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St. Michael icon

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St. Michael the Archangel icon
© Cecilia Lawrence
September 21st 2013
4.5 x 6 inches
Ink, watercolor, gold leaf


O glorious prince St. Michael,
chief and commander of the heavenly hosts,
guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits,
servant in the house of the Divine King
and our admirable conductor,
you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue
deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence
and enable us by your gracious protection
to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

- from the Chaplet of St. Michael

"The sea grew turbulent and the earth trembled when Michael the Archangel came down from Heaven."
- Antiphon from the Feast of the Archangels

O most wonderful leader of archangels and angels,
because of your most marvelous service for the salvation of mankind,
accept from us the sound of praise and thanksgiving now offered to you,
and as you are filled with the strength of God,
protect us with your immaterial wings from all visible and invisible enemies,
that we may cry without ceasing to the Lord glorified by you and who glorified you: Alleluia!

~ Kontakion of the Akathist to St. Michael the Archangel

"...When the world cracked because of a sneer in heaven,
Leaving out for all time a scar upon the sky,
Thou didst rise up against the Horror in the highest,
Dragging down the highest that looked down on the Most High:
Rending from the seventh heaven the hell of exaltation
Down the seven heavens till the dark seas burn:
Thou that in thunder threwest down the Dragon
Knowest in what silence the Serpent can return."
- from To St. Michael in Time of Peace by G.K. Chesterton

Happy Feast of the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael! In this image I wanted to show Michael as a handsome angel clothed in red (his traditional color, especially in Russian iconography) and gold. His flaming sword reads: “Quis ut Deus?” which means “Who is like God?”. His shield bears the golden Jerusalem cross, which I thought appropriate considering his patronage both of the Jewish people and of the Church, as well as various knightly Christian military orders. On the Jerusalem cross are the words In hoc signo vinces which means “By this sign [of the Cross], Conquer.” Along the rim of the shield are the words of the St. Michael prayer in Latin. His highly decorative orarion or stole (based on the mosaic stole found in Cefalù Cathedral: 05varvara.files.wordpress.com/… ) indicates his office as a holy minister to the Lord of Hosts. I gave him gothic armor decorated with Jerusalem crosses and gold-rimmed maille to show his status as a warrior angel. The star on his brow indicates his supreme angelic intelligence, and the decorated band with the flowing ribbons indicates the speed at which he comes to the aid of those who call upon him. Finally, the scales represent his office of weighing the souls of the dead. A crucifix surmounts the scales in which the dead soul (on the left) is weighed against its sins (on the right). Satan, depicted as the accusing serpent is there wrapped around a scroll of the dead person’s sin. But Christ’s merciful Sacrifice on the Cross will ultimately judge the soul according to its merits.

:iconrose5plz::iconrose6plz::iconrose7plz::iconrose1plz::iconrose1plz::iconrose-2plz::iconrose3plz::iconrose4plz:

:+: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINT :+:

Saint Michael the Archangel (Hebrew for “Who is like God?) is the Prince and Commander of the Heavenly Armies of the Lord. It is with this cry (“Who is like God?!”) that he challenged the fallen Lucifer (Satan) to do battle when the evil spirits first rebelled against God. With this cry, St. Michael rallied the Heavenly armies and routed the demons and threw them into the abyss of hell.

The Archangel is mentioned by name in several places in Scripture, but besides that, he may also be the unnamed angel of the Lord often sent to give messages to God’s people. The angel who came to Joshua is often thought to be the Archangel Michael: Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (Joshua 5:13-14) St. Michael is highly reverenced by the Jewish people, and in the book of Daniel he is described as the Angel of Israel and the Guardian and Protector of the Jewish people. The Archangel Gabriel tells Daniel this in a vision: Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me… (Daniel 10:13) [in fighting Israel’s foes]. And again, St. Gabriel tells Daniel of the end times and says: At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. (Daniel 12:1)

Michael, Prince of Mercy, pray for Israel, that it may reign in Heaven, in that light which streams forth from the face of the King who sits upon the Throne of Mercy. - Jewish Prayer from the Feast of Atonement

In the New Testament, St. Michael is mentioned in the Book of Revelations as the Champion of God and the Captain of the Heavenly Hosts. War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelations 12:7-9)

St. Michael has been greatly loved and reverenced through the centuries. In 492, St. Michael appeared on Mount Gargano in Italy and requested a chapel to be built in a cave there in his honor. The Lombards credited him for their victory over the Byzantine armies on May 8, 663 that took place on Mt. Gargano. In 590 a plague ravaged Rome, and St. Pope Gregory the Great ordered a penitential procession to be made to entreat God’s mercy. When the procession reached the Castel Saint’Angelo, the Archangel appeared in a vision sheathing his sword. The Castle (which had previously been a tomb for Roman Emperors) was renamed in honor of the Archangel. In Greece at Colossae, a chapel built in his honor is next to a spring where many miracles of healing have taken place. Throughout the Middle Ages, he was reverenced as a patron saint of chivalry along with Saint George. Many chapels throughout France and Germany have been dedicated to him, including a famous church in Normandy named Mont Saint-Michel.

St. Michael is God’s Angelic Champion, the Protector of Israel, the Bulwark of the Church Militant, the Defender of Christians, the Terror of Demons, an Angelic Physician, the Advocate of the Dying, the Weigher of Souls, the Consolation of the Poor Souls in Purgatory, and the Guardian of the Pope and of the Blessed Sacrament.

You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels…Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.”

Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to be like God, saying: I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High. He will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment. Then, he will fight with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought with Michael the archangel.
- from a Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great

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St. 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 hosts,
by the power of God, cast into hell Satan,
and all evil spirits who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.


Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
- from a Prayer by Pope Leo XIII

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:rose: The Feast of St. Michael is celebrated on September 29th. :rose:

St. Michael is the patron of knights, soldiers, police officers, the sick, the suffering, the dying, as well as numerous cities and countries.

Almighty and Everlasting God,
Who, by a prodigy of goodness
and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men,
has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael
Prince of Your Church, make us worthy, we ask You,
to be delivered from all our enemies,
that none of them may harass us at the hour of death,
but that we may be conducted by him into Your Presence.
This we ask through the merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
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RA2939's avatar

Amen. Jesus is King. Saint Michael the Archangel, Pray for us