March 24 + Saint Gabriel the Archangel

"I am Gabriel, who stand before God.” (St. Luke 1:19)

Gabriel, whose name means “Strength of God” or “Power of God,” is one of the three archangels mentioned in the Scriptures by name. He is mentioned four times in the Bible but most significant are Gabriel's two mentions in the New Testament: to announce the birth of Saint John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, and when he announced to the Virgin Mary that she would bear the Savior of the world.

Saint Gregory noted that the Archangels announce the highest things, so “not any angel but the Archangel Gabriel was sent to Mary; for this ministry, it was fitting to have the highest angel, since he was to announce the greatest news of all.”

Luke tells us, “the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.”

We honor Gabriel regularly whenever we pray the “Hail Mary,” as we begin this prayer with the words Gabriel addressed to Mary at the Annunciation. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (St. Luke 1:28)

Traditionally, he’s also considered the Archangel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, warned Saint Joseph to take the Infant Jesus and Mary to Egypt, called him back to Israel, and later comforted Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Because Gabriel is such a powerful ambassador of God, he’s also the patron of communications workers, and of radio and TV. We should always ask his intercession to turn around our media, from print to TV to movies to the internet, back to morality, decency, and the good.

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See the Saint Gabriel the Archangel Collection