #LatinAmerica #Leper #Lima #Miracles #Nun #PerpetualVirginity #Peru #Philippines #Piety #PopeClementIX #PopeClementX #PopePiusXII #Pudentiana #Recluse #ReligiousEcstasy #Rosa #Roses #Saint #September1942 #SewingLace #Shrine #Skull #Spanish #SpanishEmpire #StDominic #StRoseOfLima #Tertiary #ThirdOrderOfStDominic #ToribioDeMogrovejo #TraditionalCalender #Vanity #VowOfVirginity

St. Rose of Lima

She was born Isabel Flores de Oliva (April 20, 1586-August 24, 1617). She was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire. She was known for her life of severe penance & her care of the poor of the city through her own private efforts.

Rose of Lima was born to a noble family & is the patroness saint of embroidery, gardening, cultivation of blooming flowers, florists, embroiderers, sewing lace, gardeners, people ridiculed or misunderstood for their piety, the resolution of family quarrels, against vanity, & the indigenous peoples of the Americas. She was the 1st person born in the Americas to be canonized as a saint.

As a saint, Rose of Lima has been designated as a co-patroness of the Philippines, along with Pudentiana. Both saints were moved to Second-class patronage in September 1942 by Pope Pius XII. But Rose remains the main patroness of Peru & the local people of Latin America. Her image was formerly featured on the highest denomination banknote of Peru.

Her nickname “Rose” comes from a story in her infancy: a servant claimed to have seen her face change into a rose. In 1597, Isabel was confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was also declared a saint. She then formally changed her name to Rose (Rosa in Spanish) at that time.

When she was a young girl, she copied Catherine of Siena. She started praying 3x a week & performed severe penances in secret. She was admired for her beauty. She cut off her hair & rubbed peppers on her face, to distract from her beauty. She was upset that men were starting to notice her, & not for her spirituality. She turned away all of her suitors. Her family wasn’t having any of that.

Much to her parents’ chigrin, Rose spent a LOT of time thinking about the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily. This is rare, & odd, for the time. She wanted to take a vow of virginity. But her parents didn’t want that! Out of frustration, her dad gave her a room to herself at the family home.

In addition to fasting, she permanently abstained from eating meat. She helped the sick & hungry around her community. She would bring them to the room, her dad built, to take care of the sick. To help her family financially, Rose would sell fine needlework she made. She would also take flowers to the market to sell as well.

To help the poor, she would make & sell lace & embroidery. This was in addition to all the prayer & she did penance in a small grotto she’d built. She was otherwise a recluse. She only left her room to go to church.

She attracted the attention of the friars of the Dominican Order. She wanted to become a nun. But her dad wasn’t hearing any of that noise. So instead, she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, while she was living in her parents’ home.

When she was 20, she started wearing the habit of a tertiary & took a vow of perpetual virginity. A tertiary is a lay member of a religious order’s Third Order, who lives in the secular (worldly) world while they strive for Christian perfection by following the spiritual way of life associated with that particular order. The First Order is the clergy, the Second Order is the religious women in the community (official nuns).

She allowed herself only 2 hours a night of sleep, at most, so she could have more time to devote to prayer. She also wore a heavy metal crown made of silver, that had small spikes on the inside. This was to imitate the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus.

For 11 years, she lived like this. Throughout this time, there would be periods of ecstasy. She passed away on August 24, 1617, at the age of 31. She had been battling a long illness. It’s said that she prophesied her death date.

Her funeral was held in the cathedral. It was attended by all the public authorities of Lima. August 23 is her feast day. It’s August 30th in the Traditional calendar.

Rose was beatified by Pope Clement IX on May 10, 1667. She was canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement I. She was the first Catholic in the Americas to be officially declared a saint.

Her shine is inside of the convent of St. Dominic in Lima. The Catholic Church says that many miracles happened after her death: she cured a leper; & at the time of her death, the city of Lima smelled like roses; roses started falling from the sky.

Rose’s skull, surmounted with a crown of roses, is on public display at the Basilica in Lima, Peru.

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Your contribution is appreciated.

