Infiltration: St. Michael Save Us

Infiltration: St. Michael Save Us?

“Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good.”  Pope Leo XIII 

Now more than ever, we need St. Michael’s prayer. Yet, what are the Bishops in the US doing?  Believe it or not they are taking the prayer out of our service.

Recently Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago admonished a priest in his Diocese for using the traditional prayer to conclude the Mass in his Church.  

This action brings up three important issues we are going to take a more in depth look at today.  

1. What is the St. Michael’s Prayer?
2. Who wrote the prayer and why did he write it?
3. What is wrong with this prayer and why take it out of the service now?

First, what is the St. Michael Prayer?  The purpose of this article is not to question the ability of the Church to change their mind on different prayers in the Mass (Divine Liturgy) but to look more at the prayer itself and if the conditions that Pope Leo III saw in vision have improved so much that we no longer need this additional protection and prayer. 

St. Michael Prayer

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God,

thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..

Original prayer to St. Michael

NOTE : The following St. Michael’s Prayer is the original version as written by Pope Leo XIII.   It is taken from The Raccolta, twelfth edition, published by Burnes, Oates & Washbourne Ltd,  publishers to the Holy See, London, 1935. It was originally published in the Roman Raccolta of July 23, 1898, and a supplement approved July 31, 1902.

“LONGER” Prayer to St Michael the Archangel

O Glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, and spirits of evil.

Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. 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; his depraved mind, corrupt heart, his spirit of

lying, impiety, blasphemy, his pestilential 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 has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for 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 conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down 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.

1. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered, hostile powers.
2. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered the root of David.
3. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord
4. As we have hoped in Thee.
5. O Lord, hear my prayer.
6. And let my cry come unto Thee

LET US PRAY

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy name, and we humbly implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel St. Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us

against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls.

Amen.

Pope Leo XIII, 1888 Raccolta 1933 (Partial Indulgence)

Litany of Saint Michael the Archangel

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of the Angels, pray for us.

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Most glorious attendant of the Triune Divinity,

*Pray for us is repeated after each invocation

Standing at the right of the Altar of Incense,

Ambassador of Paradise,

Glorious Prince of the heavenly armies,

Leader of the angelic hosts,

Warrior who thrust Satan into Hell,

Defender against the wickedness and snares of the devil,

Standard-bearer of God’s armies,

Defender of divine glory,

First defender of the Kingship of Christ,

Strength of God,

Invincible prince and warrior,

Angel of peace,

Guardian of the Christian Faith,

Guardian of the Legion of Saint Michael,

Champion of God’s people,

Champion of the Legion of Saint Michael,

Guardian angel of the Eucharist,

Defender of the Church,

Defender of the Legion of Saint Michael,

Protector of the Sovereign Pontiff,

Protector of the Legion of Saint Michael,

Angel of Catholic Action,

Powerful intercessor of Christians,

Bravest defender of those who hope in God,

Guardian of our souls and bodies,

Healer of the sick,

Help of those in their agony,

Consoler of the souls in Purgatory,

God’s messenger for the souls of the just,

Terror of the evil spirits,

Victorious in battle against evil,

Guardian and Patron of the Universal Church

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O glorious Saint Michael,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray

Sanctify us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, with Thy holy blessing, and grant us, by the intercession of Saint Michael, that wisdom which teaches us to lay up treasures in Heaven by exchanging the goods of this world for those of eternity, Thou Who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

Relying, O Lord, upon the intercession of Thy blessed Archangel Michael, we humbly beg of Thee, that the Holy Eucharist in whose presence we kneel, may make our soul holy and pleasing to Thee. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

Second, who wrote the St. Michael’s prayers and why did he write them.  The author was Pope Leo III.  Pope Leo III was a remarkable man.  He could speak six different languages and was a very studious man.  He also spent a great deal of time in prayer and reflection. 

According to legend, Pope Leo XIII (reigned from 1878-1903) composed the now famous “Prayer to Saint Michael” after celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with a group of cardinals. During the Mass, the Holy Father fell to the floor at the foot of the altar. It seemed that the Holy Father had died or suffered from a stroke. Suddenly, the Pope revived and said, “What a horrible vision I was allowed to see.” Apparently the pontiff saw a future influx of demonic forces into the Catholic Church. He subsequently authored the following prayer to Saint Michael, seeking to gain further protection for the Church. Pope Leo XIII also ordered this prayer be prayed by the priest and faithful at the end of every low Mass.

Pope Leo III  said, "May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle that the Letter to the Ephesians speaks of: 'Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might' (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of St Michael the Archangel (cf. Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had this picture in mind when, at the end of the last century, he brought in, throughout the Church, a special prayer to St Michael: 'Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil…”

Pope Leo III explained that he had heard two voices in the vicinity of the tabernacle. He believed they were the voices of Our Lord and of Satan. Pope Leo heard Satan boast that he could destroy the Church in 75 or 100 years, if given the opportunity. Then he heard Our Lord give Satan permission to try. 

The Twentieth Century was, indeed, a bad one.  World Wars I and II engulfed the globe.  The rise of communism with its anti-Christ philosophy shook Christianity.  The Armenian genocide, The Holomdor,Sudan, Rwanda, Bosnia and the Holocaust are breath-taking examples of the Century’s murderous excess.  The atom bomb was made real by scientists, many of whom didn’t believe in prayer or a spiritual God. Were they agents of the devil?   Secularism swept through nation after nation as Christ’s influence was slowly eroded.  Church attendance declined, and along with it religious vocations dropped dramatically.  And as a capstone of horrors, Pope John Paul II was shot in an assassination attempt.  The sin of abortion was legalized as part of a worldwide sexual revolution.    So the question arises: Did the devil alter the Church?  If so, why not pray the St. Michael’s Prayer. 

Third, what is wrong with this prayer and why take it out of the service now?  What moved Pope Leo to write the prayer? Accounts vary in the details, but the general gist is that he had a vision akin to the scene at the beginning of the Book of Job. The Devil challenged the Lord Jesus that he “could destroy the Church” if he had more time and more power. Jesus, again like the Lord God in the Book of Job, grants the Devil his request, a century in which his power will be greater. Some accounts have Pope Leo actually hearing the conversation between voices divine and diabolical.

Pope Leo, intuiting then that dreadful terrors would soon descend upon the Church and the world, wrote the prayer beseeching the protection of St Michael and mandated that it be universally recited, countless times each day in every part of the world.  It was added in 1886 to the other “Leonine prayers” which the Holy Father had mandated be recited after Low Mass in 1884. 

Now, with the world facing COVID 19, losing vocations, losing people for Church attendance, and living in some uncertain economic times, and with the current political climate providing a backdrop for continued problems-is there any wonder that people would like to recite the Prayer to St. Michael on the way out of Mass.  Brothers and sisters, Mass is participatory and should be something that is uplifting as well as provide you protection from the outside world.  Not for time you are in Church, but rather it should be now and forever.  Jesus Christ came to this world to create a way of life for us.  Let us pray that St. Michael can protect this way of life now and forever.

Amen

“Catholics are born for combat.”   Pope Leo III