From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
DAVID foretold that Emmanuel's entrance into this world would be greeted by the angels and that they would humbly adorehim on his first appearance among us.[1] We saw this prophecy fulfilled on the ever blessed night when Mary brought forth the Fruit of her womb. The angelic choir sang one of their heavenly hymns, which led the shepherds to the stable; we blended our songs with theirs in homage to our infant God. The Resurrection of our Emmanuel was sure to be honoured by the presence of these blessed spirits, who had witnessed with amazement and trembling the humiliations and cruelties of his Passion. The moment he passed through the barrier that imprisoned him in his sepulchre, an angel, with a face bright as the sun, and garments white as snow, came and rolled back the stone, and proclaimed to the holy women that he whom they were seeking had risen. When they entered the cave of the sepulchre, two other angels, clad in white robes, appeared to them, and repeated the tidings of Jesus' triumph.
Let us reverently honour these princely heralds of our deliverance, and consider with what respect they cluster round Jesus their King and God during the forty days after his Resurrection. They adore this glorified humanity, which they are soon to see raised up to the highest heavens and enthroned at the Father's right hand. They rejoice with us in the happiness given by this Paschal feast, which restores immortality to us in the person of our Risen Saviour; and thus, as St Gregory told us a few days back, ‘it is the feast of the angels, because, by recalling us to heaven, it fills up their number,’[2] It was but right, therefore, that one day in Paschal Time should be devoted to honouring the angelic spirits. On the day previous to the Annunciation we kept the Feast of St Gabriel, our Lady's honoured messenger; to-day it is St Michael, the Archangel and prince of the heavenly host, who is to receive our love and praise. He himself selected this day, by appearing on it and leaving us a pledge of his presence and protection.
The very name of Michael urges us to honour this glorious spirit; it is a cry of enthusiasm and fidelity, for it signifies: ‘Who is like unto God?’ Satan trembles at hearing this name, for it reminds him of the noble protest wherewith the bright Archangel answered the call of the rebel angels. Michael proved his strength and prowess when he fought the great battle in heaven. On that account, he was made the guardian and protector of God's people; first of the Jews, and afterwards of the Christian Church, for the Synagogue has forfeited all her honours. Michael now watches over Jesus' Spouse, our mother; he supports her in her trials and she wins no triumph in which he has not had some part.
But we are not to suppose that the holy Archangel is so engaged in attending to the general interests of Christ's kingdom on earth that he cannot listen to the prayers of each individual member of the Church. God has given him a compassionate love for men; and there is not a single soul that escapes his notice. He wields the sword in defence of the Spouse of Christ; he wars with the dragon, who is ever lying in wait for the Woman and her Child;[3] but, at the same time, he is attentive to each one of us; for fter having confessed our sins to Almighty God, and to the Blessed Mary ever a Virgin, we acknowledge them likewise to Blessed Michael the Archangel and beseech him to pray for us to the Lord our God.
He assists at every death-bed, for his special office is to receive the souls of the elect on their quitting the flesh. With loving solicitude and princely bearing, he presents them to the Light Eternal and introduces them into the House of God’s glory. It is Holy Church herself that tells us, in the words of her Liturgy, of these prerogatives of the great Archangel. She teaches us that he has been set over Paradise, and that God has given him the charge of leading to heaven the souls of them that are to be receivedthere. On the last day, when our Risen Jesus is to appear on the clouds of heaven to judge mankind, all of whom will then have resumed their bodies in the general resurrection, Michael with the rest of the angels will have to fulfil a ministry of awful import—that of separating the good from the bad. Our Catholic forefathers, in the Middle Ages, were fond of representing the holy Archangel engaged in this dread function, standing at the foot of Jesus’ judgement-seat, and holding a scale, in which he is weighing the souls of men and their works.
