A FEAST FOR THE ANGELS

Today is the feast day of my patron saint: Saint Michael, the archangel. It is also the feast day of Saint Gabriel of "Annunciation" fame and the archangel Raphael. John Nugent and i have written a Broadway bound musical featuring the two angels as the saviour of a group of Dominican nuns. I am sure my dear patron saint has a great sense of humor. There are some interesting facts about. Michael. The good angel was the voice of "The Burning Bush" in the Moses story and one of the angels who secretly buried him. To this day no one knows where Moses is buried. He is also the patron saint of policemen, emergency workers of any kind and the country of Germany. He was the angel who saved Isaac -- Abraham's son and who begged God to preserve the temple at Jerusalem. He is regarded in all religions in a very high and astute fashion. Of course the Mormons teach that Michael was actually Adam and that Gabriel was actually Noah. Strange. Oh well, different strokes, for different folks.The archangel is also attributed as the one who showed Joseph the way to Egypt, the one who prevented Queen Vashti from appearing naked before King Ahasuerus and his guests, and as we said before one of the angels who buried Moses. In Talmud Yoma 77a, however, it is stated that Gabriel once fell into disgrace "for not obeying a command exactly as given, being quoted as saying:"I remained for a while outside the heavenly Curtain." During this 21 day period, the guardian angel of Persia, Dobiel, acted as Gabriel's proxy.The Talmud describes the Angel Gabriel as the only angel who can speak Syriac and Chaldee. Gabriel is also, according to Judaism, the voice that told Noah to gather the animals before the great flood and the invisible force that wrestled with Jacob Gabriel is famous for making the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary.In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel reveals to the Jewish Pharisee and Priest Zechariah that John the Baptist will be born to Zechariah's wife Elizabeth(Luke 1:5-20) Gabriel's annunciation to Mary has been one of the most frequent subjects of Christian art in general, and a key element in Roman Catholic Marian art. The scene has been depicted by masters such as Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo de Vinci, Caravaggio, Duccio and Murillo, among others. Also one should know that according to later legend, he is also the unidentified angel in the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse of John) who blows the final trumpet announcing Judgment Day Revelation 11:15. Of course both angels also appear in the first musical that John Nugent and i have written called "SEVENLY". I really hope that both had a great sense of humor with that one. I am also going into the insurance field or at least exploring the possibilities: more on that as time passes.