Angels // Saint Michael the Archangel

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

“…Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…” Man, that sentence really stood out to me. Satan and all of his demons, who have spent thousands of years observing and tempting the human race, are constantly trying to lead us astray. It is their mission: to pull as many of us away from God as possible.

Have you ever heard the term “spiritual attack” or “spiritual battle?” Perhaps you have experienced it yourself on one or more occasions. I know I have, multiple times. Dark periods of life where everything is going wrong, where you feel mentally and physically exhausted and you just feel angry at God for allowing so much suffering…. That is a spiritual attack. The devil knows our weaknesses and knows which buttons to push, also knowing that we usually blame God instead of Satan. He knows that we are supposed to have faith in God and not to worry, which is why he tempts us with anxiety.

He knows we are weak when we are tired, which is why insomnia and nightmares can plague us. He knows that he cannot win the battle against God if we pray regularly and keep God top priority in our lives, which is why he sometimes makes it seem impossible to get through the family rosary (kids constantly fighting?) or to make it to Mass (car won’t start?).

But despite all of this, we have someone very powerful on our side to help us defeat Satan and his demons. We have St Michael the Archangel, the one who originally battled Satan and defeated him. He only says four words in the Bible, but they are incredibly powerful. “The Lord rebuke you.” He is frequently evoked in spiritual battle. He is called upon during exorcisms, and it has been said that sometimes people see him right before the demon is cast out. St Michael also promised that anyone who prays the chaplet to St Michael daily would have “his continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life.” (divinemercyproductions.com)

When you feel like you are being spiritually attacked, call upon St Michael to help you. Pray the St Michael prayer as soon as you wake up in the morning, and try to fit the Chaplet to St Michael into your day as well. For more information on spiritual warfare and defeating your demons, I highly recommend the book “Fearless” by Sonja Corbitt.

To Jesus Through Mary – Adrianna Tucker

image by thesaintsproject.org

image by thesaintsproject.org

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