FEAST
OF SAINT MICHAEL
John, Chapter 5, Verse 41-42
41“I do not accept human praise;
42 moreover, I know that you do not have
the love of God in you.
We
must act in the world as it is sometimes attributed to the sayings of St.
Francis, “preach the gospel, and if
necessary, use words.”
This
is the first premise of leadership. As leaders, especially Christian leaders,
we must demonstrate the Be, Know and
Do attitudes of Christ. That is, we must
become an “Alter Christus” or another Christ. We must BE to others as Christ would. We must KNOW spiritual principals as Christ does and we must act or DO in the world as Christ
would. Why because unlike the Jewish leaders whom Christ spoke to in the above
verse we are compelled by the love of God.
This day emulate our Lord by reflecting and living the
prayer of St. Francis.
The Prayer of Saint
Francis
Lord, make me an
instrument of thy peace.
Where there is
hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is
injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt,
faith;
Where there is
despair, hope;
Where there is
darkness, light;
Where there is
sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to
console,
To be understood as
to understand,
To be loved as to
love;
For it is in giving
that we receive;
It is in pardoning
that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to
self that we are born to eternal life.
SAINT MICHAEL is the prince
of the heavenly armies, who first contended against the proud Lucifer. The holy
Church honors him as a particular defender, and the faithful call upon him in
all dangers of soul and body, but they particularly implore his intercession at
the hour of death, in order that, after having, according to his example,
courageously fought against Satan, they may receive the crown of victory, and
that their souls may by him be brought before the throne of God. Let us also
venerate him, and, full of confidence, cry out with the holy Church, “Holy
archangel Michael, protect us in battle that we may not perish in the
tremendous judgment.”
Prayer to St.
Michael the Archangel
Great prince of heaven, St. Michael, to thy
protection I commend my soul and body, and, by the glory which thou possessest
in heaven, I beseech thee that thou wouldst ever assist me, particularly at the
close of my life; that thou wouldst strengthen my faint-heartedness, and obtain
for me from God the remission of my sins, and an entire submission to His holy
will, that my soul may depart full of comfort. Then receive it, and bring it,
under the guidance of the holy angels, before the face of God, to enjoy the
contemplation of Him for all eternity. Amen.
The
Church of God has always considered Saint Michael as its special protector. The
archangel himself has acknowledged this to Constantine after the completion of
a church in his honor saying, “I am
Michael, the chief of the angelic legions of the Lord of hosts, the protector
of the Christian religion, who whilst thou wast battling against godless
tyrants, placed the weapons in thy hands.” Assuredly, St. Michael will not
fail to come to the aid of our Holy Church. His assistance shall be forth coming
in these troubled times when legions of evil are visible throughout the world
exciting the minds of men. We behold their activities in the events of the
media and the world-wide propaganda against morality and religion everywhere.
Yet, despite this we are beneath his mighty leadership and with the aid of his
own unvanquishable legions we shall not fail.
Michaelmas (September 29th)
Consequently, Michaelmas (pronounced "mikk-el-mes") was one of the great public holidays and religious feasts of early and medieval Europe. Saint Michael's parades, Michael's fairs, Michael's Plays, etc. would in many places constitute the climax of autumn harvest celebrations. Michaelmas also coincided with the "quarter days" in Northern Europe, one of the four times in the year when free men would sit in court, make laws, and pay rents.[3]
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
89. You are so conscious of your misery that you acknowledge yourself
unworthy to be heard by God. But, what about the merits of Mary? And the wounds
of your Lord? And... are you not a son of God? Besides, he listens to you
quoniam bonus... because he is good, because his mercy endures for ever.
Daily Devotions
·
Total Consecration
Day 18
First
Chronicles 10:13-14 “Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the
Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a
medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore,
the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of
Jesse.”
When King Saul refused to obey God,
God was silent to his requests. He went so far as to seek the deceased Samuel’s
advice through a medium. How far he has fallen! David, upon hearing the news of
King Saul and Jonathan’s death, didn’t celebrate because he would not be King,
but “David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who
were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and
for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of
Israel, because they had fallen by the sword” (2nd Sam 1:11-12). A godly man or
woman doesn’t celebrate their enemies defeat. David simply said, “How the
mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle” (2nd Sam 1:25), grieving over
his close friend Jonathan but also his former enemy, King Saul.
35
Promises of God[2] cont.
10. “For I am convinced that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39
Special Forces Prayer Warriors,
Starting this Saturday (Sept. 29), we enter into the last novena (Sept. 29 - Oct. 7) of our 54 Day Rosary Novena for Our Nation. September 29 is the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. Most everyone knows we are in the throes of, possibly, the greatest "Spiritual War" in the history of Christianity. To face this onslaught, we must deploy the very best spiritual weapons in our arsenal. This is why we are including the Chaplet of St. Michael (order your St. Michael Combat Chaplet HERE) in this last novena, leading up to "D-Day" (Oct. 7).
Amazingly, we now have over 1,000 sites throughout the United States (see map in feature photo) who have committed to join us in prayer on "D-Day" (Oct. 7). Whatever folks choose to do on October 7, we are asking all to pray the Glorious Mysteries at 3pm CST (4pm EST, 2pm MST, 1pm PST).
What is even more amazing, every top Catholic Nation from around the world has joined this "D-Day." We are now 39 nations strong!!
If we "truly" believe in the supernatural power of God, this "D-Day" - when the entire world is calling out to God, through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Michael and all the choirs of angels - is "historic" and, I believe, will move mountains in this spiritual warfare against powers of darkness in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12).
Warriors, now is the time for all of us to say, "I'm Going In!" We know this is a spiritual war against Satan and his army of angels. We must, first, "BELIEVE!" And, in belief, we must call upon our Blessed Mother, and St. Michael and his army of angels to rise up and deal the last blow to Satan's culture of death.
GO TO CONFESSION - Always pray from a position of strength (State of Grace), consider fasting (this can be giving something up other than food, as well), and BELIEVE in the supernatural power of God!!
President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke these words in the moments before D-Day, June 6, 1944. I believe they apply to this great spiritual D-Day we are about to embark upon:
"You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely ...I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory.Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
US Rosary Coast to Coast
[1] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
[2] St. Michael and the Angels, Tan Books,
1983.
Comments
Post a Comment