Homily for Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time - Feast of the Archangels

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/092908.shtml

Mary, Queen of the Angels, pray for us!

St. Michael, who is like god, pray for us!

Angels are everywhere, including in Sacred Scripture, so believing in them and seeking recourse through them is an essential part of the Christian faith. To list all the places where angels did the will of God would take pages and pages. Since St. Michael the Archangel was my first parish, I am sure I have a special affection for him and for his mission to cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls (from common devotional prayer to St. Michael). To have God Almighty Himself fight Satan would have been an unfair fight, and one that would not have taken very long to play out. A more interesting fight, and the one we think about, is Michael and his angels battling Satan and his fallen angels, and we imagine it to be a great battle indeed, with the outcome somewhat in doubt. What puts Michael over the top, however, is that he, like all creatures belongs to Christ, in whom and through whom all things were made. Angels are not properly the property of God the Father, for God the Father has handed all things over to His Son. The angels enjoy the special assistance of Christ, for they are His angels serving His redemptive purposes, and it is the help of Christ which guarantees and enables the victory of Michael over Satan. Let us pray that this victory become more and more definitive here on earth, as we all call upon St. Michael to be our defender in the battle against evil. Michael and all his angels deliver the grace, mercy and power of God in just the right amount that we need to win our own battle against evil. They stand ready as well to take our small sacrifices made to build the Kingdom of God to God's altar in heaven (Eucharistic Prayer I). +m