Devotion to St Michael was sure to spread through the Church, especially after the worship of idols had been banished from the various countries, and men were no longer tempted to give divine honour to creatures. Constantine built a celebrated Church called Michaelion in honour of the great Archangel, and at the time when Constantinople fell under the power of the Turks, there were no fewer than fifteen churches bearing the name of Saint Michael, either in the city or the suburbs. In other parts of Christendom this devotion took root only by degrees; and it was through apparitions of the holy Archangel that the faithful were prompted to have recourse to him. These apparitions were local and for reasons which to us might seem of secondary importance: but God, who from little causes produces great effects, made use of them whereby to excite Christians to have confidence in their heavenly protector. The Greeks celebrate the apparition that took place at Chone, the ancient Colosse in Phrygia. There was in that city a Church dedicated to St Michael, and it was frequently visited by a holy man named Archippus, who was violently persecuted by the pagans. One day, when Archippus was at his devotions in his favourite St Michael's, his enemies resolved to destroy both him and the Church. Hard by ran a brook which flowed into the river Lycus; they turned it aside and flooded the ground on which the church stood. Suddenly there appeared the Archangel St Michael holding a rod in his hand: the water immediately receded, and flowed into a deep gulf near Colosse, where the Lycus empties itself and disappears. The date of this apparition is not certain, but it occurred at the period when the pagans were numerous enough in Colosse to harass the Christians.
Another apparition, which encouraged devotion to St Michael in Italy, took place on Mount Gargano, in Apulia; it is the one honoured by to-day's feast. A third happened on Mount Tomba, on the coast of Normandy: we shall commemorate it on October 16.
The feast we are keeping to-day is not so solemn as the one of September 29; it is, however, more exclusively in honour of St Michael, inasmuch as the autumn feast includes all the choirs of the angelic hierarchy. The Roman Breviary gives us the following account of the apparition on Mount Gargano:
Beatum Michaelem archangelum sæpius hominibus apparuisse, et sacrorum Librorum auctoritate, et veteri sanctorum traditione comprobatur. Quamobrem multis in locis facti memoria celebratur. Eum ut olim synagoga. Judæorum, sic nunc Custodem et Patronum Dei veneratur Ecclesia. Gelasio autem Primo Pontifice maximo, in Apulia in vertice Gargani montis, ad cujus radices incolunt Sipontini, archangeli Michaelis fuit illustris apparitio.
Factum est enim, ut ex gregibus armentorum Gargani cujusdam taurus longe discederet: quem diu conquisitum in aditu speluncæ hærentem invenerunt. Cum vero quidam ex illis ut taurum configeret sagittam emisisset, retorta sagitta in ipsum recidit sagittarium. Quæ res cum præsentes, ac deinceps cæteros tanto timore affecisset, ut ad eam speluncam propius accedere nemo auderet; Sipontini Episcopum consulunt: qui indicto trium dierum jejunio et oratione, rem a Deo respondit quæri oportere.
Post triduum Michael archangelus Episcopum monet, in sua tutela esse eum locum, eoque indicio demonstrasse, velie ibi cultum Deo in sui et angelorum memoriam adhiberi. Quare Episcopus una cum civibus ad eam speluncam ire pergit. Quam cum in templi cujusdam simili tu dinem conformatam vidissent, locum illum divinis ofificiis celebrare coeperunt: qui multis postea miraculis illustratus est. Nec ita multo post Bonifacius papa Romæ in summo Circo sancti Michaelis Ecclesiam dedicavit tertio Kalendas octobris; quo die etiam omnium Angelorum memoriam Ecclesia celebrat. Hodiernus autem dies archangeli Michaelis apparitione consecratus est.
That the blessed Archangel Michael has often appeared to men, is attested both by the authority of sacred Scripture, and by the ancient tradition of the Saints. Hence, the memory of these apparitions is commemorated in divers places. As, heretofore, Michael was honoured by the Synagogue of the Jews as guardian and patron, so is he now by the Church of God. A celebrated apparition of the Archangel took place under the pontificate of Gelasius I, in Apulia, on the top of Mount Gargano, at the foot of which lies the town of Siponto.
A bull, belonging to a man who lived on the mountain, having strayed from the herd, was found after much searching caught fast in the mouth of a cave. One of its pursuers shot an arrow, in order to rouse the animal by a wound; but the arrow rebounding, struck him that had sent it. This circumstance excited so much fear in the bystanders, and in them that heard of it, that no one dared to go near the cave. The inhabitants of Siponto, therefore, consulted the bishop; who answered that in order to know God’s will, they must spend three days in fasting and prayer.
