Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels
(Revelation 12:7-12ab; John 1:47-51)
Not everyone prays to St. Michael. Some people may think it is like believing in
ghosts. But those who do feel under siege
and in need of supernatural help.
The “Prayer to St. Michael” was composed by Pope Leo XIII
toward the end of the nineteenth century.
It was to be said after all “low masses,” that is masses without
singing. Leo, like his predecessor and three successors, felt hemmed in by the
Italian government. The papacy had lost jurisdiction over a vast part of
central Italy and thought their ability to govern the universal Church
weakened. The original culprits against
whom Michael’s interference was requested were the Italian nationalists. When the issue was resolved with the creation
of the Vatican state, Pope Pius XI mandated the prayer be continued with a new
intention, the conversion of Russia. The
obligation of saying the prayer after low masses was removed during Vatican
II. Still it might be alone or with
others, after mass or in private. People
with an addiction to pornography might use it to seek St. Michael’s assistance
in their struggle.
Angels are God’s emissaries.
They are a means that God uses to accomplish His design. If it helps us to pray to these
intermediaries, we should do so. St.
Michael seems to have a record of success.
But if we pray more intensely to God directly, He is the origin of any
assistance we might receive.
