Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Praised be Jesus Christ.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Michael the Archangel.
And we call to mind how devoted St. Francis was to St. Michael the Archangel,
fasting every year or dedicating a period, I think it was 40 days of fasting,
that he used to prepare for the feast of St. Michael the Archangel.
And also when St. Francis visited the cave of St. Michael the Archangel on Mount Gargano,
where the Archangel appeared,
he didn't dare to enter.
He felt that he was unworthy to enter the holy place where the presence of St. Michael was.
The name of Michael in Hebrew means who is like God.
And this was St. Michael's battle cry against Satan and the other fallen angels.
Who is like a God?
That is, Satan and the other angels, they wanted to take the place of God.
To become like God.
And so St. Michael answers with the truth.
Who is like God?
St. Michael is mentioned explicitly four times in scripture,
but we're probably most familiar with the passage from the book of Revelation,
where it talks about this great battle between St. Michael and the dragon and his angels.
It says,
And there was a great battle.
There was a great battle in heaven.
Michael and his angels fought with the dragon.
And so we see that St. Michael's role is to fight against Satan
and to rescue God's people and defend souls against evil.
In fact, Pope Benedict XVI, this was in the year 2007, on St. Michael's feast,
he says that St. Michael defends the cause of God's oneness
against Satan.
Against the presumption of the dragon, the ancient serpent.
Again, we see how Satan wanted to take the place of God, to dethrone him.
And so St. Michael, by his battle cry,
Who is like God?
Defends the oneness, that there is only one God.
And there can be only one infinite and perfect being.
Pope Benedict continues,
The serpent's continuous effort is to make men,
believe that God must disappear, so that they themselves may become important.
And this is precisely the promise that we see Satan trying to give to our first parents.
You shall be like God's.
Again, he tries to instill in their heart that same pride that he had of taking the place of God.
And this is the same temptation, says Pope Benedict,
that Satan uses.
On our first parents, and on all of their children.
That you shall be like God.
That you will have complete autonomy over yourselves.
As Pope Benedict again continues,
That God impedes our freedom, and therefore that we must rid ourselves of him.
See, we need to recognize that we are not completely autonomous.
And that is a very foolish way to live.
But the wise man submits himself to God, and his laws.
Now, the Pope mentioned that this is a continuous effort of the serpent.
And with regard to this continuous effort,
John Paul II, before Benedict, had urged everyone to recite the St. Michael Prayer that Pope Leo XIII composed,
after his famous vision, where he saw a confrontation between our Lord and Satan.
This was in the year 1884.
And Pope Leo XIII heard Satan saying that,
If you give me one century and more influence over men, I will destroy your church.
And that's when Pope Leo XIII was inspired to write this prayer to St. Michael the Archangel,
which was then to be recited after every Mass.
Now, Pope John Paul II refers to this prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.
He says,
Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass,
officially it was suppressed in 1964.
He says,
I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness
and against the spirit of Satan.
He says, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of Satan.
He says,
I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the spirit of Satan.
So these are what our holy father, Benedict XVI, and John Paul II,
are recommending to all of the faithful.
To have devotion to St. Michael the Archangel,
to defeat Satan,
to defeat the forces of darkness and the spirit of this world.
St. Michael the Archangel pray for us.
In the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Thank you.
Thank you.