At the end of the three days, the Archangel Michael intimated to the bishop that the place was under his protection, and that what had occurred was an indication of his will that God should be worshipped there, in honour of himself and the angels. Whereupon, the bishop repaired to the cave together with his people. They found it to be shaped like a church, and began to use it for the celebration of divine service. Many miracles were afterwards wrought there. Not long after Pope Boniface dedicated a church in honour of St Michael in the great Circus of Rome, on the third of the Kalends of October (September 29), the day on which the Church celebrates the memory of all the angels. But to-day’s feast is kept in commemoration of the apparition of Michael the Archangel.
Holy Church tells us of the glories of St Michael in several portions of the Liturgy; but particularly in the following Responsory and Antiphons, taken from to-day's Office:
℟. Hic est Michael archangelus, princeps militiæ angelorum:
* Cujus honor præstat beneficia populorum, et oratio perducit ad regna cœlorum, alleluia.
℣. Archangelus Michael præpositus Paradisi, quem honorificant angelorum cives.
* Cujus honor præstat beneficia populorum, et oratio perducit ad regna cœlorum, alleluia.
Ant. Venit Michael archangelus cum multitudine angelorum, cui tradidit Deus animas Sanctorum, ut perdu cat eas in Paradisum exsultationis, alleluia.
Ant. Michael archangelus venit in adjutorium populo Dei; stetit in auxilium pro animabus justis, alleluia.
Ant. Princeps gloriosissime Michael archangele, esto memor nostri: hic et ubique semper precare pro nobis Filium Dei. Alleluia, alleluia.
℟. This is Michael the Archangel, the chief of the angelic host:
* He repays by blessings the honour shown him by the faithful; and his prayer leads us to the kingdom of heaven, alleluia.
℣. The Archangel Michael is set over Paradise, and is honoured by the citizens of heaven.
* He repays by blessings the honour shown him by the faithful, and his prayer leads us to the kingdom of heaven, alleluia.
Ant. The Archangel Michael came with a multitude of angels; God confided unto him the souls of the Saints, that he might lead them to the Paradise of bliss, alleluia.
Ant. Michael the Archangel came unto the aid of God's people; he stood as a help to the souls of the just, alleluia.
Ant. O most glorious prince! Michael the Archangel! be mindful of us: here and in all places ever pray for us to the Son of God. Alleluia, alleluia.
The first of the following hymns is used by the Church in the Vespers of the Feasts of St Michael. The second is taken from the Lauds. They speak the praises, not only of our great Archangel, but likewise of St Gabriel, St Raphael, and of all the blessed spirits in general. The Church has not instituted a feast for the collective celebration of the nine choirs of Blessed Spirits, but she includes all the members of the angelic host in her tribute of honour on the Feasts of St Michael.
First Hymn
Te splendor, et virtus Patris,
Te vita, Jesu, cordium,
Ab ore qui pendent tuo
Laudamus inter Angelos.
Tibi mille densa millium
Ducum corona militat:
Sed explicat victor crucem
Michael salutis signifer.
Draconis hic dirum caput
In ima pellit tartara,
Ducemque cum rebellibus
Coelesti ab arce fulminat.
Contra ducem superbiæ
Sequamur hunc nos principem,
Ut detur ex Agni throno
Nobis corona gloriæ.
Deo Patri sit gloria,
Qui, quos redemit Filius,
Et sanctus unxit Spiritus,
Per Angelos custodiat.
Amen.
In the presence of the angels,
who obey thee, we praise thee,
O Jesus, thou brightness and power of the Father,
thou life of our hearts!
’Tis for thee that fights
this army of a thousand thousand princes,
at whose head is Michael, the Conqueror,
the standardbearer of salvation, who unfurls the Cross.
It was Michael that cast
the cruel dragon into the depths of hell,
and drove the rebels, with their chief,
from the heavenly city.
Let us follow this prince against the king of pride;
that we may deserve to receive,
from the throne of the Lamb,
a crown of glory.
Glory be to God the Father,
who, by means of the angels,
guards those whom the Son hath redeemed
and the Holy Spirit anointed.
Amen.
Second Hymn
Christe, sanctorum decus Angelorum,
Gentis humanæ sator et redemptor,
Cœlitum nobis tribuas beatas
Scandere sedes.
Angelus pacis Michael in ædes
Cœlitus nostras veniat; serenæ
Auctor ut pacis lacrymosa in orcum
Bella releget.
