St. Raphael The Archangel

I got a free laminated Catholic devotion card today. Even though I'm not Catholic, sometimes I like to see these cards.

It definitely shows how anyone can be pigeonholed, typecast, even an archangel.

OK, he's St. Raphael the Archangel. In ancient, biblical literature, he only appears by name in the Book of Tobit. I looked it up, and Tobit is a guy who goes blind because some birds poop in his eyes. So he must have been a very sound sleeper. Raphael at some point heals him.

So that's what we know of Raphael, and the prayer to Raphael on the back of the card zeroes in on this one tiny detail, which had to have been only one minor episode in the life of a whole archangel.

It says, "I beg you, assist me in all my needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as you once helped the young Tobias on his travels." Raphael goes, "If I hear that story one more time, I'm going to strike you with blindness, not cure it." That's just my humorous description of what would have to be frustration with being known for such a small thing.

The card allows for more miracles than just counteracting the blinding properties of bird poop. It says, "I especially ask of you the favor (name it) and the great grace of purity...." etc. So name the favor!