We are living in a very “testing” time. As we read the history of our world, this has been going on since God created Adam and Eve. I feel as though so many people are angry, and this is what is causing so much discord. This is my reason for writing in our Catholic newspaper.
Do you know where the devotion to Archangel Michael originated? He is referenced in the Bible. Pope Leo XIII encourated devotion to Archangel Michael. Realizing by divine enlightenment the present and future struggles of the Church against the powers of hell, the pope felt convinced that through the intervention of Archangel Michael, hell would be conquered and the Church restored to peace and liberty. He therefore composed a prayer in honor of the warrior archangel, and ordered it to be recited after low Masses each day in all the churches throughout the Christian world, according to the website www.saintmichaelusa.org. Now I ask: Why and when did this stop?
As St. John Paul II said 1994, “Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world.”
On July 4, 2013, Pope Francis was joined by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Vatican for a ceremony during which the Holy Father blessed a statue of Archangel Michael and consecrated the Vatican to the archangel’s protection. Following a brief ceremony, Pope Francis addressed those present, noting how St. Michael defends the People of God from the devil. He said even if the devil attempts to disfigure the face of the archangel and thus the face of humanity, St Michael wins, because God acts in him and is stronger. (Source: www.catholic.org)
Linda Behr is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Franklin.
Editor's note: The decision to recite the St. Michael Prayer is made in each parish.