Click Here: Michael vs. Lucifer, by Fr. Shannon Collins (listen to the podcast).
St. Michael – More Than an Archangel
Archangels are one of the nine choirs of angels listed in the Bible. In ascending order, the choirs or classes are 1) Angels, 2) Archangels, 3) Principalities, 4) Powers, 5) Virtues, 6) Dominations, 7) Thrones, 8) Cherubim, and 9) Seraphim. For more general information on angels, see What are Angels? A Summary & Exposition on Angels for Catholics, which is taken from A Tour of the Summa compiled by Msgr. Paul J. Gleen for Aeterna Press.
St. Michael is regarded as the special Guardian Angel of Saint Joseph and the Guardian Angel of each one of the Popes and one of the seven great angels who stand before the throne of God.
Among the saints and theologians there is some dispute (all within the acceptable realm of Catholic belief) regarding his rank among the angels. Some, like St. Thomas Aquinas, maintain he is a prince of the lowest choir. They emphasize how God exalts the lowly and humble. According to tradition, Lucifer would have been the greatest (or among the greatest) of angels in the Seraphic choir and St. Michael’s victory over him is therefore that much more stupendous. Yet other doctors, like St. Basil the Great, hold that “archangel” refers to him as being a prince of the other angels. Saint Bonaventure taught he was a prince of the seraphim. The Greek Liturgy calls him the “highest general” and the Roman Liturgy refers to him as “the prince of the heavenly host” and the “Viceroy of paradise whom the angels that dwell in Heaven do honor.’[1]
St. Michael in the Life of the Church
The Church attributes four offices to St. Michael, as the Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes:
- To fight against Satan.
- To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
- To be the champion of God’s people: the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore, he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
- To call away from earth men’s souls and bring them to judgment.
St. Michael is the only angel who is invoked by name at every Mass. We pray to him in the Confiteor when we confess our sinfulness and seek God’s pardon and the saints’ intercession. This prayer is normally prayed three times during the course of a Mass and each time he is invoked twice. The Church also acknowledges him as the angel who stands at the heavenly altar of incense bringing our prayers before God. When incense is used at the Offertory, the Church prays to him thus:
Through the intercession of blessed Michael the Archangel, standing at the right hand of the altar of incense, and all His elect, may the Lord deign to bless this incense and, in the odor of sweetness, to accept it. Amen
Pope Leo XIII composed a lengthy prayer[2] to St. Michael after an inspired vision in which he heard Satan seeking more power to destroy the Church (1884). A shortened version of that prayer is what Catholics are most familiar with. It is also the prayer which Pope Leo XIII commanded to be prayed at the end of every Low Mass. In the Traditional (Latin) Mass, fidelity to this papal command remains customary.
Yet this pious practice was sadly discontinued in 1970.[3] The text of the New Mass also eliminated all references to St. Michael in the ordinary parts of the rite. If the Church ceases to pray to St. Michael in her liturgy, then many possible graces and helps from him are not being requested or received. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Satan clearly has greater power in our world today.
St. Michael and Fatima
Fatima scholars agree that the Angel who appeared to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta in 1916 is St. Michael. He identified himself as the Angel of Peace and the Angel of Portugal. Both of these titles point to St. Michael. He established peace in the heavens by casting out Lucifer and brings peace on earth by defeating satan. Every nation has a guardian angel, and St. Michael has been invoked by Portugal as that special patron since the foundation of this land as a nation.[4]
Why Have a Devotion to St. Michael?
The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, in a 2006 book published by TAN Books, answered this question well:
“According to the great St. Alphonsus Liguori, veneration of the holy Angels, and particularly of St. Michael, is an outstanding sign of predestination. St. Lawrence Justinian says: ‘Although we must honor all the Angels, we ought to invoke in a very special manner the glorious St. Michael, as the Prince of all the heavenly spirits, because of his sublime dignity, his pre-eminent office and his invincible power, which he proved in his conflict with Satan, as well as against the combined forces of Hell.’ Again, the same Saint says: ‘Let all acknowledge St. Michael as their protector, and be devoted to him, for he cannot despise those who pray to him . . . But he guards them through life, directs them on their way and conducts them to their eternal home.’”
