Behold the Angel Who Will Blow the Last Trumpet

Summary

St. Raphael, healing, and the last trumpet

The host opens with an Islamic tradition identifying Archangel Raphael as the angel who will blow the last trumpet. He notes that Catholics are not required to accept this tradition, then connects it to St. Paul’s description of the dead being raised and the living transformed at the trumpet’s sound.

The video presents this transformation—from mortality to immortality—as the ultimate healing, linking the idea to Raphael’s name and traditional role as a healer.

The story of Tobit

The speakers recount the biblical story of Tobit and Tobias from the Book of Tobit:

• Tobit becomes blind, and his family falls into poverty.
• His son Tobias sets out to collect a debt, accompanied by a traveler calling himself Azariah, meaning “help of God.”
• The traveler helps Tobias catch a fish and preserve its gall.
• Tobias marries Sarah, whose previous husbands had been killed by a demon. Raphael drives the demon away.
• On their return, Tobias uses the fish’s gall to restore his father’s sight.
• Raphael then reveals that he is one of the angels who stand before God’s throne.

The speakers recommend reading the Book of Tobit, particularly its account of Raphael’s teachings. They also refer to the biblical use of oil for anointing the sick.

Mary O’Regan’s account

Mary O’Regan describes discovering devotion to St. Raphael as a young woman. After a friend shared a prayer book and spoke of prayers being answered, O’Regan prayed a novena while waiting for money she needed to travel to Spain. She says the money arrived on the ninth day, allowing her to go.

She later wondered whether Raphael was a real biblical figure or merely fictional. During a visit to Mount Melleray in Ireland, a priest she had not confided in described prayers she had said to Raphael that morning. O’Regan says the experience lifted her doubts and strengthened her devotion.

The St. Raphael oil ministry

Mary Ann describes a ministry founded by Father Joe Whalen, a La Salette missionary priest who was ordained at age 66 in 1989. According to her, Whalen had a longstanding devotion to St. Raphael and began distributing prayer cards; people reported healings. In the early 1990s, he received messages from the Philippines that the ministry understood as calls to promote St. Raphael’s healing oil.

A message dated January 1994, presented in condensed translation, describes the world as spiritually sick, warns of diseases of unknown origin, and urges people to seek Raphael’s intercession and spread the oil. Mary Ann says the ministry has since sent oil to people in more than 100 countries.

The speakers emphasize several qualifications:

• The oil is described as a sacramental, not one of the oils used in Church sacraments.
• It is blessed and prayed over, and is not sold; the ministry accepts donations.
• It should not be treated as magical or superstitious. The speakers say that God is the healer, with the oil serving as a devotional aid and St. Raphael as an intercessor.
• Outcomes and the form of healing are ultimately up to God. Reported healings may be physical, mental, or spiritual, and may be immediate or gradual.

Use described in the video:

• Pray the prayer provided with the oil, with faith and gratitude.
• Anoint yourself or another person by making a sign of the cross with the oil.
• Apply a cross to door or window frames for protection.
• Pray for someone who is absent, even if that person cannot be anointed directly.

The host encourages people to ask God for help with small as well as serious needs, while entrusting the outcome to God.

Testimonies and the purpose of sharing them

Mary Ann and the host share accounts attributed to recipients of the oil and people associated with the ministry. These include reported relief from injury and pain, a brain tumor that was reportedly absent before surgery, a child born healthy after a difficult prenatal diagnosis, improvements in vision, cancer recoveries, and recovery from severe illness. They also recount a Ugandan bishop’s report of a woman’s leg wound healing after prayer and use of the oil.

These are presented as personal testimonies, not as independently verified medical findings. The speakers say that sharing them is meant to encourage faith and glorify God, rather than suggest that healing is guaranteed. They also stress that religious devotion should not replace the understanding that God determines how and whether healing occurs.

The video mentions October 24 as Raphael’s traditional feast day, while noting that the 1969 revision of the Roman calendar combined the observances of the archangels.

Closing prayer

Mary Ann leads a prayer for viewers, invoking Jesus and St. Raphael. She asks for healing, protection from evil and illness, and guidance toward heaven. The prayer encourages viewers to present their needs to God with thanksgiving.

Speakers and sources featured

• Alvaro — the host and interviewer.
• Mary O’Regan — shares her personal story of devotion to St. Raphael and an encounter at Mount Melleray.
• Mary Ann — representative of the St. Raphael oil ministry; discusses its history, practices, and reported testimonies, and leads the closing prayer.
• Bishop John Musonge — quoted in a testimony about a woman treated at a healing center in Uganda.
• Father Joe Whalen — ministry founder, discussed by Mary Ann and the host; his reported teachings and legacy are cited.
• Biblical and religious sources discussed: St. Paul’s teaching about the last trumpet; the Book of Tobit; and the Gospel of Mark’s account of the apostles anointing the sick with oil.
• Other named people cited in testimonies or discussion: Mark Mallett, Monsignor Karl Shimriak, Maureen Capistran, and people identified in testimonies as Joan, Marie, Pam, and others.