Angelus fortis Gabriel, ut hostes
Pellat antiquos, et amica cœlo
Quæ triumphator statuit per orbem,
Templa revisat.
Angelus nostræ medicus salutis
Adsit e cœlo Raphael, utomnes
Sanet ægrotos, dubiosque vitæ
Dirigat actus.
Virgo dux pacis, Genitrixque lucis,
Et sacer nobis chorus Angelorum
Semper assistat, simul et micantis
Regia cœli.
Præstet hoc nobis Deitas beata
Patris, ac Nati, pariterque Sancti
Spiritus, cujus resonat per omnem
Gloria mundum.
Amen.
O Christ! the glory of the angels,
the Creator and Redeemer of mankind!
grant that we may ascend to the happy thrones
of the heavenly citizens.
May Michael, the angel of peace,
come from heaven into this our temple,
bring us sweet peace,
and drive dismal war back again to hell.
May Gabriel, the angel of strength,
come and rout our ancient foe;
may he often visit the heaven-loved temples
which the triumphant Jesus has placed throughout the world.
May Raphael, our heavenly physician,
descend and visit us,
that he may heal all that are infirm
and direct our faltering steps in the path of life.
May the Virgin Queen of peace, the Mother of light;
may the holy choir of angels;
may the bright court of heaven
ever assist and protect us.
May the Godhead ever blessed of
Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, whose glory is proclaimed through the whole world,
grant us this our prayer.
Amen.
The following sequence is from the collection of the Monastery of Saint-Gall, and was composed by the monk Notker in the eleventh century:
Sequence
Ad celebres,
Rex cœlice, laudes Cuncta
Pangat jam canora
Caterva symphonia
Odas, atque solvat
Concio tibi nostra.
Cum jam renovantur
Michaelis inclyta valde festa,
Per quæ lætabunda
Perornatur machina Mundi tota.
Novies distincta
Spirituum sunt agmina
Per te facta.
Sed cum vis,
Facis hæc flammea
Per angelicas Officinas.
Inter primæva sunt hæc nam creata tua;
Sed cum simus nos ultima Factura,
Sed imago tua.
Theologica categorizant Symbola
Nobis hæc ter tripartita
Per privata officia.
Plebs angelica,
Phalanx et archangelica,
Principans turma.
Virtus uranica,
Ac Potestas almiphona,
Dominantia numina,
Divinaque subsellia,
Cherubim ætherea,
Ac Seraphim ignicoma.
Vos, O Michael, cœli Satrapa, Gabrielque
Vera dans Verbi nuntia, Atque Raphael,
Vitæ vernula, Transferte nos inter Paradisicolas.
Per vos Patris cuncta
Complentur mandata,
Quæ dat ejusdem Sophia,
Compar quoque Pneuma,
Una permanens in usia,
Cui estis administrantia Deo millia
Millium sacra.
Vices per his quinas
Bis atque quingenta vestra
Centena millena
Assistunt in aula,
Ad quam Rex ovem centesimam verbigena,
Drachmamque decimam Vestra
Duxit ad agalmata.
Vos per æthra,
Nos per rura terrea, pars electa,
Harmonica vota damus hinc
Per lyricas citharas.
Quo post bella Michaelis inclyta
Nostra Deo sint accepta auream super aram
Thymiamata, quo in coeva jam gloria
Condecantemus Alleluia.
O King of heaven!
may our whole assembly and choir
now sound forth
its instruments of sweet music
and sing hymns
in thy praise.
For this is the day
of Michael's most glorious feast,
which fills the whole earth
with great joy.
Thou dividest the spirits
created by thee,
into nine choirs;
yet are they all flames of fire
when thou wiliest
to seek their ministry.
They were the first creatures of thy hands;
whereas we are thy last,
but made after thine image.
This triple division of the heavenly spirits,
according to their special offices,
reveals to us the mysterious design of God.
First comes the angelic army;
then the phalanx of Archangels;
then the host of the Principalities.
After these follow the heavenly Virtues,
the sweet-sounding Powers,
The spiritual Dominations,
the divine Thrones,
the ethereal Cherubim,
the burning Seraphim.
O Michael, prince of the heavenly court! Gabriel,
messenger of the Incarnate Word! Raphael,
our guide through life! lead us to the company of the citizens of Paradise.