The Two Feasts in Honor of St. Michael
Traditionally in the Liturgy of the Church prior to the year 1960, there were two feasts in honor of St. Michael. One was kept on May 8th and the second one is kept on September 29th. The Feast of the Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel on September 29th is often just called: The Feast of St. Michael the Archangel (i.e., Michaelmas).[5]
St. Michael’s Day as a Holy Day of Obligation
The first catalog of Holy Days of Obligation comes from the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX in 1234, which listed 45 Holy Days. In 1642, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII issued the papal bull Universa Per Orbem, which altered the required Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church to consist of 35 such days as well as the principal patrons of one’s locality. Saint Michael’s September 29th feast day is present in both lists. While there was a divergence of Holy Days with no locality keeping all of them, his feast remained a day of obligation in Rome. His feast ceased being a universal day of obligation in the 18th century, per the Catholic Encyclopedia. It ceased being a Holy Day in Ireland in 1778.
Michaelmas As an English Quarter Day
Also forgotten is how Michaelmas served as an important milestone in the English legal system. Michaelmas is one of the four English “Quarter Days,” days which fall around the Equinoxes or Solstices and mark the beginnings of new natural seasons (i.e., Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and which were used in medieval times to mark “quarters” for legal purposes, such as settling debts. The other days like this are Lady Day (the Feast of the Annunciation) on March 25, the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on June 24, and Christmas on December 25. Debt collection was forbidden at certain times of the year, such as during the Octave of Christmas. We would do well to ensure all our debts are paid to all rightful parties at this time.
The Foods of Michaelmas
Like at Martinmas, Michaelmas would often feature goose as one of the dinner’s key meals (assuming Michaelmas did not fall on a day of abstinence). Roast goose with apples, St. Michael’s Bannock, and Blackberry crumble were all eaten in various places for Michaelmas. In Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, Michaelmas has been observed since 1786 as Goose Day. Recipes for these may be found at Fish Eaters.
The Blue Mass
St. Michael remains the heavenly patron of police officers in addition to knights, soldiers, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and anyone at danger at sea, amongst others. His connection with police officers is the basis for the Blue Mass custom that originated in the early 20th century.
The Blue Mass dates to September 29, 1934, when Father Thomas Dade started the service as part of his duties with the Catholic Police and Fireman’s Society. The first Mass was held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. and has grown to a nationwide celebration on September 29th.
Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel
In 1751 A.D., the Archangel Michael appeared to the Portuguese Carmelite nun, Servant of God Antónia d’Astónaco. In this apparition, St. Michael said that God wished to be glorified through a series of nine invocations in honor of the nine choirs of angels. Thus, the Chaplet of St. Michael was born. It was approved by Pope Pius IX in 1851 and was granted indulgences. Click here to learn more and see the prayers.
Conclusion
In Heaven, St. Michael led the good angels against Lucifer and his rebel angels (cf. Apoc 12:7). The fallen angels pursue on earth that same war against the Man-God Christ which they began in Heaven. Therefore, holy St. Michael continues to direct the battle against them here on earth.
May we worthily invoke his patronage!
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!
ENDNOTES:
[1] One of the antiphons from Matins in the Divine Office for September 29 reads: “Míchaël præpósitus paradísi, quem honorífcant Angelórum cives.”
[2] The full text of this prayer can be found in the Raccolta, No. 446. The shortened version that many Catholics have memorized is Raccolta No. 447.
[3] During his pontificate, John Paul II encouraged Catholics to pray to St. Michael after Mass, but never mandated it as Pope Leo XIII had. In most parishes, this pious custom has not been re-established. If it is not being done at your parish, consider asking your pastor about recovering this important devotion.
[4] For more on this identification of St. Michael as the Angel of Fatima, we recommend Fatima: The Signs and Secrets by Marianna Bartold (Keeping it Catholic, Lapeer, MI, 2014), pp. 3-9. Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité also addresses this issue in The Whole Truth About Fatima (Vol. I, Science and the Facts, pp. 67-75).
[5] While the Novus Ordo Liturgical Calendar combined the feasts of the Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael on September 29, the Traditional Calendar in place for 1962 (and prior) kept St. Michael on September 29th, St. Gabriel on March 24th, and St. Raphael on October 24th. The feast day of St. Raphael was included by Pope Benedict XV for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, for celebration on October 24. By a decree of the Congregation of Sacred Rites dated October 26, 1921, issued by command of Pope Benedict XV, it was directed that the Feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel should also be added and kept – this one on March 24th, in connection with the Annunciation on March 25th.