In the spiritual world there are divine entities that throughout history have been recognized by different religions, and that fulfill a specific mission on the earthly plane. One of these entities with the archangels, also mentioned in the Bible, which is the world’s most recognized book and guides the steps not only of Catholics, but of many other religions worldwide. It should be noted that the term archangel comes from the Greek «archángelos», which, although it appears only twice in the New Testament, has a significant importance in the messages that are reflected there.
This term is composed of the ancient Greek prefix (arc) or in the prefix (archo) that mean «the one who governs, who leads, who directs or who commands,» in addition to the noun «angel», whose meaning is «messenger». Hence, according to the meanings of this compound word, and considering the syntax of the Greek language and the roots from which it is derived, the meaning corresponding to the term archangel would be given «Principal Angel» or «Chief Angel», or also «Chief Messenger».
Even when speaking of the seven archangels, it should be noted that in the year 745 Pope Zacharias through the Lateran Council approved only the worship of the three main archangels such as Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, and on September 29 of the year 1969 the festivities of these three archangels were unified, thanks to the liturgical reform of that year, considered in turn as the day of the dedication of a basilica in honor of San Miguel, which was raised in the 5th century on Via Salaria .
In this sense, the First Hierarchy has as its exclusive mission the glorification of God, loving and praising him in his presence; while the second hierarchy is represented by the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones, and they are in charge through domination, virtues and powers, of governing space and the stars, thus being considered as the highest responsible of the universe.
Regarding the Third Hierarchy, represented by Principalities, Archangels and Angels, it should be noted that they are the entities whose mission is to intervene in everything related to the needs of the human race, which is corroborated in the Bible, where the intervention of the archangels San Miguel, San Gabriel and San Rafael in the lives of men, nations, cities and churches, with specific missions given by God himself for each of them.
In this way, according to the different versions that have been given by both the Catholic Church and other religions and spiritual movements such as the so-called New Age, God has entrusted the archangels with the most important missions in relation to the life of men on earth, for what would be the guardians of the people who hold important positions in the world and to whom God has assigned great missions, such as the Pope, cardinals, bishops; and if we are guided by the missions of relevance to the world, the presidents of the nations and senior officials of the institutions should be there.
From the perspective of the Catholic Church, the names found in the Holy Scriptures are recognized, while it is considered that the other names, which even vary according to religion or spiritual movement, can only be taken as a reference, since they do not form part of the doctrine of the Church, they are even cataloged as of occult or New Age origin.
In this way, the Catholic Church recognizes the existence of only three Archangels mentioned in the scriptures, which are: Michael whose name means «who is like God?», Gabriel who represents the «strength of God» and Raphael whose meaning is » medicine of God”, whose existence represents a sign of faith and its presence in the Bible is a testimony of the plans of God, who entrusted to these incorporeal, spiritual and perfect beings, specific missions for life on planet earth, making them his servants and messengers.
In general, the task of the three Archangels, apart from the contemplation of God, is to bring divine messages to men, which in turn represent the will of the Creator, as well as becoming the catalysts of divine grace and inspiration. for humans.
Going deeper into the mission of San Miguel Arcángel, we must emphasize that his name appears especially in the Book of Daniel of the Holy Scriptures, specifically in the Epistle of the apostle San Judas Tadeo and the Apocalypse, deriving his name from the Hebrew Mi-ka-El, which means «who is like God?», which is described as a warrior with armor and a sword, which he wields with the intention of piercing a dragon that has a spear and represents the Devil.
In this way, the role of the Archangel Michael is that of a fighter who faces the rebel angels who were led by Lucifer, and who were expelled from paradise in a war waged by the heavenly armies commanded by him.
Within the context of the Catholic Church, the cult of Saint Michael the Archangel began in Eastern Europe, later spreading very quickly throughout the continent, after his appearance in a cave in San Lorenzo Maiorano, a town located in Apulia. , where the tradition of carrying out pilgrimages for popes, sovereigns and future saints was preserved.
For the reasons stated above, Saint Michael the Archangel is the ‘celestial warrior’, protector of battle fighters, masters of arms, such as the military and/or police, and has also become the patron saint of people who They dedicate themselves to activities where scales are used, such as: merchants and pharmacists, due to their abilities as a judge of souls.
With regard to the Archangel Gabriel, whose name comes from Hebrew and means «Power of God» or «Fortress of God», it is important to point out that in the biblical tradition he was considered one of the angels closest to the throne of God, to the point of being called «the left hand of God», presenting himself as the angel of death, although for Islamists he was the angel who revealed the Koran to Muhammad and represents one of the main messengers of God.
Likewise, in the Christian tradition Saint Gabriel is considered a divine messenger, because he revealed to Zacharias the future birth of John the Baptist, in addition to the fact that it was he who announced to the Virgin Mary her miraculous conception and the birth of Jesus, as well just as he also appeared in a dream to Joseph to make him desist from repudiating Mary for her inexplicable pregnancy, making him see that it was the work of the Holy Spirit.
On the earthly plane, the Archangel Gabriel is considered the protector of those who work in communications, postmen, ambassadors, journalists and messengers, due to the mission that God assigned him on earth, however, for any mortal Saint Gabriel is a guide who It guides them through the divine messages that reach them, especially when it is invoked with faith and much love.
In the case of the Archangel Saint Raphael, his mission is to bring healing to mortals, considering that his name comes from Hebrew and means «Medicine of God», while in the Bible he is mentioned as one of the closest angels to the throne of God. , who chooses him as Tobias’ guide on his journey to collect the credit left behind by his father.
Because during the trip that Tobias made, the Archangel Raphael manifests himself in human form, to find a suitable bride for him and also achieves the miracle of recovering his father’s sight, for which he is considered the patron of conjugal love. , of spouses, of everything that has to do with health, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, as well as educators, travelers and refugees.
On the other hand, he is often depicted with a medicine bottle and fish. Therefore, his role as a healer is interpreted as the will to heal the soul and relieve it of suffering.
Once the missions of the three main archangels have been explained, we must emphasize that although in the Bible only three of the archangels are mentioned by name, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, since ancient times it has been considered that there are seven archangels, because both in the Gospel of Saint John as in the Book of Enoch, the seven spirits that are part of the Jewish tradition and of the first Christians are mentioned.
This is how, in modern times with the resurgence of ancient spiritual traditions, interest in the archangels has been awakened, being the subject of debates and questions, but each person has the decision to believe that there are three, five, seven, or the amount that you consider, and here what we consider important is the meaning of these entities and that they represent the divine ideals that impel the human being in the direction of divine love.
For this reason, we are going to briefly mention below the names, missions and colors that identify the seven most well-known archangels:
First we have Saint Michael the Archangel, considered as the head of the heavenly army, and he is represented with the color blue, then we have Saint Gabriel, who is the heavenly messenger and his color is silver or white; while San Rafael, is the protector of health, travelers and courtship, and is represented by the color green.
The other four archangels are: Uriel, who is in charge of the lands and the temples of God, his name literally means «fire of God» his job is to establish peace in the world and he usually wears a colored dress golden.
Jophiel, whose name means «beauty of God» has the task of illuminating the spirit of the blessed and is represented in pale yellow, while Chamuel is the archangel of love, his name means «one who seeks God» and is represented with the color pink. Finally, Zadquiel whose name means «the justice of God» and his color is violet.