2009 January | Angel Words and Art

January Angel—Gabriel | BYBS

January 4th, 2009 by Kathleen

January

January Art Print
Mccrady, Carol
6 in. x 8.3125 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com

Gabriel is the angel for January, according to this series of old paintings of the angels for each month. But, of course, he is much more than that.

In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Gabriel serves as a messenger from God. He first appears in the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible.

Although generally referred to as an archangel, Gabriel is only referred to as an angel in the Bible. In Christian tradition, he is also sometimes regarded as the angel of death.

Gabriel has appeared so much in art and literature that a host of stories have grown up about him. Many of them are so familiar that most people do not realize that they did not originate in the Bible or other sacred texts. For example, it is from John Milton’s Paradise Lost that we get the story of Gabriel as chief of the angels that guard Paradise.

Both Christians and Muslims believe that Gabriel foretold the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. In the writings of the Bahá’í Faith, Gabriel is mentioned in Bahá’u'lláh’s mystical work Seven Valleys.

Islam further teaches that God revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad through the Gabriel, and that Gabriel sent a message to most prophets, if not all, revealing their obligations. Gabriel is called the chief of the four favoured angels and the spirit of truth.

In Christianity Gabriel is most famous for announcing to the virgin Mary that she is to be the mother of Jesus. There are thousands of paintings depicting the Annunciation. Because they depict angels in so many beautiful ways, some of those paintings will be displayed on this blog from time to time.

If they uplift our spirits and inspire us to better people, then angels, angel art, angel stories and beliefs are a blessing. May you have a blessed new year.

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Tags: Abrahamic religions, angel of death, Angels, Annunciation, Archangels, Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, Bible, Book of Daniel, Christianity, Islam, John Milton, Judaism, Muhammad, Paradise Lost, prophets, Qur'an, Seven Valleys, virgin Mary

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Happy New Year Cherubs

January 1st, 2009 by Kathleen

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

This is an old-fashioned greeting, the sort your great-mother might have sent—or her mother. It is sweet and sentimental, but the sentiment is real. Let us all pray for the health and happiness of everyone on earth this year.