Dear Friends,
We hope that you are safe and well.
In our modern world, we think of email messages and text messages. Angels are messengers of God, as are dreams and nature and other people. In the Church calendar, today we celebrate the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Today's Meditation zeroes in on Raphael, the angel of healing.
In fact, the name Raphael means God's heals. It prompts us to ask: How are you and I instruments of healing? Healing energy is transferred in many ways: reiki is healing energy; listening to another and appreciating them is healing energy. People come up to us in stores or as we are out walking or in emails. How are you and I instruments of healing to those we encounter?
We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in the church, in healthcare, in the workplace--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.
In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that it is God's economy of abundance: when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.
We hope and pray that you find peace, healing, hope and the infusion of joy in your life!
With our love and care,
Ron and Jean
Meet Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing
Archangel Raphael's Roles and Symbols
Tobias Meets the Archangel Raphael, c. 1640. Artist: Vaccaro, Andrea (1604-1670). Heritage Images/Getty Images / Getty Images
By
Whitney Hopler
Updated on July 15, 2017
Archangel Raphael is known as the angel of healing. He’s full of compassion on people who are struggling physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. Raphael works to bring people closer to God so they can experience the peace God wants to give them. He is often associated with joy and laughter. Raphael also works to heal animals and the Earth, so people connect him to animal care and environmental efforts.
People sometimes ask for Raphael’s help to: heal them (of illnesses or injuries that are physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual in nature), help them overcome addictions, lead them to love, and keep them safe while traveling.
Raphael means “God heals.” Other spellings of Archangel Raphael's name include Rafael, Repha'el, Israfel, Israfil, and Sarafiel.
Symbols
Raphael is often depicted in art holding a staff that represents healing or an emblem called a caduceus that features a staff and represents the medical profession. Sometimes Raphael is depicted with a fish (which refers to a scriptural story about how Raphael uses parts of a fish in his healing work), a bowl or a bottle.
Energy Color
Archangel Raphael's energy color is Green.
Role in Religious Texts
In the Book of Tobit, which is part of the Bible in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian denominations, Raphael shows his ability to heal different parts of people’s health. These include physical healing in restoring the blind man Tobit’s sight, as well as spiritual and emotional healing in driving away a demon of lust that had been tormenting a woman named Sarah. Verse 3:25 explains that Raphael: “was sent to heal them both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight of the Lord.” Rather than accepting thanks for his healing work, Raphael tells Tobias and his father Tobit in verse 12:18 that they should express their gratitude directly to God. “As far as I was concerned, when I was with you, my presence was not by any decision of mine, but by the will of God; he is the one whom you must bless as long as you live, he is the one that you must praise.”
Raphael appears in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish text that is considered canonical by Beta Israel Jews and Christians in the Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox churches. In verse 10:10, God gives Raphael a healing assignment: “Restore the earth, which the [fallen] angels have corrupted; and announce life to it, that I may revive it.” Enoch’s guide says in verse 40:9 that Raphael “presides over every suffering and every affliction” of people on Earth. The Zohar, the religious text of the Jewish mystical faith Kabbalah, says in Genesis chapter 23 that Raphael “is appointed to heal the earth of its evil and affliction and the maladies of mankind.”
The Hadith, a collection of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s traditions, names Raphael (who is called “Israfel” or “Israfil” in Arabic) as the angel who will blow a horn to announce that Judgment Day is coming. Islamic tradition says that Raphael is a master of music who sings praises to God in heaven in more than 1,000 different languages.
Other Religious Roles
Christians from denominations such as the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches venerate Raphael as a saint. He serves as the patron saint of people in the medical profession (such as doctors and nurses), patients, counselors, pharmacists, love, young people, and travelers.