Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for September 29, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
The YouTube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. It’s September 29th, the feast of the holy archangels, Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. St. Gregory the Great, 1400 years ago in his commentary on the angels asked, “What does angel mean?” Angalos in Greek, Angelus in Latin. It’s the word for messenger. The archangels are messengers of God. We are sent by God to do something for us.
We know what Gabriel did. He was the one who brought the greatest news of all time to Mary and solicited her consent. He likewise visited Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father in the temple area and announced that Zechariah and Elizabeth would conceive John. Raphael was the messenger of God. Raphael literally means God’s medicine who went to accompany Tobias on his journey to find Sarah and along that journey healed Tobias, healed Sarah, healed Tobias, Tobias’s father. He’s a sign that God sends his messengers not just to proclaim like Gabriel, but also to heal, to bring the various forms of healing that God wants to give. And the most famous of the archangels, Michael, whose name literally means he was like God. What does Michael do? Michael defends, he protects, he fights for God, as we see in the book of Revelation. And so God sends his messengers to defend those who are in need, to protect them, to be good shepherds for them. their messengers, the the great ones who follow in the footsteps of the archangels, the ones whom we have absolute confidence they intercede for from heaven in their messaging and their healing and in their protection are the great missionaries all across the globe. They are the echoes. They are the instances of con the continuation of the work of the archangels. And so today through the holy archangels we pray for them that their work might be effective that they might find Mary’s like Gabriel did as we announce the extraordinary truth that the same Jesus who was in Mary’s womb comes to human beings in Holy Communion. He just looks different. That the same healing that Jesus brought through his touch all across the world.
The same mercy is still extended by the church through the miracles Christ works through the sacrament of confession and through the hospitals that the church has created is the ordinary means of healing. The protection of the church that we care for people in the midst of a world full of those who might wound to announce that even our sufferings can be redeemed. today through the holy archangels. Let’s pray for missionaries everywhere and let’s pray that we might cooperate with what the holy archangels are praying for us to do today. God bless you.
At the end of today’s reflection, brothers and sisters, I just want to make a special invitation to you. We’re getting closer to the month of October, which is two things. First, it’s World Mission Month, which we pray for and sacrifice for missionaries, which has its culmination on World Mission Sunday, which this year is October 19th. And secondly, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. And in honor of both of these month-long celebrations, the Pontifical Mission Societies USA are going to be getting together with anybody who wants to join us from all over the country and world to pray the World Mission Rosary. This was put together by my predecessor, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen when he was director of the Pontifical Mission Societies to pray through our Lady’s intercession the holy rosary for missionaries and those they’re serving in each of the continents of the world.
Below on this email you’ll be able to click on a box which will allow you to sign up to join us. I hope you will pray the World Mission Rosary with us throughout the month of October.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on:
Gospel
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”