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
I have a very special place in my heart for St. Michael. In college, I belonged to a group particularly devoted to Our Lady Queen of the Angels and St. Michael. Learning about St. Michael came at a time in my life when I was very aware of the presence of evil - my family was going through a very hard trial, I had been on my first mission trip to Haiti, and my eyes were opening to the reality of spiritual warfare. To know there was an angel who specifically helped protect us against evil and fight the good fight was both comforting and empowering.
What’s little known is that archangels are still pretty low in the ranks of angels (https://churchpop.com/2015/10/07/a-beautiful-explanation-of-the-9-choirs-of-angels-in-one-simple-infographic/). So how did a “lowly” archangel become commander of the heavenly army? Only God knows, but I believe it has to do with his humility, which is a trait we don’t always think of when it comes to St. Michael. He is the fierce protector in the battle against good and evil, his job is to fight Satan and demons. But humble?
It goes back to this war in heaven. Theologians have speculated that when God created the angels, He showed them the entirety of the plan of salvation. This included becoming incarnate in the womb of a woman, who would eventually become Queen of Heaven and Earth. It’s thought that Satan, the most beautiful and highest of the angels, was filled with pride and couldn’t think of himself being subject to a “lowly” human. St. Michael, however, accepted God’s plan. The name Michael in Hebrew literally means “who is like God?”
If this is true, it means that St. Michael and Mary both have a very special intercession over evil specifically due to their humility. Both were lowly - Mary in her fiat, Michael in battle, and God raised them up. Their willingness to serve is in exact opposition to Satan’s pride and his refusal to serve.
We too, when we call upon the protection of St. Michael, are humbling ourselves before God. We’re realizing that we can’t defeat evil on our own, that we need God’s help. The protection that comes is God’s protection, St. Michael and Our Lady simply help deliver it.
Have you ever prayed to St. Michael before? Humble yourself before God, placing yourself under the protection of St. Michael and Our Lady. Then trust they will fight for you.
To Jesus through Mary-Emily Naylor
Image by thesaintsproject.org
Download for Free: Saint Michael Audio Chaplet
http://www.heartofmarywf.com/the-chaplet-of-saint-michael-the-archangel