O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day Amen
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Revelation 12:7-9
Saint Michael, the Archangel is my youngest sons favorite among the saints. Our parish recently held a silent auction, included among the items up for auction was a beautiful statue of Saint Michael. Our young son was eager to bring this statue of his hero home, so he monitored the progress of the auction over the course of the evening, pleading with us to bid again and again until, in the end, the statue was ours. Saint Michael watches over my son while he sleeps from the vantage point of a bedside table. He has come to our aid on many nights when my son is woken by a nightmare. Just the reminder of this mighty and devout warrior of God watching over him brings him peace and comfort.
I grew up with this image of Saint Michael, the pious general and defender of evil leading the battle against Satan, throwing Satan out of Gods kingdom for his rebellion. Artists have depicted Saint Michael’s defeat of Satan through imagery that is powerful and clearly represents good over evil.
While the battle of good and evil does not rage with the clarity and intensity depicted in the paintings of Saint Michael fighting Satan, we do face spiritual battles daily. Peter reminds us “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking some one to devour.” 1 Peter 5: 8 Fortunately, we do not have to face these battles alone.
We know from both the Old Testament and the New Testament that Saint Michael is the guardian of God’s people and a warrior against evil. And while it is Christ who is the true conqueror of sin and evil, we know that the angels are always with us, ministering to us. So we can seek the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel in the midst of our daily lives when facing evil or when we feel we are losing our peace and serenity. We can all ask Saint Michael to pray for us and take comfort in knowing that he sits on our nightstand, keeping watch over us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, guardian of the Catholic faith, champion of God’s people, pray for us.
To Jesus through Mary- Amelia Maness-Gilliland
image by thesaintsproject.org
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