The True Confessions of St. Raphael the Demon Hunter

Sex, guts (literal guts), violence, dead animals, a demon who is in love with a woman, mysterious birds, a dangerous journey, a possessed fish, incense, intrigue, romance, and an angel in disguise.

Is this the storyline of a new horror film coming out in time for Halloween?

Oh no, my friends. It is the story of St. Raphael, and it is not G-rated. Good old Saint Raph is not a sweet and gentle angel healer, peacefully guiding us to a happy meeting with our spouse.

It is true that he is the patron saint of healers, happy meetings, and patron saint of CatholicMatch, from our humble beginnings as St.Raphael.net.

But he is much more hardcore than you are giving him credit for. It's time to learn his real story.

Let's open up to the book of Tobit and dive in.

Setting the stage

Raphael is sent by God, disguised as a human, with a two-part mission. First, heal Tobit from his sparrow-poop induced blindness. Second, help Sarah get married, because her last seven husbands were all killed by the demon Asmodeus on their wedding night, right before they consummated their marriage.

And you thought this stuff only happens in the movies!

Raphael is introduced onto the scene after two moving monologues. In the first, Tobit is struggling in his marriage due to his blindness. The doctors have tried to cure him, but have only made it worse. He and his wife are fighting constantly due to the stress caused by his handicap, and after one intense fight, Tobit prays for death. He is sick of enduring the misery of his life, and just asks God to take him, saying:

"It is better for me to die than to endure so much misery in life." Tobit 3:6

Sarah meanwhile, is dealing with some cruel comments. Her servants taunt her saying that it is ridiculous for her to be unmarried. Having seven husbands die is crazy, and she should just go join them.

Sarah runs to her room, and considers hanging herself. She then thinks about how sad her father would be if she killed herself and instead prays that the Lord will take her so that she no longer has to hear "such reproaches."

She prays for death just like Tobit. At that moment, God hears both Tobit's and Sarah's prayer, and sends Raphael to heal them.

Wondering if Tobit's and Sarah's stories will intersect? Oh they will. Hint: Tobit has a son. Gotta have the boy meets girl side plot. Get ready.

Boy meets demon-beset girl

So, we meet Tobit's son, helpfully and also sometimes confusingly named Tobiah, who embarks on a long journey accompanied by the angel Raphael, disguised as a distant cousin. Along the way, a large fish leaps out of the Tigris River and attempts to swallow Tobiah's foot whole. Yikes! Raphael takes charge of the situation and insists that Tobias wrestle with the fish and capture it. Tobias, terrified but trusting, hauls the fish onto the shore. And then, Raphael further insists that Tobiah:

"Slit the fish open and take out its gall, heart, and liver, and keep them with you; but throw away the other entrails. Its gall, heart, and liver are useful for medicine.” Tobit 6:5

Tobiah, despite possible misgivings about carrying fish organs for the rest of the journey, does as he is told. And, resourceful man that he is, roasts the rest of the fish for a quick supper.

As they continue journeying, Raphael plays matchmaker and explains, "Hey, you have a beautiful, wise and courageous relative named Sarah, great wife material, and we are going to stay at her house. She is perfect for you. You will marry her tonight." Tobiah has heard about this Sarah and tells Raphael, politely, that he is not interested. He knows about her seven dead husbands and would like to be alive the next day.

The quickest wedding on record

Raphael says, don't worry. I have the solution. Just burn the fish's heart and liver in the bedroom, and it will scare the demon away. Then, right before you have sex, pray and beg the Lord for protection. He reassures Tobiah that this is the woman he is supposed to marry:

"Do not be afraid, for she was set apart for you before the world existed. You will save her, and she will go with you. So do not worry." Tobit 6:18

Tobiah starts to love this woman deeply, and slowly gets his heart set on marrying her as they arrive at Sarah's house. Everyone greets the distant relatives joyfully, and Tobiah asks Sarah's father for her hand in marriage. Sarah's father tries to dissuade him because of the dead husband history, but Tobiah insists and the marriage contract is signed. The group sits down to a wedding dinner celebration.

Ominous music plays in the background as Tobiah and his new wife retire to the bedroom after dinner. Sarah's mother, after making the bed for the new couple, leaves the room weeping silently. Sarah's father goes out to the back in secret and begins to dig a grave for his new son-in-law.

Three weeks of celebration

Tobiah follows Raphael's instructions to the letter, and once the demon smells the fish organs burning, he runs to Egypt! Raphael quickly follows the demon to Egypt, finds, wrestles and captures the demon, thus ending its reign of terror and husband killing. The couple pray at their marriage bed, in a beautiful prayer often read at weddings.

Upon waking, unharmed and alive the next morning, a huge two week party commences to celebrate Sarah's first living husband.

Then, the happy couple visits Tobiah's parents, where Raphael instructs Tobiah to spread the fish gall he has saved on his father's eyes. The procedure stings, but restores Tobit's sight! There is much rejoicing and another week-long party. Raphael reveals himself to Tobit and Tobiah as an angel sent by God to both test and help them. He directs them to praise God always, to thank him, and to practice almsgiving, fasting, and to avoid sin. Then, he disappears from their sight.

Great story. But how does this apply to me?

Boom! Crazy ride, right? Let's look closer at a couple of points.

St. Raphael came to two people who were not just sad; they were praying for death. They didn't think they could handle their crosses anymore. One was struggling in a difficult marriage, and one was cruelly made fun of for her singleness. Instead of solving their problems outright, Raphael gave them instructions that they had to follow. Tobiah listened to his instructions and followed them, everything from catching a fish, to saving its organs, to praying, even though he did not know this was an angel in disguise. In the end, eventually, everyone had an answer to his prayers.

We need a willingness to persevere through suffering—be it something small, like insensitive comments, or be it something as large as debilitating disease or death of a spouse. We also need to be ready to take initiative and follow God's will, even when it arrives in unexpected ways or from unexpected people.

Check out our St. Raphael prayer cards, and know that he can definitely intercede for you, no matter how sad or hopeless your situation might seem right now.

St. Raphael, pray for us!