St. Michael the Archangel, Defend Us We Pray
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense 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, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
This simple prayer is one well known to us, as Catholics, which invokes the protection of St. Michael the Archangel in battle against the devil in his constant effort to have evil conquer the world. The prayer was composed by Pope Leo XIII well over 100 years ago. It was at the very beginning of October in 1884 when Pope Leo XIII had just completed celebrating Mass in his private chapel. On that occasion, he had a vision in which the devil was boasting that he could destroy the Church within the next 100 years. The experience was so disturbing for Pope Leo that he actually took ill and fainted. Immediately after this experience, he composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and requested that it be prayed in all churches around the world.
Pope Leo XIV has specifically chosen his name after Pope Leo XIII. He explained this to the College of Cardinals in his talk to them the day after the papal election. He took the name as he expressed that Pope Leo XIII faced many of the challenges that we are facing today in the world, especially in regard to the human person and the person’s rights from God being overlooked for monetary and social gain in varied ways. Pope Leo XIII was a primary spokesperson for the rights of workers and the inequalities which came through the Industrial Revolution.
Unfortunately, the devil plays the same role in the evils that are present in our world, from its very beginning after God’s creation of Adam and Eve. Intercession to St. Michael is very much needed today. Within the past couple of weeks, we have experienced horrendous evil in the brutal assassination at Utah Valley University and the shooting and killing of young children at Mass before their school day commenced at Annunciation Catholic Church, Minneapolis, as well as the Church shooting and fire in Michigan. We have seen this type of evil too often within our nation. Evil screams before us in the unjustified wars and the killing of innocent people around the world for political gain.
A renewed way of Satan’s battle today is a discouragement of prayer in the face of such evil. After the shooting at the church in Minneapolis, the mayor blatantly expressed, “Don’t say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school, they were in a church.” His words, as well as those of others, met with strong opposition. Bishop Robert Barron, a well-known theologian and pastoral leader of young people in our country today, excoriated these words as part of the problem that is facing us.
Prayer is always effective and makes a difference in so many ways, in all of the things that we face in life, and especially those we do not understand. It may seem that our prayers are not answered, but they make a difference. Jesus Himself prayed for things which did not come to fruition as He asked, but prayer was a center of His relationship with His Father. Prayer puts us in communion with God and puts us in communion with each other, even those who have gone before us.
The questioning of prayer very much goes hand in hand with the lack of heart that we are facing in our culture and world today. Leo XIV has made clear that we face a special crisis of loss of our human heart as we discern how to properly use artificial intelligence. Prayer is not part of the language of artificial intelligence. Prayer makes us close to those who are suffering, even though they cannot see us. Evil will never conquer the cross of Christ. While evil may be present, it is goodness that always prevails.
We are so blessed by the men and women who show the goodness of life by giving of themselves in so many different ways to protect us, to watch over us and to fill the world with the true spirit we need. These include our deputy sheriffs, police officers, firefighters, first responders and safety personnel. We thank all of them from the bottom of our hearts, and we assure them of our union through our prayers each and every day. We invoke St. Michael the Archangel, their special patron, to protect them as they remind the world that the gift of God’s life to each one of us is always what will conquer, and not selfish gain. At a time when we are facing so much evil, their presence among us is a great grace and inspiration. We offer our gratitude for all that they do and all the sacrifices they make, including putting their lives on the line for us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense 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, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
