St. Michael the Archangel

The Chaplet of St. Michael honors the nine choirs of angels, the ranks of heaven that worship before the throne of God. At their head, by God's appointment, stands Michael, whose name is itself a battle cry: Who is like God? We begin with the highest choir, the Seraphim, who burn closest to the fire of divine love.

The Seraphim are aflame with charity, and it was a seraph who carried a burning coal to purify the lips of Isaiah. Ask St. Michael and the Seraphim today to set your own cold heart alight. The Christian life is a war, and its first weapon is love. A man who burns with charity is already halfway to courage.

The Cherubim are the choir of knowledge and wisdom, the angels who behold God's truth without shadow. The tradition asks their help to leave the ways of sin and to run, not merely walk, in the paths of Christian perfection.

Conversion is rarely a single moment. It is the daily turning away from what drags us down and the daily pressing forward toward Christ. Ask St. Michael and the Cherubim for the clear sight to name what is holding you back, and for the resolve to leave it behind and move.

The Thrones are the choir on which, in the language of Scripture, the justice and majesty of God rest. The tradition asks them for a true and sincere spirit of humility. It is fitting, because the war St. Michael fights began with pride. Lucifer would not serve, and Michael's answer was the cry of the humble: Who is like God?

Pride is the oldest enemy, and it hides well in good men. Ask St. Michael and the Thrones today for the humility that knows the difference between confidence in God and confidence in self. The humble man is the hardest for the enemy to topple, because he is not standing on himself.

The Dominations are the choir through which God orders the work of heaven. The tradition asks their help to govern our senses and to subdue our unruly passions. A man who cannot rule himself will be ruled by something, by his appetites, his anger, or his fears.

Spiritual warfare is not only a matter of dramatic temptations. It is largely won or lost in the ordinary government of the self, the eyes, the tongue, the temper, the desires. Ask St. Michael and the Dominations for mastery over what is disordered in you, so that you, and not your passions, hold the reins.

The Virtues are the choir of strength and of miracles, the angels through whom God works His power in the world. The tradition asks them to preserve us from evil and from falling into temptation. We do not stand against the enemy on our own strength, and we were never meant to.

Temptation is not yet sin, and being tempted is no defeat. The danger lies in fighting alone. Ask St. Michael and the Virtues for the strength of heaven precisely at your weakest point, the temptation you know is coming, the hour when your own resolve runs thin.

The Powers are the choir that holds the enemy in check, the angels who restrain the forces of darkness. The tradition asks them to protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil. This is the heart of devotion to St. Michael, the defender who stands between the soul and its accuser.

The enemy is real, and his chief weapon is the lie: that you are alone, that you are beyond mercy, that resistance is pointless. Ask St. Michael and the Powers for protection against his snares, and remember that the prince of the heavenly host fights for you and has already won.

The Principalities are the choir set over nations and communities, the angels who carry out God's governance among peoples. The tradition asks them for a true spirit of obedience. Obedience is an unfashionable word, yet it is the hinge of the whole battle. The fall was a refusal to obey, and the victory of Christ was obedience to the end.

St. Michael's greatness lies in perfect obedience, a will that bends entirely to God and is therefore unbreakable. Ask him and the Principalities for the same in your own life, the readiness to obey God's law and His voice even when it costs you.

The Archangels are the choir of God's great messengers, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael among them, sent on His weightiest errands. The tradition asks them for perseverance in faith and in all good works, that we may attain the glory of heaven. The Christian life is not a sprint won in a day. It is a race finished only at the end.

Many men begin well and tire, and the enemy is patient and counts on our fatigue. Ask St. Michael and the Archangels for the grace to keep the faith and keep working, not only today but to the last day, so that you may say with St. Paul that you finished the race.

We end with the choir nearest to us, the Angels, and among them the guardian angel God has given to walk beside you. The tradition asks them to protect us through this mortal life and to conduct us, at its end, to the glory of heaven. The whole battle has this as its goal, that we be brought safely home.

On this last day, entrust the entire novena to St. Michael and to the angels who guard you. You have asked for charity, humility, mastery, strength, protection, obedience, and perseverance. Now ask for the end of it all, that you and those you love may be guarded home.