The Feast day of St. Raphael is ~ 29th September
Raphael’s Hebrew name signifies “God has healed”. According to his own testimony to Tobias, even he is one of the seven Angels who always stand before the throne of the Almighty. In the old Testament, it is recorded how he cured the blindness of Tobit and acted as guide during his son’s trip to Media. St. Raphael is in consequence revered as the patron saint of travellers, of the young and the innocent.
The day’s gospel also identifies him with the Angel who used to come down at certain intervals to stir the water in the Probatica pool, which caused the cure of the first invalid who descended into the moving waters.
The Eastern church has honoured St. Raphael since the year 1000, but his cult was added to the universal calendar of the church by Pope Benedict XV in 1921.
Reflection: “Make the holy Angels your friends! No matter how weak you may be, how sad your condition, or how great the perils which surround us, we have nothing to fear under the protection of such guardians!” (St. Bernard)