By you are fulfilled
all the commands of the Father,
the Son who is his Wisdom,
and the co-equal Spirit,
the Three, One in essence,
the God before whom ye stand thousands
of thousands in number, as ministering spirits.
Ye stand in his court, ten thousand
times a hundred thousand;
and hither did the King,
the Father of the Word,
bring the hundredth sheep,
and the tenth groat,
that they might share in your bliss.
Ye in the high heavens,
and we the elect flock on earth,
give forth our tuneful praise
on sweetsounding harps.
Thus after Michael's glorious battles, may our incense,
when set on the golden altar, be acceptable to God;
Thus, when united in the same eternal glory,
may we sing together our Alleluia!
How beautiful art thou, O Michael. in thy heavenly armour, giving glory to the God whose enemy thou hadst overcome! Thine humble and fervent gaze is fixed on the throne of Jehovah, whose rights thou didst defend, and who gave thee the victory. Thy sublime cry: ‘Who is like unto God?’ roused the faithful legions and became thy name and thy crown. It will remind us for all eternity of thy fidelity to our Creator and thy triumph over the dragon. Meanwhile, we enjoy thy loving protection; we are thy happy clients.
Guardian angel of Holy·Church! now is the time for thee to exert all the might of thine arm. Satan is furious in his efforts against the noble Spouse of thy Master; brandish thy bright sword, and give battle to this implacable enemy. The kingdom of Christ is shaken to its very foundations. Is it that the reign of the Man of Sin is about to be proclaimed on the earth? Are we near that last day when, this guilty world is to be destroyed by fire, and thou art to exercise, in the name of the Sovereign Judge, the terrible office of separating the goats from the sheep? If this earth is still to exist; if the mission of the Church is not yet completed; is it not time for thee, O Michael! to show the dragon of hell that he may not, with impunity, insult on this earth the God who created it, who redeemed it, and whose name is King of kings and Lord of lords? The forces of error and crime are unceasingly dragging the world to the brink of the precipice; save it, O glorious Archangel, by confounding the dark plots which are laid for its destruction!
Thou, O Michael, art the protector of our souls in their passage from time to eternity. During this present life thine eye is upon our wants, and thine ear open to our prayers. Though awed by the brightness of thy glory, we love thee, dear prince of heaven! and we live happy and contented beneath the shadow of thy wings. In a few days, or at most years, our holy Mother the Church will be performing her last sacred rites over our lifeless remains; she will pray for us to our heavenly Father, that we may be delivered from the lion's mouth, and that the standard-bearer, St Michael, may bring us into the holy light.[4] Watch over us now, O holy Archangel, lest we should then not deserve thy protection. The dragon is ever threatening us; he makes no secret of his wish to devour us. Teach us, O Michael, to repeat thy beautiful words: ' Who is like unto God?’ God’s honour, the rights he has over us, our obligation to be faithful to him, and serve him, and confess him as our Lord in all times and places—yes! these thoughts must be our shield in danger, and the armour wherewith we must fight, like thee, and win the battle. But we need the sturdy courage which resulted from the love thou hadst within thee. Oh! pray for us, that we, too, may love our common Lord and Master; then shall we be invincible. Satan cannot make head against a creature that is filled with the love of the great God.
God created thee, O Michael! and thou lovest him as thy Creator; but he has not only created us, he has redeemed us, yea, and at the price of his own Blood! What, then, should be the intensity of our love for him! Strengthen this love in our hearts; and since we are fighting under thy leadership, guide us, inspirit us; let thy look give us courage; ward off from us the blows of the enemy’s sword. We venture to hope that thou wilt be present at our last moments, O standard-bearer of our salvation! In return for our tender devotion towards thee, deign to keep guard round our deathbed, cover it with thy shield. If the dragon see the flash of thy sword, he will not dare to come near us. May our soul, on leaving the body, throw herself with affection into thine arms! Cast her not from thee, O holy Archangel, when she seeks to cling to thee; carry her to the judgement-seat, cover her beneath thy wings, calm her fears; and may the Lord, thy Master, bid thee bear her speedily to the kingdom of eternal bliss!
[1] Ps. xcvi 8; Heb, i 6.
[2] Paschal Time, vol. i, page 135.
[3] Apoc. xii 13
[4] Mass for the Dead. Offertory.