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Make a monthly donation

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Donate monthly

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#10May1667 #12April1671 #1597 #20April1586 #24August1617 #Americas #ArchbishopOfLima #August23 #August30 #Basilica #Beatified #BlessedSacrament #Canonized #Cathedral #CatherineOfSiena #Convent #CrownOfThorns #CultivationOfBloomingFlowers #DominicanOrder #Embroidery #Embroilerers #fasting #FeastDay #FineNeedlework #Florists #Gardeners #Gardening #IndigenousPeoples #IsabelFloresDeOliva #Lace #LatinAmerica #Leper #Lima #Miracles #Nun #PerpetualVirginity #Peru #Philippines #Piety #PopeClementIX #PopeClementX #PopePiusXII #Pudentiana #Recluse #ReligiousEcstasy #Rosa #Roses #Saint #September1942 #SewingLace #Shrine #Skull #Spanish #SpanishEmpire #StDominic #StRoseOfLima #Tertiary #ThirdOrderOfStDominic #ToribioDeMogrovejo #TraditionalCalender #Vanity #VowOfVirginity

St. Rose of Lima

She was born Isabel Flores de Oliva (April 20, 1586-August 24, 1617). She was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire. She was known for her life of severe penance & her care of the poor of the city through her own private efforts.

Rose of Lima was born to a noble family & is the patroness saint of embroidery, gardening, cultivation of blooming flowers, florists, embroiderers, sewing lace, gardeners, people ridiculed or misunderstood for their piety, the resolution of family quarrels, against vanity, & the indigenous peoples of the Americas. She was the 1st person born in the Americas to be canonized as a saint.

As a saint, Rose of Lima has been designated as a co-patroness of the Philippines, along with Pudentiana. Both saints were moved to Second-class patronage in September 1942 by Pope Pius XII. But Rose remains the main patroness of Peru & the local people of Latin America. Her image was formerly featured on the highest denomination banknote of Peru.

Her nickname “Rose” comes from a story in her infancy: a servant claimed to have seen her face change into a rose. In 1597, Isabel was confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was also declared a saint. She then formally changed her name to Rose (Rosa in Spanish) at that time.

When she was a young girl, she copied Catherine of Siena. She started praying 3x a week & performed severe penances in secret. She was admired for her beauty. She cut off her hair & rubbed peppers on her face, to distract from her beauty. She was upset that men were starting to notice her, & not for her spirituality. She turned away all of her suitors. Her family wasn’t having any of that.

Much to her parents’ chigrin, Rose spent a LOT of time thinking about the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily. This is rare, & odd, for the time. She wanted to take a vow of virginity. But her parents didn’t want that! Out of frustration, her dad gave her a room to herself at the family home.

In addition to fasting, she permanently abstained from eating meat. She helped the sick & hungry around her community. She would bring them to the room, her dad built, to take care of the sick. To help her family financially, Rose would sell fine needlework she made. She would also take flowers to the market to sell as well.

To help the poor, she would make & sell lace & embroidery. This was in addition to all the prayer & she did penance in a small grotto she’d built. She was otherwise a recluse. She only left her room to go to church.

She attracted the attention of the friars of the Dominican Order. She wanted to become a nun. But her dad wasn’t hearing any of that noise. So instead, she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, while she was living in her parents’ home.

When she was 20, she started wearing the habit of a tertiary & took a vow of perpetual virginity. A tertiary is a lay member of a religious order’s Third Order, who lives in the secular (worldly) world while they strive for Christian perfection by following the spiritual way of life associated with that particular order. The First Order is the clergy, the Second Order is the religious women in the community (official nuns).

She allowed herself only 2 hours a night of sleep, at most, so she could have more time to devote to prayer. She also wore a heavy metal crown made of silver, that had small spikes on the inside. This was to imitate the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus.

For 11 years, she lived like this. Throughout this time, there would be periods of ecstasy. She passed away on August 24, 1617, at the age of 31. She had been battling a long illness. It’s said that she prophesied her death date.

Her funeral was held in the cathedral. It was attended by all the public authorities of Lima. August 23 is her feast day. It’s August 30th in the Traditional calendar.

Rose was beatified by Pope Clement IX on May 10, 1667. She was canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement I. She was the first Catholic in the Americas to be officially declared a saint.

Her shine is inside of the convent of St. Dominic in Lima. The Catholic Church says that many miracles happened after her death: she cured a leper; & at the time of her death, the city of Lima smelled like roses; roses started falling from the sky.

Rose’s skull, surmounted with a crown of roses, is on public display at the Basilica in Lima, Peru.

