Devotion to St. Michael

I believe this is a devotion that is most relevant these days, especially to the youth and others who are practically under the spell of evil spirits.  With their most subtle tricks and irresistible temptations, these evil spirits wreak havoc mainly on the soul of people, on their mind and heart, before they inflict big harm on their bodies.

Of course, any devotion to saints is always helpful, but this one to St. Michael has that distinctive benefit of helping us in our constant struggle against the enemies of our soul, especially the devil. With St. Michael, we can feel confident that we can manage to handle the challenges thrown on us by the devil.

St. Paul already warned us that “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6,12)

And we are told that these evil spirits, precisely because they are spirits, are smarter than us since their ways of knowing and attacking us are in the instant, intuitive mode while our ways of knowing and protecting ourselves require some discursive processing which not only requires time and effort but also is prone to mistakes and failures, given our weakened condition.

We have to realize more sharply that the new developments we are having these days, which we usually tout as clear signs of progress, like in the area of technology, the internet and the new, convenient and powerful gadgets we have, would require a more sophisticated level of prudence on our part, since the many good things they give also bring with them many bad things.

Otherwise, there is no way but for us to be easily intoxicated by all the convenience and comfort they give that would eventually lead us to be tempted and to fall into ways contrary to God’s will and plan for us. That has always been the case since the days of Adam and Eve.

But let’s remember that St. Michael led the fight and conquered these spirits who, instead of following God as any creature of his should do, chose not only to ignore him but rather to go against him and anybody else who opt to follow God. We have to remember that we have a great and most effective ally in St. Michael who can easily channel God’s power and strength to us.

It would be good if we are always aware of the presence and the constant availability of the help St. Michael can give us. That way, we can feel more confident in tackling the wiles and the temptations of the devil. We should have frequent recourse to him, perhaps saying the prayer addressed to him that goes this way:

"Saint Michael the Archangel, / defend us in battle. / Be our protection 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 into hell Satan and all evil spirits / who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen."

We can say this prayer especially during the time of temptation, before going to bed, and quite often all throughout the day. The good effect is assured.