Saint Michael the Archangel (2024)

This great prince,Saint Michael, is the general patron and protector of the holy Catholic Church.He was also a special witness and faithful minister of the mysteries of theIncarnation and Redemption.

In the Old Testament,of the earth Moses says that it was void, which he does not say of the heavens;for God had created the angels at the instant indicated by the word of Moses: “Godsaid: Let there be light, and light was made.” He speaks here not only ofmaterial light, but also of the intellectual or angelic lights.

Saint Michael and the angels were createdin the empyrean heavens that they might be first to merit the reward of glory. Inthe first instant they were all created and endowed with graces and gifts, cominginto existence as most beautiful and perfect creatures. Though they were in themidst of heaven, the Divinity itself was not to be made manifest to them face toface and unveiled until they should have merited such a favor by obeying the Divinewill.

God told the angels thatHe would create a human nature and reasoning creatures lower than themselves. Theywere informed that these humans were to stand in high favor, and that the secondPerson of the blessed Trinity was to become incarnate and assume their nature,raising it to the hypostatic union and to divine Personality; that therefore theywere to acknowledge Him as their Head, not only as God, but as God and man. Moreover,the angels were to be His inferiors in dignity and grace and were to be His servants.God revealed the justice and reasonableness of such a position, for this God-manwas revealed to them as the source of the grace which they now possessed and ofthe glory which they were to obtain. They understood also that they themselves hadbeen, and all the rest of the creatures should be created for His glory, and thatHe was to be their Head. All those that were capable of knowing and enjoyingGod, were to be the people of the Son of God, to know and reverence Him astheir Chief.

The Almighty at this junctureworked another wonderful mystery. Having given to all the angels a sufficientlyclear intelligence of the great mystery of the hypostatic Union, He showed themthe image of the most holy Virgin by means of a vision. They were shown theperfection of the human nature in a most perfect Woman in whom the almighty armof the Most High would work more wonderfully than in all the rest of His creatures,for in her He was to deposit the graces and gifts of his right hand in a higherand more eminent manner. The angels were ordered to admit this Woman as Queen andMistress, in whose womb the Onlybegotten of the Father was to assume flesh.

To these commands Saint Michael and theholy angels submitted themselves and gave their full assent, freely subjecting themselvesand praising the power and the mysteries of the Most High.

Lucifer, however, fullof envy and pride, resisted and induced his followers to resist likewise. In disorderlyfury he aspired to be himself the head of all the human race and of the angelicorders, and if there was to be a hypostatic union, he demanded that it be consummatedin him. The decree constituting him inferior to the Mother of the Incarnate Word,our Mistress, he opposed with horrible blasphemies. Turning against the Author ofthese great wonders in unbridled indignation and calling upon the other angels,he exhorted them, saying:

“Unjust are these commandsand injury is done to my greatness; this human nature which Thou, Lord, lookestupon with so much love and which thou favorest so highly, I will persecute and destroy.To this end I will direct all my power and all my aspirations. And this Woman, Motherof the Word, I will hurl from the position in which Thou hast proposed to placeHer, and at my hands, the plan, which Thou settest up, shall come to naught.”

This proud boast so arousedthe indignation of the Lord that in order to humble it, He spoke to Lucifer:

“This Woman, whom thourefusest to honor, shall crush thy head and by Her shalt thou be vanquished andannihilated. And if, through thy pride, death enters into the world, life and salvationof mortals shall enter through the humility of this Woman. Those that are of thenature and likeness of that Man and Woman, shall enjoy the gifts and the crowns,which thou and thy followers have lost.”

To all this the dragon,filled with indignation against whatever he understood of the divine will and decrees,answered only with pride and by threatening destruction to the whole human race.

The holy princeSaint Michael then rose up to defend the honor of the God incarnate and of His holy Mother,being armed with ardent zeal and with the invincible shield of that vision. TheArchangel Michael and his companions asked God that theybe allowed to give battle to thedragon and his followers. Armed with divine power and with his own humility, SaintMichael resisted the arrogant pride of the dragon, saying:

