Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle! We can be very happy at the thought that we are defended by the holy angels, by St. Michael their leader, the “Prince of the Heavenly Host,” and our own guardian angels who work under his leadership. He is very swift and powerful and very close to Christ who is his Master; for Jesus is not only the king of the race of men, he is also the “Firstborn of all creation,” and Lord of the angels.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us (quoting St. Paul):
As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.
Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him… ” They belong to him because they were created through and for him: “for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” (330-331).
So when we pray to and honor St. Michael (and even when we don’t!) he helps and defends us, especially by strengthening our minds and wills through the right use of our mental images and imagination. This is a defense against the devil and his fallen angels far more powerful than our own unaided efforts.
Pope Leo XIII ordered that a prayer to St. Michael composed by him be prayed after every ordinary weekday or seasonal Mass in all the churches of the world. He wrote the prayer after a vision he experienced revealing the struggles of the Church and the attacks of her enemies as our modern and contemporary age began. St. John Paul II encouraged the use of this prayer as well. Leo XIII also composed and ordered to be published an exorcism for the use of priests in our time which begins with a prayer to St. Michael. This prayer invokes him as “Prince of the Heavenly Host,” “Guardian and Patron of Holy Church,” and as the one who receives the souls of the just at their death.
Saint Michael’s role—not only for the living, but for the departed—is shown in the Church’s liturgy. In the Mass for the Dead, at the offertory chant, we prays Christ for the souls of the departed: “And may the light-bearer St. Michael present them in your holy light, which you once promised to Abraham and his seed.” And so in life and in death, individually and collectively, St. Michael the Archangel truly and powerfully “defends us in the battle” and joins us in the victory! May we value and make use of his mighty help!