Feast of the Archangels

Feast of the Archangels: Sept. 29th

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels! Archangel Raphael holds a special place in my family, because my husband prayed a 54 day Novena asking for Saint Raphael's intercession to meet his future wife. Shortly after he finished his Novena, my husband and I met and started dating, and then, two-and-a-half years later at our wedding, one of the readings we selected to be read was from the book of Tobit where the Archangel Raphael appears.

Celebrating with Food:

As you and your family celebrate the Feast of the Archangels—Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael—today, make your day "Angel Themed!" For dinner, you and your family can make angel-hair pasta with Alfredo sauce, and serve angel-food cake for dessert. My husband’s grandmother was known for making angel food cake, and every year on the feast of the archangels, I get to bust out her angel food baking pan we inherited. I keep it pretty simple and just use a box angel food cake mix, which is the secret my husband’s grandmother passed on to his mother, and my mother-in-law then passed on to me. With your angel hair pasta, you can add ingredients and sides that incorporate the first letter of each archangel’s name. You can add sautéed garlic to your pasta sauce and serve garlic bread for Saint Gabriel (letter G), sprinkle Romano parmesan and Roma tomatoes on salads and in your pasta for Saint Raphael (letter R), and then top your angel food cake with mandarine oranges and maraschino cherries for Saint Michael.

Celebrating with Crafts:

For a simple and fun craft, you and your family can trace your hands to look like angel wings and write: "Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, pray for us." You can then hang your angel-wing-hands above your table or place them on your table for decorations. You can also draw the outline of three angels and then draw a sword on one for Saint Michael, praying hands for Saint Gabriel, and a walking staff or crook for Saint Raphael.

Celebrate with Printable Letter Resources and Archangel coloring pages:

Here are great Alphabet letter worksheets ,from the website “K-5 Learning,” that you can print and work on with your children as a letter and writing activity. If you’re looking for coloring worksheets, the website “The Catholic Kid” has free printable coloring pages for Saint Gabriel and Saint Michael and Saint Michael’s Prayer ; and the website, “Catholic Playground,” has a good coloring page of Saint Raphael. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating the Feast of the Archangels.

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