“Worthy is the Highestof honor, praise and reverence, and of being loved, feared and obeyed by all creation.He is mighty to work whatever He desires. He that is uncreated and without dependenceon any other being, cannot seek anything that is not most just. To us He gave gracesuch as we have, creating us and forming us out of nothing. He can create otherbeings, as many and in what manner He pleases. It is reasonable that we,submissive and prostrate in his presence, adore his Majesty and kingly grandeur. Comethen, ye angels, follow me, let us adore Him, and extol his admirable and secretjudgments, his most perfect and holy works. God is most exalted and above all creatures,and He would not be the Most High, if we could attain or comprehend his greatworks. Infinite He is in wisdom and goodness, rich in the treasures of his benefits.As Lord of all and needing none, He can distribute them to whomsoever He wishes,and He cannot err in the selection. He can love and confer his favor to whomsoeverHe chooses, and He can love whom He likes; He can raise up, create and enrich accordingas it is his good pleasure. In all things He will be wise, holy and irresistible.Let us adore and thank Him for the wonderful work of the Incarnation which He hasdecreed, and for his favors to his people and for its restoration to grace afterits fall. Let us adore this Person endowed with the human and the divinenature, let us reverence It and accept It as our Head; let us confess, that He isworthy of all glory, praise and magnificence, and, as the Author of grace, let usgive Him glory and acknowledge his power and Divinity.”

Saint Michael and hisangels gave battle, fighting with the powerful rays of truth against the dragonand his followers, who on their hand made use of blasphemies. Lucifer, at thesight of the holy prince, was torn with interior rage and sought to fly from historments; but it was the will of God that he should not only be punished, but alsoconquered, in order that by his fall he might know the truth and power of God.Nevertheless he blasphemed and cried out:

“Unjust is God in raisingthe human nature above the angelic. I am the most exalted and beautiful angel andthe triumph belongs to me. It is I who am to place my throne above the stars andwho shall be like unto the Highest; I will subject myself to no one of an inferiornature, and I will not consent that any one take precedence of me or be greaterthan I.”

To this Saint Michaelanswered: “Who is there like unto the Lord, who dwells in the heavens, or who tocompare himself to Him? Be silent, enemy, cease thy dreadful blasphemies, and sinceiniquity has taken possession of thee, depart from our midst, wretch, and behurled in thy blind ignorance and wickedness into the dark night and chaos of theinfernal pains. But let us, O spirits of the Lord, honor and reverence this blessedWoman, who is to give human flesh to the eternal Word; and let us recognize Heras our Queen and Lady.”

Lucifer and hisangels did not prevail; for injustice, lies, ignorance and malice cannot prevailagainst equity, truth, light and goodness; nor can these virtues be overcome byvices. Their memory was blotted out from His mind, where they had been written bythe excellences and graces of the nature given to them. Having lost the right tothe places, which had been reserved for them if they had obeyed, it passed overto mankind. To man these places were now transferred in such a way that the veryvestiges of the apostate angels were blotted out and were no more found in heaven.

Lest one think theirpunishment unjust, keep in mind that the Most High had revealed to all theangels the eternal reward suitable to his friends and the eternal punishment dueto those that would follow Lucifer. His Majesty showed them hell and its pains.They saw it all; for, by virtue of their superior and excellent nature, they understoodfully the consequences of their action,so that, before fallingfrom grace, they were clearly aware of the place of their chastisem*nt.

The holy prince Saint Michaelhurled from heaven the dragon Lucifer with the invincible battle-cry:

“Who is like unto God?”

So powerful was this cry,that it sufficed to precipitate that proud giant and all his host to the earth andcast him in dreadful ignominy to the center of the earth. From that time hebegan to be called dragon, serpent, devil and satan, imposed upon him by the holyarchangel in that battle as a testimony of his iniquity and malice.

This was the first of Saint Michael's great victories, though later in time the Almightymade Saint Michael a special ambassador of Christ our Lord and allowed him toact as the defenderof his most holy Mother. Upon her birth, a thousand angels were chosen from the Seraphimand the lower orders of angels to be her special protectors, and in order that thisinvincible warrior-troop might be well appointed, Saint Michael, the prince ofthe heavenly host, was placed at their head. Although not always in the companyof the Queen, he was nevertheless often near Her and frequently revealed himselfto her during her sojourn on earth.

Let the holy ArchangelSaint Michael, prince of the celestial hosts, rejoice eternally since he defended inbattle the glory ofGod Most High, the Incarnate God, and the Blessed Mother ofGod!

Saint Michael's Feast Day isSeptember 29th.

*The information related above is from the book “Mystical City of God,” written by Venerable Mary of Agreda and carrying the imprimatur of a Catholic Archbishop. They are revelations given to the incorrupt saint by the Mother of God, and written under the command of her superiors.There can be no doubt that God can and does manifest to chosen souls hidden things in addition to what He teaches through the public ministry of His Church.

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St. Michael the Archangel Prayer