29/09/2025
Today is Saint Michael's day..... who is saint Michel? MICHAEL - in joyful vigil and contesting against evil.
This liturgy may be used
• on the feast day of Michael and all angels
September 29th
• on pilgrimage to St. Michael's Mount, Mont St Michel, on
Glastonbury Tor, Skellig Michael or other high places or
hermitages dedicated to Michael. Michael is one of the angels spoken of in Scripture, and especially is seen leading the armies of heaven to subdue the revolt of Lucifer, and contesting against territorial spirits so that heavenly messengers can reach earth in response to our prayers. In the Celtic world he is a reassuring strong and peaceful figure associated with wild seas and racing horses, mountain-tops and steep cliffs. In the Hebrides his feast was a time of harvest and plenty, a celebration of family and care for the poor, a time for courtship and lo******ng too. A lamb without blemish was roasted and shared, along with a special three-cornered loaf coated with cheese, egg and cream.
Michael the archangel is great and terrifying, but invoking his name brings reassurance so that adult or smallest child would sleep untroubled. At our end, he will row the boat across death's river and contest the Accuser in judgement's hour.
Sometimes when angels appear in Scripture stories they are a 'theophany' behaving as God Himself. Three strangers visit Abram and Sara as Rublev's icon reminds us. A fourth man walks with Daniel's three friends through the fire. The angels do God's bidding and mediate His presence. The traditional invocation of Michael is: 'Holy Michael, archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, o prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.'
• The words are uttered on the lonely hillside
by prayer-keeping hermits,
remembered by farmers or fishermen
at bedtime for
their young families,
repeated by eager girls
dreaming of sweethearts,
and by the old who still speak about
long-ago times.
• The troubled and trusting
alone and together know
God and His angels will
watch over them.
• Rhymes, prayers, entreaties
rise from the mountain,
echo from cove and cliff,
the sound insistent and strong
on the soft evening air:
Michael of the angels
and the righteous in heaven
Michael, send your angels
to surround my life,
to intervene on my behalf
• to guard my sleep
• and shield my steps
giving me fearlessness
on earth and in heaven.
• Michael with three-cornered shield,
• Michael of the flaming sword,
Warrior of the King of all,
be at my back.
• You are the hero and
exemplar of the strong.
You are the guardian
and protector of the weak.
You see so truly,
God is good!
• You see the joy in everything
declaring,
God is good!
• The thrill of touch of
flesh on flesh:
God is good!
• The salty taste of splashing waves:
God is good!
• Warmth in the wind
and the freedom to run with it:
God is good!
• Then fine smells of autumn,
of fruitfulness and fire's warmth:
God is good!
• Everything on high
belongs to the Holy One.
All things,
high or low belong
to the holy Three-in-One
• Three-cornered shield
in honour of the Trinity!
• The bread prepared for
Michael's feast
is shared with the poor
Michael of might,
Michael of potency,
Michael of strength,
Michael of tenderness,
Michael of justice,
Michael, our champion in death and life!
• You are strong and powerful,
swift as wind and bright as fire,
• yet your presence
is peacefulness,
not violence.
• You contest only against evil
and arrogance.
• You have no quarrel with
the pure in heart or poor in spirit.
• You are there to refute
cruel accusation,
toppling pride,
unmasking all lies
of the cunning.
• You will be present for the
weighing of our deeds,
your gaze clear and steady at
the balancing of the beam
when the shape of a cross
declares,
"Mercy!"
• And though my little coracle
be sometimes buffeted,
seems often overwhelmed
upon life's sea,
Christ will give His angels
charge over me,
strong arms
to row my coracle
in safety to that other shore.
• Today we would say
there are rumours of angels.
If we knew how to pray
we would call for them still.
So we're calling all angels
who still do Christ's bidding
to aid and to rescue
and guard us from ill.
• We are not alone.
We cannot see the half
of heaven's activity.
• We are not without the means
to live effectively
against evil.
Lord, if there's contesting
over my life
or I walk through
power struggles I don't see,
I will not concede the
battle for my life.
I will live to see
each day You intend for me.
I will discover the
daring of my destiny,
and write the unwritten
with my life.
Find me obedient,
joyful and true,
• serving You on earth
as saints have done before me,
and like Michael and
the angels of heaven.
• A song is heard
in the streets of the city;
a prayer is whispered
in some solitary shed:
God, will You give me
a heart of courage,
a heart that follows closely
after You.
