Today, September 29th is "Michaelmas", the Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael - the Archangels. St. Michael being my namesake, this day has a special meaning for me personally!
The feast is celebrated on this date because in the 5th Century, a basilica was built near Rome and dedicated in honor of St. Michael the Archangel on September 30th. The celebrations took place on the eve prior, September 29th.
It is Michael who is credited with casting Lucifer (the dragon) out of heaven:
"And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." - Revelation 12:7-9
All throughout the Middle Ages and up until the 18th century, Michaelmas was observed as a Holy Day of Obligation (a day on which attendance at Holy Mass is required upon pain of mortal sin) throughout much of the Christian world.
"Who, then, are these heavenly Powers, whose mysterious combat heads the first page of history? Their existence is attested by the traditions of all nations as well as by the authority of holy Scripture. If we consult the Church, she teaches us that in the beginning God created simultaneously two natures, the spiritual and the corporal, and afterwards man who is composed of both. The scale of nature descends by gradation from beings made to the likeness of God, to the very confines of nothingness; and by the same degrees the creature mounts upwards to his Creator. God is infinite being, infinite intelligence, infinite love. The creature is forever finite: but man, endowed with a reasoning intellect, and the angel, with an intuitive grasp of truth, are ever, by a continual process of purification, widening the bounds of their imperfect nature, in order to reach, by increase of light, the perfection of greater love...
'
Compared with ours,' says one of the most enlightened brethren of the angelic doctor, '
how calm and how luminous is the knowledge of pure spirits! They are not doomed to the intricate discoursings of our reason, which runs after the truth, composes and analyzes, and laboriously draws conclusions from premises. They instantaneously apprehend the whole compass of primary truths. Their intuition is so prompt, so lively, so penetrating, that it is impossible for them to be surprised, as we are, into error. If they deceive themselves, it must be of their own will. The perfection of their will is equal to the perfection of their intellect. They know not what it is to be disturbed by the violence of appetites. Their love is without emotion; and their hatred of evil is as calm and as wisely tempered as their love. A will so free can know no perplexity as to its aims, no inconstancy in its resolutions. Whereas with us long and anxious meditation is necessary before we make a decision, it is the property of the angels to determine by a single act the object of their choice. God proposed to them, as He does to us, infinite beatitude in the vision of His own Essence; and to fit them for so great an end, He endowed them with grace at the same time as He gave them being. In one instant they said Yes or No; in one instant they freely and deliberately decided their own fate.'
Let us not be envious. By nature the angel is superior to us; but, to which of the angels hath He said at any time, '
Thou art My Son'? (Hebrews 1:5, Psalm 2:7) The only-begotten Son of God did not take to Himself the angelic nature. When on earth, He acknowledged the temporary subordination of humanity to those pure spirits, and deigned to receive from them, even as do His brethren in the flesh, and announcements of the divine will, and help and strength (Luke 22:43). But '
God hath not subjected unto angels the world to come,' says the apostle (Hebrews 2:5). How can we understand this attraction of God towards what is feeblest? We can only worship it in humble, loving faith. It was Lucifer’s stumbling-block on the day of the great battle in heaven. But the faithful angels prostrated themselves in joyous adoration at the feet of the Infant-God foreshown to them enthroned on Mary’s knee, and then rose up to sing: '
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.'
Quotations taken from
The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger which is in the public domain.
Let us today honor the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael and humbly ask for their intercession as together we do battle against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
St. Michael the Archangel,
Defend us in battle!
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares
of the devil.
And do, thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
By the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan
and all the evil spirits
Who prowl about the world
Seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
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