Make a one-time donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Make a monthly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate monthly

Make a yearly donation

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Donate yearly

Rate this:

#10May1667 #12April1671 #1597 #20April1586 #24August1617 #Americas #ArchbishopOfLima #August23 #August30 #Basilica #Beatified #BlessedSacrament #Canonized #Cathedral #CatherineOfSiena #Convent #CrownOfThorns #CultivationOfBloomingFlowers #DominicanOrder #Embroidery #Embroilerers #fasting #FeastDay #FineNeedlework #Florists #Gardeners #Gardening #IndigenousPeoples #IsabelFloresDeOliva #Lace #LatinAmerica #Leper #Lima #Miracles #Nun #PerpetualVirginity #Peru #Philippines #Piety #PopeClementIX #PopeClementX #PopePiusXII #Pudentiana #Recluse #ReligiousEcstasy #Rosa #Roses #Saint #September1942 #SewingLace #Shrine #Skull #Spanish #SpanishEmpire #StDominic #StRoseOfLima #Tertiary #ThirdOrderOfStDominic #ToribioDeMogrovejo #TraditionalCalender #Vanity #VowOfVirginity

St. Rose of Lima

She was born Isabel Flores de Oliva (April 20, 1586-August 24, 1617). She was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire. She was known for her life of severe penance & her care of the poor of the city through her own private efforts.

Rose of Lima was born to a noble family & is the patroness saint of embroidery, gardening, cultivation of blooming flowers, florists, embroiderers, sewing lace, gardeners, people ridiculed or misunderstood for their piety, the resolution of family quarrels, against vanity, & the indigenous peoples of the Americas. She was the 1st person born in the Americas to be canonized as a saint.

As a saint, Rose of Lima has been designated as a co-patroness of the Philippines, along with Pudentiana. Both saints were moved to Second-class patronage in September 1942 by Pope Pius XII. But Rose remains the main patroness of Peru & the local people of Latin America. Her image was formerly featured on the highest denomination banknote of Peru.

Her nickname “Rose” comes from a story in her infancy: a servant claimed to have seen her face change into a rose. In 1597, Isabel was confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was also declared a saint. She then formally changed her name to Rose (Rosa in Spanish) at that time.

When she was a young girl, she copied Catherine of Siena. She started praying 3x a week & performed severe penances in secret. She was admired for her beauty. She cut off her hair & rubbed peppers on her face, to distract from her beauty. She was upset that men were starting to notice her, & not for her spirituality. She turned away all of her suitors. Her family wasn’t having any of that.

Much to her parents’ chigrin, Rose spent a LOT of time thinking about the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily. This is rare, & odd, for the time. She wanted to take a vow of virginity. But her parents didn’t want that! Out of frustration, her dad gave her a room to herself at the family home.

In addition to fasting, she permanently abstained from eating meat. She helped the sick & hungry around her community. She would bring them to the room, her dad built, to take care of the sick. To help her family financially, Rose would sell fine needlework she made. She would also take flowers to the market to sell as well.

To help the poor, she would make & sell lace & embroidery. This was in addition to all the prayer & she did penance in a small grotto she’d built. She was otherwise a recluse. She only left her room to go to church.

She attracted the attention of the friars of the Dominican Order. She wanted to become a nun. But her dad wasn’t hearing any of that noise. So instead, she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, while she was living in her parents’ home.

When she was 20, she started wearing the habit of a tertiary & took a vow of perpetual virginity. A tertiary is a lay member of a religious order’s Third Order, who lives in the secular (worldly) world while they strive for Christian perfection by following the spiritual way of life associated with that particular order. The First Order is the clergy, the Second Order is the religious women in the community (official nuns).

She allowed herself only 2 hours a night of sleep, at most, so she could have more time to devote to prayer. She also wore a heavy metal crown made of silver, that had small spikes on the inside. This was to imitate the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus.

For 11 years, she lived like this. Throughout this time, there would be periods of ecstasy. She passed away on August 24, 1617, at the age of 31. She had been battling a long illness. It’s said that she prophesied her death date.

Her funeral was held in the cathedral. It was attended by all the public authorities of Lima. August 23 is her feast day. It’s August 30th in the Traditional calendar.

Rose was beatified by Pope Clement IX on May 10, 1667. She was canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement I. She was the first Catholic in the Americas to be officially declared a saint.

