St. Michael the Archangel
Today, September 29, is the feast once commonly referred to in Christendom as Michaelmas, the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. In its zeal to condense, desacralize and dumb down nearly every aspect of traditional Catholic life, the Modernist church has crammed all three of the Scripturally-identified Archangels into a single lower-class feast day. By contrast, before the Vatican II wrecking ball began to swing, today’s feast was a Solemnity of the First Class, with a full three-nocturn, nine-lesson Matins, and Vespers the previous evening. A Big One.
Today’s post seeks merely to remind us of what level of importance the Church founded by Christ once accorded to honoring St. Michael and his mission. We all presumably know the story of how Pope Leo XIII saw a vision of Satan challenging God, one result of which was the St. Michael Prayer, which Leo XIII directed to be recited at the end of every Mass. Here is a text of the full version of that prayer*, which every one of us ought to be saying every single day, at least once, given The State of Things. Here goes:
O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan.
Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage.
Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.
Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations.
Amen.
V Ecce Crucem Domini, fugite partes adversae. R Vicit Leo de tribu Iuda, radix David.
V Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos.
R Quemadmodum speravimus in te.
V Domine, exaudi orationem meam.
R Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Oremus
Deus, et Pater Domini nostri Iesu Christi, invocamus nomen sanctum tuum, et clementiam tuam supplices exposcimus ut, per intercessionem immaculatae semper Virginis Dei Genetricis Mariae, beati Michaelis Archangeli, beati Ioseph eiusdem beatae Virginis Sponsi, beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et omnium Sanctorum, adversus satanam, omnesque alios immundos spiritus, qui ad nocendum humano generi animasque perdendas pervagantur in mundo, nobis auxilium praestare digneris. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
(English)
V Behold the Cross of the Lord, be scattered, ye hostile powers
R The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered, the Root of David V Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us
R As we have hoped in Thee
V O Lord, hear my prayer
R And let my cry come unto Thee
Let us pray
O God, and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we invoke Thy Holy Name, and we humbly implore Thy clemency so that, through the intercession of blessed Mary, the Immaculate ever- Virgin Mother of God, of blessed Michael the Archangel, of blessed Joseph, the Spouse of the same blessed Virgin, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, Thou may deign to offer us aid against Satan, and all the other unclean spirits, who wander through the world to injure the human race and to destroy souls. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Laudetur Jesus Christus
[*N.B.: Originally published in the Roman Raccolta of July 23, 1898, with a supplement approved July 31, 1902.]
