Behold the Unseen: Homily for the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

These are the opening words of the Nicene creed, which celebrates its 1700th anniversary in the year 2025. Critical in this first verse, on this day when we celebrate the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, are the words “of all things visible and invisible.”

There are too many Catholics these days, whose belief in Catholicism ends with the natural world, the things that they can see. The supernatural world, which cannot be seen, is explained away in various forms – “oh, heaven and hell are here on earth,” “angels are just an idea,” or worse “it is when people do good that they are angels.” A belief in Catholicism, without a belief in the supernatural, and the unseen, is however, a very poor Catholicism, if indeed Catholicism at all!

It is ironic, therefore, that for entities that we cannot see, the lectionary today has a lot to say about sight! And this is, once again, a very Catholic thing. Our faith has a way of bringing together opposites, things that, superficially, do not seem to belong together. To get there, however, we must take a detour through the unseen.

In the first reading, from the prophet Daniel’s nocturnal visions, we hear:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne….

Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

Brothers and sisters, when I celebrate the Mass by myself, I often feel silly, when in the course of the penitential rite, I confess, “to almighty God, and to you brethren” because there are no brethren visible! And then, I remind myself that every Mass is assisted by the thousands and thousands, and myriads upon myriads, who will attend and minister to the Ancient One who will take His place on the throne that I will set up. The corporal, the folded cloth that is placed over the chalice, is the throne set up prior to the sacrifice, for the Lamb of God to lie down on.

When we recognize this, we also recognize the meaning of the words of Our Lord to Nathaniel in the Gospel for the day:

"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

At every Mass the heavens are opened and the angels ascend and descend on the Son of Man who is offered as sacrifice to God the Father.

But how are we to perceive these things, these mysteries, that are invisible to the naked eye? The response is faith. It is through faith that we perceive things supernatural. While faith is necessary, we must also aid this virtue through actions. All too often, churches are excessively illuminated. Indeed, as I have pointed out at other times, our churches, are illuminated as if they were stadia! One could, potentially put this down to the Babelian projects that contemporary man has taken up. Consciously or unconsciously, we seek to demonstrate our complete mastery over nature, turning in this case, night into day.

And yet, the church is not a stadium, and we are here not to celebrate a game, but a mystery. The night and darkness are a part of God’s plan. It is no coincidence that the prophet Daniel’s visions were nocturnal, for these are the hours, when our sense of sight abandons us, and our other senses are heightened. What we cannot see with the eye, we perceive through other senses in our mind’s eye.

And so, instead of illuminating the darkness out of our churches, we should perhaps return to dimly lit church interiors. Preferring the humble light of candles, and soft lighting, recognizing that excessive light is not necessary for the congregation, and only that much light is necessary which can enable the priest and the lector to read. In this state of chiaroscuro – of light and shadow, where we rely not on intellect, but on faith, perhaps we will see, or realise, the presence of the angels, who minister in their thousands to the Lamb.

Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, pray for us.

Saint Raphael, assist us in our spiritual blindness.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the Sé Catedral, Old Goa on 29 Sept 2025.)

(Image reference: The Healing of Old Tobit, Paul Troger, first half of the 18^th cent., Residenzgalerie, Salzburg.)