The Angels of the Lord

Excerpts of the Homily of Most Rev. Romulo Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao, during the fiesta of St. Michael the Archangel Quasi-Parish in Eden, Toril, Davao City on September 29, 2019.

Viva Sr. San Miguel! Viva!

What was a small chapel before is now a quasi-parish. For 61 years, you have kept the devotion up until a resort came here to St. Michael.

Today, we are celebrating the fiesta of St. Michael the Archangel. You know very well that in the calendar of the church, it is not only the feast of San Miguel that we are celebrating but the three Archangels, including Gabriel and Raphael.

What do we celebrate today? Since the beginning of the Christian faith and, I would say, the Catholic tradition, we have always believed of angels.

The deeper understanding of angels is that God allowed them to be extensions of Himself.

So, whatever the actions of the angels are, they are of God.

But they are not also robots. They decide to willingly, serve the Lord.

That is why, in the first reading, there was a great battle in heaven. There were angels who decided to follow the Lord and there were angels who decided to rebel against the Lord.

They are not robots but they willingly followed the Lord. They became servants of the Lord, the extensions of the Lord.

Therefore, the aura of the angels, especially Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, is always heavenly. Their agenda is heavenly.

Hence, if we celebrate with the fiesta of St. Michael, we should be reminded of heavenly things.