In coming together last week to dedicate a beautiful new statue to honor St. Michael the Archangel. Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remind the Church of the importance of angels as those who aid our journey to God's Kingdom.
Attested to in both Scripture and Tradition, angels are spiritual created beings, "surpassing in perfection all visible creatures" (CCC, 330). Personal and immortal, angels possess intelligence and free will. Like humans, they had an opportunity to love and accept God or reject him out of prideful self-interest. Angels are those who lovingly worshiped God from the beginning. Jesus Christ is the Lord of angels through and for him, serving as messengers (angel means "messenger") of his saving plan.
St. Michael is one of the "principal" angels, or archangels. St. Raphael and St. Gabriel are the other archangels.
St. Michael is especially called to defend the Church against evil and evil spirits, as the Benedict and Francis attested in their dedication of the statue. The following prayer is addressed to St. Michael:
Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince, of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
Assignments
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Read Revelation 12, which tells in figurative language the battle between evil, represented by the dragon, and God's People. Note the reference to St. Michael and his angels in Revelation 12:7.
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Research information on the creation of the statue of St. Michael by artist Giuseppe Antonio Lomuscio.
