You have surely heard of angels. The Bible speaks of them often: they are creatures of God without bodies like ours, made to serve him and to carry messages. The word angel itself comes from Greek and means messenger, the one who brings word from far away.

When an angel is given a very great mission, the Church calls him an archangel. That "arch" at the beginning also comes from Greek and means chief, or head of. An archangel, then, is an angel with a heavier task than the others.

Many angels appear in the Bible, but only three of them are given names: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Each one shows up doing something different, which is why the Church celebrates all three together on the twenty-ninth of September. And here is an honest note: the word archangel is attached to Michael in a single line of Scripture, in the letter of Saint Jude. Gabriel and Raphael are never given that title in the sacred books, but the Church began calling them archangels because of the size of the missions they carried out.

Michael, the One Who Protects

Michael's name is a curious one, because it is not really a name at all: it is a question. In Hebrew, Mi-ka-El means "Who is like God?" In this archangel's story, that question is his weapon.

The prophet Daniel lived far from home, at a time when his people had lost heart. Once Daniel prayed and fasted for three whole weeks, waiting for an answer that never seemed to come. When it finally arrived, the heavenly messenger explained that he had been held up along the way, and that Michael, one of the princes of heaven, had come to help him through. Further on in the same book, Daniel wrote that Michael is the great prince who stands guard over God's people.

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, holds the most famous scene of all. John describes a vision there, not a newspaper report but strong pictures, which is how the prophets often spoke. In that vision there was a battle in heaven: Michael and his angels faced a great dragon, the ancient enemy, and the dragon could neither win nor stay. He was driven out, and heaven was at peace again.

Notice that Michael did not win by being the strongest. He won because he never forgot the question he carries in his name. Who is like God? No one. Anyone who knows that does not get lost.

Gabriel, the One Who Announces

Gabriel means "God is my strength". He is the angel of important messages, and whenever he appears, somebody receives news that changes a whole life.

It was Gabriel who came to the prophet Daniel to explain two visions that nobody could make sense of. Daniel was so frightened that he fell face down on the ground, and the angel lifted him up and talked with him calmly, the way you explain a hard thing to a friend.

Centuries later, Gabriel stepped into the Temple at Jerusalem and stood at the right side of the altar of incense. There was the old priest Zechariah, who had no children. The angel told him that he and Elizabeth would have a boy named John, the one who would later be called John the Baptist.

And then came the loveliest errand of all. Gabriel was sent to a small town in Galilee called Nazareth, to speak with a young woman named Mary.

— Rejoice, full of grace. The Lord is with you.

Mary was startled by that greeting and wondered what it could possibly mean.

— Do not be afraid, Mary — said the angel. — You will have a son, and you will name him Jesus.

Mary asked how such a thing could happen, listened to the answer, and then said the words the world has never forgotten.

— I am the servant of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said.

Gabriel never brought a message of his own. He carried God's words and waited for the answer of the one who heard them. That is why painters so often show him kneeling, with a lily in his hand.

Raphael, the One Who Walks Alongside

The name Raphael means "God heals". His story is found in a book called Tobit, and here is another honest note: that book is in the Catholic Bible, but it is not in every Bible. Some Christian churches do not include it. Catholics call such books deuterocanonical, a long word that means roughly "the ones added to the list later".

The story begins sadly. A good man named Tobit went blind, and in his old age he decided to send his son, young Tobias, to a far-off city to collect some money he had left there. The road was long and dangerous, and the father wanted someone to go with him. Tobias went out to look for a companion and found at the door a young man who said his name was Azariah and that he knew the road well. Neither father nor son had any idea that the young man was an angel.

They set off that same week, with the family dog trotting behind. On the first night, when Tobias went down to the river Tigris to wash his feet, an enormous fish leapt out of the water towards him. The boy jumped back and nearly ran.

— Take hold of the fish — said his companion, perfectly calm.

Tobias caught it, and Azariah showed him how to keep the heart, the liver and the gall, saying that they would serve as medicine further along. Then they roasted the rest and had supper together by the riverbank.

In that distant city there lived a young woman named Sarah, who suffered terribly because of an evil spirit and had run out of hope. It was Raphael who told Tobias what to do and stayed at his side. The two young people were married, and that very night Sarah was set free from that torment, with the gladness of people who have watched a long night end.

On the way home, the angel told Tobias to rub the fish gall on his father's eyes. The son did it with a trembling hand, and old Tobit opened his eyes and saw his boy's face after all those years in the dark. The whole house wept for joy.

When they tried to pay their travelling companion, offering him half of everything they had brought back, he took the two of them aside and told them the truth.

— I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand always before the glory of the Lord.

Father and son knelt down, afraid. The angel told them to rise, wished peace upon them, and asked them to bless God for everything. And when the two stood up, there was nobody there.

The Three on One Day

Michael, Gabriel and Raphael carried out different missions: one protects, one announces, and one walks alongside. On the twenty-ninth of September the Church celebrates all three on the same day, an old feast that in many places is still called Michaelmas, the day of Saint Michael.

If you pay attention, you will see those three things still happening near you. Somebody protects the small, somebody brings good news, somebody agrees to keep another person company on the road. You do not need wings for any of them.