Her shine is inside of the convent of St. Dominic in Lima. The Catholic Church says that many miracles happened after her death: she cured a leper; & at the time of her death, the city of Lima smelled like roses; roses started falling from the sky.

Rose’s skull, surmounted with a crown of roses, is on public display at the Basilica in Lima, Peru.

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#10May1667 #12April1671 #1597 #20April1586 #24August1617 #Americas #ArchbishopOfLima #August23 #August30 #Basilica #Beatified #BlessedSacrament #Canonized #Cathedral #CatherineOfSiena #Convent #CrownOfThorns #CultivationOfBloomingFlowers #DominicanOrder #Embroidery #Embroilerers #fasting #FeastDay #FineNeedlework #Florists #Gardeners #Gardening #IndigenousPeoples #IsabelFloresDeOliva #Lace #LatinAmerica #Leper #Lima #Miracles #Nun #PerpetualVirginity #Peru #Philippines #Piety #PopeClementIX #PopeClementX #PopePiusXII #Pudentiana #Recluse #ReligiousEcstasy #Rosa #Roses #Saint #September1942 #SewingLace #Shrine #Skull #Spanish #SpanishEmpire #StDominic #StRoseOfLima #Tertiary #ThirdOrderOfStDominic #ToribioDeMogrovejo #TraditionalCalender #Vanity #VowOfVirginity

On 29 September we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels according to the RCL. That means a new set of devotionals (the liturgical color for a #FeastDay is #White ) in A Disciple’s Prayer Book. Today’s lessons/readings (including the #Gospel John 1:47-51) & collect are also specific to the day. I’m feeling this feast day a bit more than usual because I’ve lost so many friends & family this year, so the angels have been busy.

I really like the idea of angels being spirit-messengers, which is how the #FirstNations #NewTestament refers to them. The image of #SpiritMessengers climbing up & down a ladder to heaven & circling the heavenly seat of the Creator & Redeemer resonates strongly with me today. Intercessory prayer is not something I think much about although it feels like today’s message is that I should pay more attention to it. I don’t know much about angels, either. Here is my opportunity to learn more about both. #DPB

Do you believe in angels?

On 29 September we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels according to the RCL. That means a new set of devotionals (the liturgical color for a #FeastDay is #White ) in A Disciple’s Prayer Book. Today’s lessons/readings (including the #Gospel John 1:47-51) & collect are also specific to the day. I’m feeling this feast day a bit more than usual because I’ve lost so many friends & family this year, so the angels have been busy.

I really like the idea of angels being spirit-messengers, which is how the #FirstNations #NewTestament refers to them. The image of #SpiritMessengers climbing up & down a ladder to heaven & circling the heavenly seat of the Creator & Redeemer resonates strongly with me today. Intercessory prayer is not something I think much about although it feels like today’s message is that I should pay more attention to it. I don’t know much about angels, either. Here is my opportunity to learn more about both. #DPB

Do you believe in angels?

On 29 September we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels according to the RCL. That means a new set of devotionals (the liturgical color for a #FeastDay is #White ) in A Disciple’s Prayer Book. Today’s lessons/readings (including the #Gospel John 1:47-51) & collect are also specific to the day. I’m feeling this feast day a bit more than usual because I’ve lost so many friends & family this year, so the angels have been busy.

I really like the idea of angels being spirit-messengers, which is how the #FirstNations #NewTestament refers to them. The image of #SpiritMessengers climbing up & down a ladder to heaven & circling the heavenly seat of the Creator & Redeemer resonates strongly with me today. Intercessory prayer is not something I think much about although it feels like today’s message is that I should pay more attention to it. I don’t know much about angels, either. Here is my opportunity to learn more about both. #DPB

Do you believe in angels?

On 29 September we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels according to the RCL. That means a new set of devotionals (the liturgical color for a #FeastDay is #White ) in A Disciple’s Prayer Book. Today’s lessons/readings (including the #Gospel John 1:47-51) & collect are also specific to the day. I’m feeling this feast day a bit more than usual because I’ve lost so many friends & family this year, so the angels have been busy.

I really like the idea of angels being spirit-messengers, which is how the #FirstNations #NewTestament refers to them. The image of #SpiritMessengers climbing up & down a ladder to heaven & circling the heavenly seat of the Creator & Redeemer resonates strongly with me today. Intercessory prayer is not something I think much about although it feels like today’s message is that I should pay more attention to it. I don’t know much about angels, either. Here is my opportunity to learn more about both. #DPB

Do you believe in angels?

