Dialogo e Solstizio

Sep 21, 2025 Written by don Giuseppe Nespeca

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Angolo dell'apripista

Same Vocation, Brethren in Vocation

A true act of entrustment to the archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, asking them to help us in the fight against the temptations of the devil, to bring us the good news of salvation and to take us by the hand so that we do not stray from the path of life, thus cooperating in 'God's plan of salvation'. This is the prayer recited by the Pope during Mass celebrated in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta on Friday, 29 September, the feast day of the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

"In the opening prayer at the beginning of Mass," Francis immediately pointed out, "we prayed as follows: 'O God, who calls angels and men to cooperate in your plan of salvation, grant us pilgrims on earth the protection of the blessed spirits, who stand before you in heaven to serve you and contemplate the glory of your face.'"

"One thing that attracts attention from the outset," the Pope explained, "is that angels and we have the same vocation: to cooperate in God's plan of salvation; we are, so to speak, 'brothers' in vocation." Angels "stand before the Lord to serve him, to praise him and also to contemplate the glory of the Lord's face: angels are great contemplatives, they contemplate the Lord; they serve and contemplate. But the Lord also sends them to accompany us on the path of life."

"Today we celebrate three of these archangels," said the Pontiff, "because they played an important role in the history of salvation. And we celebrate these three because they also play an important role in our journey towards salvation."

Starting with "Michael — the great Michael — the one who wages war against the devil," explained the Pope, referring to the passage from Revelation (12:7-12) proposed by the liturgy and emphasising: "In the end, when the dragon fought against Michael, when he was defeated, the text says: 'The great dragon, the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, was thrown down.'" The devil is 'our enemy' and this, explained the Pontiff, is 'a vision of the end of the world, but in the meantime he causes trouble, he causes trouble in our lives: he always tries to seduce, as he seduced our mother Eve, with convincing arguments: "Eat the fruit, it will do you good, it will teach you many things"'. And so, "like the serpent, he begins to seduce, to seduce, and then, when we have fallen, he accuses us before God: 'He is a sinner, he is mine!'"

So, Francis reiterated, '"this is mine" is precisely the devil's word, he wins us over by seduction and then accuses us before God: "He is mine, I will take him with me". And "Michael wages war against him, the Lord asked him to wage war: for us who are on our way, in this life of ours, towards heaven, Michael helps us to wage war against him, not to let ourselves be seduced by this evil spirit who deceives us with seductions." Precisely "for this reason, today we thank St Michael for this work he does for the Church and for each one of us, and we ask him to continue to defend us.".

The second archangel, "Gabriel, is the one who brings good news, the one who brought the news to Mary, to Zechariah, to Joseph," Francis continued. Gabriel, therefore, brings "good news and the good news of salvation." He too "is with us and helps us on our journey." Especially when, as often happens, "with so much bad news or news that has no substance, we forget the good news, that of the Gospel of God, of salvation, that Jesus came to us and brought us God's salvation." And it is precisely "Gabriel who reminds us of this, and for this reason today we ask Gabriel to always announce the good news to us." Gabriel, Francis prayed, "remind us of God's good news, of what God has done."

"And then there is the third archangel, Raphael, who helps us on our journey, who walks with us," said the Pontiff. "Michael defends us, Gabriel gives us the good news, and Raphael takes us by the hand and walks with us, helping us with the many things that happen along the way." To Raphael, "we must ask: please, do not let us be seduced into taking the wrong step, into taking the wrong path; guide us on the right path, on the good path. You are our companion on the journey, as you were Tobias' companion on his journey."

The three archangels, Francis continued, "are before God, they are our companions because they have the same vocation in the mystery of salvation: to carry forward the mystery of salvation. They adore God, they glorify God, they serve God." And so, "today we simply pray to the three archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael," the Pope invited, suggesting the words of the prayer: "Michael, help us in our struggle; everyone knows what struggle they have in their lives today, each of us knows the main struggle, the one that puts our salvation at risk. Help us, Gabriel, bring us news, bring us the good news of salvation, that Jesus is with us, that Jesus has saved us and gives us hope. Raphael, take us by the hand and help us on our way so that we do not stray from the path, so that we do not remain stationary: always walking, but helped by you."

[Pope Francis, St. Marta, in L'Osservatore Romano, 30/09/2017]

66 Last modified on Sunday, 21 September 2025 06:02

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don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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