From the Sermons of St. Bonaventure, the Bishop
De Sanctis Angelis Sermo 5,
Raphael means God's healing, and we should observe that the way out of evil lies through three blessing bestowed on us through Raphael's healing. For Raphael the Healer leads us forth from weakness of soul and brings us into the bitterness of contrition; whence in the book of Tobit Raphael says: When thou enterest into thy house, anoint his eyes with gall. He did so, and he saw. Why could not Raphael do this himself? Because an Angel does not bestow compunction, but he shows the way to it. By gall, the bitterness of contrition is to be understood, for it heals the inner eyes of the mind. The Psalmist says: He healeth those that are broken in heart. This is the best eye salve. In the second chapter of the Book of Judges it is written that an angel came up to the place of the weepers, and said to the people: I made you to go up out of Egypt; I have done all of these good things for you: and all the people wept, so that the place was called the Place of the Weepers. Dearly beloved, all day long the Angels are telling us of God's blessings, and recalling them to our minds: Who hath created thee? Who hath redeemed thee? What hast thou done? Whom hast thou offended? When thou considerest this, thine only remedy is to weep.
Secondly, Raphael brings us forth from our slavery to the devil, by recalling
Christ's Passion to our mind. There is a figure of the Passion in the sixth chapter of Tobit, where it is said that if a piece of the heart is put on the embers, its smoke will drive out all kinds of devils. It is said in the eighth chapter of Tobit that Tobias put a piece of the heart on the embers, and Raphael bound the devil in the utmost parts of Egypt. What does this mean? Was Raphael unable to bind the devil unless the heart was put on the embers? Surely a fish's heart could not give such strength to an Angel? By no means! It would be impossible unless there was a mystery in this. We are to understand that nothing so frees us from the devil's slavery as the Passion of Christ, which issued from the root of his heart, or of his love. For the heart is the fountain, or hot centre, of all life. Therefore if thou puttest the heart of Christ, that is the Passion, that he underwent, issuing from the root of charity and the fountain of heat, on the embers, that is, on the flame of memory: then immediately the devil will be bound, and he will be unable to hurt thee.
Thirdly Raphael delivers us from God's displeasure, which we incur by transgressing against God; he does this by leading us to instant prayer: and this is what Raphael said to Tobit in the twelfth chapter: When thou didst pray with tears, I did bring your prayers before the Lord. For the Angels reconcile us to God, as far as they are able. The devils are accusers before God, but the angels excuse us, when they offer our prayers, and when they urge us to pray devoutly. In the eighth chapter of the Revelation of St. John it is said: The smoke of the incense ascended up before God out of the Angels hand. This sweet smelling incense is the prayer of the saints. Does thou wish to appease God, whom thou hast offended ? Then pray devoutly. They offer thy prayer, so that they may reconcile thee to God. It is said in the Gospel of St. Luke, that Christ being in an agony, prayed more earnestly, and there appeared an Angel of the Lord strengthening him. And all of this was done for our sake: for he had no need of strengthening, but it was to show that the Angels willingly assist those who pray devoutly, and help and strengthen them, and bring their prayers before God.
Topic: S. Raphaëlis Archangeli (Read 1067 times)