B.B. Warfield was a professor of #reformed theology, says the divine example is a life of self-sacrificing unselfishness. This is the most beautiful life that can be led.

I’ve seen many object to this idea, saying that to call Christ an Example must necessarily preclude Him from being a Savior.

How can you imitate our Master and Example?
#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

B.B. Warfield was a professor of #reformed theology, says the divine example is a life of self-sacrificing unselfishness. This is the most beautiful life that can be led.

I’ve seen many object to this idea, saying that to call Christ an Example must necessarily preclude Him from being a Savior.

How can you imitate our Master and Example?
#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

B.B. Warfield was a professor of #reformed theology, says the divine example is a life of self-sacrificing unselfishness. This is the most beautiful life that can be led.

I’ve seen many object to this idea, saying that to call Christ an Example must necessarily preclude Him from being a Savior.

How can you imitate our Master and Example?
#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

B.B. Warfield was a professor of #reformed theology, says the divine example is a life of self-sacrificing unselfishness. This is the most beautiful life that can be led.

I’ve seen many object to this idea, saying that to call Christ an Example must necessarily preclude Him from being a Savior.

How can you imitate our Master and Example?
#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

@minouette Here’s a link to the CD, River of Red, my choir made. Our first director, the late Margriet Tindemans, arranged the music, our soloists, Molly Siebert, Ann Glusker, Linda Strandberg, Deirdre Forman, Kathy Hanson. Cover art (acrylic on paper), O Rubor Sanguinis, is mine, to be on view as part of an informal event in November to benefit the choir. The works refer to the Rhine massacre of St. Ursula and 10,000 women.
#HildegardvonBingen #feastday
https://www.discogs.com/release/34147075-Hildegard-Of-Bingen-Medieval-Womens-Choir-Margriet-Tindemans-River-Of-Red-O-Rubor-Sanguinis

@minouette Here’s a link to the CD, River of Red, my choir made. Our first director, the late Margriet Tindemans, arranged the music, our soloists, Molly Siebert, Ann Glusker, Linda Strandberg, Deirdre Forman, Kathy Hanson. Cover art (acrylic on paper), O Rubor Sanguinis, is mine, to be on view as part of an informal event in November to benefit the choir. The works refer to the Rhine massacre of St. Ursula and 10,000 women.
#HildegardvonBingen #feastday
https://www.discogs.com/release/34147075-Hildegard-Of-Bingen-Medieval-Womens-Choir-Margriet-Tindemans-River-Of-Red-O-Rubor-Sanguinis

@minouette Here’s a link to the CD, River of Red, my choir made. Our first director, the late Margriet Tindemans, arranged the music, our soloists, Molly Siebert, Ann Glusker, Linda Strandberg, Deirdre Forman, Kathy Hanson. Cover art (acrylic on paper), O Rubor Sanguinis, is mine, to be on view as part of an informal event in November to benefit the choir. The works refer to the Rhine massacre of St. Ursula and 10,000 women.
#HildegardvonBingen #feastday
https://www.discogs.com/release/34147075-Hildegard-Of-Bingen-Medieval-Womens-Choir-Margriet-Tindemans-River-Of-Red-O-Rubor-Sanguinis

@minouette Here’s a link to the CD, River of Red, my choir made. Our first director, the late Margriet Tindemans, arranged the music, our soloists, Molly Siebert, Ann Glusker, Linda Strandberg, Deirdre Forman, Kathy Hanson. Cover art (acrylic on paper), O Rubor Sanguinis, is mine, to be on view as part of an informal event in November to benefit the choir. The works refer to the Rhine massacre of St. Ursula and 10,000 women.
#HildegardvonBingen #feastday
https://www.discogs.com/release/34147075-Hildegard-Of-Bingen-Medieval-Womens-Choir-Margriet-Tindemans-River-Of-Red-O-Rubor-Sanguinis

July 11 is the Feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia. In chaotic times, he found peace through prayer and silence, becoming a hermit and esteemed teacher. His Rule of Life balanced prayer, work, and rest, influencing Christian communities for centuries. His legacy urges us to live simply, pray often, and care for others, reminding us that peace and purpose are attainable, even in uncertain times. #SaintBenedict #CatholicSaints #Benedictine #FeastDay https://young-catholics.com/7822/st-benedict/

