Apparition of St. Michael
Dom Gueranger, Liturgical Year
The very name of Michael urges us to honor this glorious Spirit;
it is a cry of enthusiasm and fidelity, for it signifies “Who is like unto God?”
Satan trembles at hearing this name, for it reminds him of the noble protest
wherewith the bright Archangel answered the call of the rebel angels. Michael
proved his strength and prowess when he fought the great battle in heaven. On
that account, he was made the Guardian and Protector of God’s people; of the
Jews first, and afterwards, of the Christian Church, for the Synagogue forfeited
all her honors. Michael now watches over Jesus’ Spouse, our mother; he supports
her in her trials, and she wins no triumph in which he has not had some hand.
But, we are not to suppose, that the holy Archangel is so engaged in looking
after the general interests of Christ’s kingdom on earth that he cannot attend
to the prayers of each individual member of the Church. God has given him a
compassionate love for men; and there is not a single soul that escapes his
notice. He wields the sword in defense of the Spouse of Christ; he wars with
the dragon, who is ever lying in wait for the Woman and her Child; but, at the
same time, he is attentive to each one of us; for, after having confessed our
sins to Almighty God, and to the Blessed Mary ever a Virgin, we acknowledge
them likewise to Blessed Michael the Archangel, and beseech him to pray for us
to the Lord our God.
He assists at every death-bed, for his special office is to
receive the souls of the elect, on their quitting the flesh. He, with loving
solicitude and princely bearing, presents them to the Light Eternal, and
introduces them into the House of God's glory. It is holy Church herself that tells
us, in the words of her Liturgy, of these prerogatives of the great Archangel.
She teaches us, that he has been set over Paradise, and that God has given him
the charge of leading to heaven the souls of them that are to be received
there. On the Last Day, when our Risen Jesus is to appear on the clouds of
heaven to judge mankind, Michael will have to fulfil a ministry of awful import;—-he,
with the rest of the Angels, will have to separate the good from the bad, all
of whom will then have resumed their bodies in the general resurrection. Our Catholic
Forefathers, in the Middle Ages, were fond of representing the holy Archangel
engaged in this dread function. They put him standing at the foot of Jesus’
judgment-seat, and holding a scale, in which he is weighing the souls of men
and their works.
The Roman Breviary gives us the following account of the
apparition on Mount Gargano:
That the blessed Archangel Michael has often appeared to
men, is attested both by the authority of sacred Scripture, and by the ancient
tradition of the Saints. Hence, the memory of these apparitions is commemorated
in divers places. As, heretofore, Michael was honored by the Synagogue of the
Jews as Guardian and Patron, so is he now by the Church of God. A celebrated
apparition of the Archangel took place, under the pontificate of Gelasius 1st,
in Apulia, on the top of Mount Gargano, at whose foot lies the town of Siponto.
A bull, belonging to a man who lived on the mountain, having
strayed from the herd, was, after much searching, found hemmed fast in the
mouth of a cave. One of its pursuers shot an arrow, with a view to rouse the
animal by a wound; but the arrow rebounding, struck him that had sent it. This
circumstance excited so much fear in the by-standers and in them that heard of
it, that no one dared to go near the cave. The inhabitants of Siponto,
therefore, consulted the Bishop; who answered, that in order to know God's
will, they must spend three days in fasting and prayer.
At the end of the three days, the Archangel Michael
intimated to the Bishop, that the place was under his protection, and that what
had occurred was an indication of his will that God should be worshipped there,
in honor of himself and the Angels. Whereupon, the Bishop repaired to the cave,
together with his people. They found it like a Church in shape, and began to
use it for the celebration of the divine service. Many miracles were afterwards
wrought there. Not long after, Pope Boniface dedicated a Church in honor of St.
Michael, in the great Circus of Rome, on the third of the Kalends of October
(September 29th), the day on which the Church celebrates the memory of all the
Angels. But today's feast is kept in commemoration of the apparition of Michael
the Archangel.
No comments:
Post a Comment