October 24 |
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Feast of St. Raphael the Archangel |
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Raphael is one of the three archangels mentioned in the Bible, the others
being Gabriel and Michael. Raphael
performs all manner of healing in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The
Hebrew word for a doctor of medicine is Rophe from the same root word
as Raphael. In Islam, Raphael is the angel responsible for signaling the
coming of Judgment Day by blowing a horn and sending out a "Blast of Truth". In the Roman Catholic Church, Raphael is the patron saint of travelers,
young people, blindness,
and druggists. The only scriptural information about Raphael is in the book of Tobias (Tobit) where Raphael, in the disguise of a handsome teenager named Azarias accompanied the younger Tobias on a journey to Media to collect some money lent by Tobias's father. Not only did Raphael protect Tobias during the trip and help him collect the money, but also saved him from being eaten by some unspecified fish, and the binding of the demon in the desert of upper Egypt. Tobias said that Raphael facilitated his marriage to him to Sarah and that he gave joy to Sarah's parents for driving out the evil spirit in her. He also gave Raphael credit for curing his father's blindness. After their return from their journey, Azarias makes himself known as the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" .Raphael became known as the patron of the sick because of a medieval legend in which Raphael appeared to a holy hermit when a plague was sweeping central Europe. Raphael told the hermit that a new herb, recently introduced by the Vikings to that area, would cure the plague. The roots of herb were boiled to make a tea which eventually cured thousands. The herb became known as angelica and its official botanical classification became angelica archangelica. The legends of angelica's miraculous powers persist. In 1974 French newspapers reported the death of Annibal CaIroux of Marseilles, who chewed angelica root daily and died at age 121. |
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Tobias and the Angel
Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio |
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Ingredients |
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6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 2 cups hot milk 2 TB butter 2TB yellow Chartreuse 4 eggs, separated |
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup flour 1/4 cup angelica, chopped fine powdered sugar |
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Instructions
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© 2012 Gordon Nary |