July 11 is the Feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia. In chaotic times, he found peace through prayer and silence, becoming a hermit and esteemed teacher. His Rule of Life balanced prayer, work, and rest, influencing Christian communities for centuries. His legacy urges us to live simply, pray often, and care for others, reminding us that peace and purpose are attainable, even in uncertain times. #SaintBenedict #CatholicSaints #Benedictine #FeastDay https://young-catholics.com/7822/st-benedict/

July 11 is the Feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia. In chaotic times, he found peace through prayer and silence, becoming a hermit and esteemed teacher. His Rule of Life balanced prayer, work, and rest, influencing Christian communities for centuries. His legacy urges us to live simply, pray often, and care for others, reminding us that peace and purpose are attainable, even in uncertain times. #SaintBenedict #CatholicSaints #Benedictine #FeastDay https://young-catholics.com/7822/st-benedict/

Quote of the day, 30 April: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Would you please send me during the next few days the muslin that’s left from our first Communion dresses, and if there’s not very much of it, that dotted muslin that’s in a box in the attic (still to be delivered to Mother Sub-Prioress).

It’s for Saint Germaine, I’ll tell you about it (I’ll return it to you afterward).

Adieu, I only have time to kiss you before going to sleep.

In union, we have our Heaven within us, let’s live it.

I love you much, my Guite.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 120 to her sister Marguerite Chevignard
Shortly before 15 June 1902

Note: In this letter, Elizabeth and her sister Guite plan a special gift for Mother Germaine, Prioress at the Carmel of Dijon. The gift would be presented on the feast day on her feast day. Elizabeth had made her First Holy Communion on 19 April 1891 at Saint Michael’s Parish in Dijon. Madame Catez later recalled“I will never forget the emotions of 19 April: I saw my child so recollected, so earnest, her tears did not cease to flow and I understood that God had taken possession of that heart so pure, so loving, which no longer would beat except for him” (De Meester, C 2017, Rien Moins Que Dieu).

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Detailed portrait of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, taken on 8 June 1891 after her Confirmation. Although photographed on the day of her Confirmation, the portrait also commemorates her First Holy Communion, received earlier on 19 April 1891. The setting is the garden of the Catez family home in Dijon. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (used by permission).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can I live more consciously today in the “Heaven within me” that Elizabeth describes?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#FeastDay #FirstCommunion #heaven #MadameCatez #MargueriteChevignard #MotherGermaine #StElizabethOfTheTrinity

Richard Sibbes, Puritan, says that God made the rich to relieve the poor, and the poor to pray for the rich (based on 2 Cor 1:11, James 2:5, and a sermon by Augustine).

How many griping about foreign aid would sit still for this teaching? Do we ask the poor to pray for the rich?

How can you pray for those with greater wealth than yourself? How can you view the poor as appropriate stewards of your wealth?

#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

Richard Sibbes, Puritan, says that God made the rich to relieve the poor, and the poor to pray for the rich (based on 2 Cor 1:11, James 2:5, and a sermon by Augustine).

How many griping about foreign aid would sit still for this teaching? Do we ask the poor to pray for the rich?

How can you pray for those with greater wealth than yourself? How can you view the poor as appropriate stewards of your wealth?

#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

Richard Sibbes, Puritan, says that God made the rich to relieve the poor, and the poor to pray for the rich (based on 2 Cor 1:11, James 2:5, and a sermon by Augustine).

How many griping about foreign aid would sit still for this teaching? Do we ask the poor to pray for the rich?

How can you pray for those with greater wealth than yourself? How can you view the poor as appropriate stewards of your wealth?

#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

Richard Sibbes, Puritan, says that God made the rich to relieve the poor, and the poor to pray for the rich (based on 2 Cor 1:11, James 2:5, and a sermon by Augustine).

How many griping about foreign aid would sit still for this teaching? Do we ask the poor to pray for the rich?

How can you pray for those with greater wealth than yourself? How can you view the poor as appropriate stewards of your wealth?

#christian #giver #feastday #havefaith #godseesyou

So, what is this saint famous for? Basically, for spending 36 years living on a small platform on top of a pillar in Syria.

10 facts about St Simon Stylites.

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2025/01/5-january-saint-simon-stylites.html

#Saints #FeastDay