I was baptized at the age of seven. The church in which I was baptized bears the name of St. Michael's Parish. I have always been devoted to St. Michael due to this and had lots of fun as a little girl celebrating his Feast Day on September 29th. So, I would like to tell you about St. Michael's mission on Earth.
St. Michael's Devotion
Although Saint Michael is called, with the prefix, saint, he is not a saint. As a matter of fact, St. Michael is an archangel. An archangel is a chief angel who is in charge of God's Divine Army and he is above all other angels. The denomination saint is used as a form of respect since St. Michael is one of the three archangels of God along with St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. St. Michael is venerated in the Catholic Church, in Islam, and Judaism.
Michael the Archangel is mentioned three times in the Book of Daniel. Michael is also mentioned in other places in the Holy Scriptures; he's mentioned in the Book of Revelation as the main leader of God's armies in the War of Heaven. During the War of Heaven, St. Michael defeats Satan. In the Epistle of Jude, he's often mentioned as The Archangel Saint Michael as he's considered the Prince of the Celestial Army of God. Christians' devotions to St. Michael dates back to the 4th centuries when sanctuaries and churches were built and given the name of St. Michael's the strongest angel of God. St. Michael's is considered as a healing angel since he's considered the patron of wounded soldiers.
In the Catholic church, St. Michael has four main roles. His first role is the leader of the Army of God and the leader of heaven's forces against all evil. The second is to take the souls of the deceased to Heaven at the hour of death. His third role is to weigh the souls in a well-balanced scale in which he measures the good deeds and bad deeds of a recently deceased. In his fourth role, St. Michael is the patron of the Chosen People of God (and guards the bodies of Eve, Moses, and Jesus). He's the guardian of the Church and protector of all people in the world.
When the Holy Rosary is prayed, a bead is dedicated to the Prayer of St. Michael, which asks the angel to protect us in the battle of everyday evil and defend us against the never-ending fires of hell. The Chaplet of Michael, a prayer created by the Catholic church, nine salutations are made, each one dedicated to the different choirs of angels in Heaven. St. Michael is respected (not venerated) in other Christian religions like the Anglican and Lutheran churches. Sometimes, St. Michael is erroneously referred as the Son of God, by Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventists, because Michael is believed to be another name given to Jesus Christ.
St. Michael's Feast Day is celebrated on September 29th on the Gregorian and Roman calendars six days after the Feast Day of Our Lady of All Mercies on September 23rd.
Saint Michael's Prayers
In name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
St. Michael the Archangel, illustrious leader of the heavenly army, defend us in the battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of darkness and the spirit of wickedness in high places.Come to the rescue of mankind, whom God has made in His own image and likeness, and purchased from Satan's tyranny at so great a price. Holy Church venerates you as her patron and guardian. The Lord has entrusted to you the task of leading the souls of the redeemed to heavenly blessedness. Entreat the Lord of peace to cast Satan down under our feet, so as to keep him from further holding man captive and doing harm to the Church. Carry our prayers up to God's throne, that the mercy of the Lord may quickly come and lay hold of the beast, the serpent of old, Satan and his demons, casting him in chains into the abyss, so that he can no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
This prayer can be recited using the beads of a rosary or as a novena followed by the Our Father, Hail Mary, and a Glory to God.
I hope that you enjoy the story of Saint Michael and become interested in knowing about his loyalty to God.
