There is a saying, back home in England, that states if one were to eat goose during Michaelmas, by which this feast day is commonly referred, then one’s family will have food throughout the next year. Though I cannot state it without uncertainty, I would suggest that this saying has its roots in the fact that St. Michael has come to be known, in his various guises, as the helper of the Chosen People, the helper of Christian armies against the heathen, and the protector of individual Christians against the devil. Quaint and comforting though this may be, I doubt very much that many sermons have been written on this feast day regarding that statement. Mine will not be an exception.

Today is the feast day of St. Michael and All Angels. Sadly, it the only day that many people even give a second thought to Angels, regarding them as quaint “New Ageism’s,” or relegating them to footnotes incidental to what is really important either in Scripture, or in our daily lives. This is indeed unfortunate as angels are present with us at all times. I am reminded of a work, by Peter Kreeft that I read while studying Angels and their opposites, demons, in which he wryly stated that we should never do anything, even in private, that we would be ashamed of. For even when we think we are totally alone, our guardian angel is present.

Angel is the name of the office, not the nature of these beings. They are beings of spirit far removed from the cherubic images we often see them portrayed as in art. They are powerful awesome beings which, when they allow humans to look upon them directly, must be fearsome looking creatures indeed. On nearly every occasion we read of one these beings appearing to a human in the Bible, the first words out of their mouth are “fear not,” or “do not be afraid.”

This point is re-enforced when we realize that the angels that appear to humans, those sent as messengers, are on the lower end of the hierarchy of angels. Holy Scripture witnesses nine choirs, or ranks, of angels: Angels, Archangels, Mights, Powers, Principalities, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Can we even begin to imagine what Seraphim would look like? Those beings directly in the presence of God, praising Him continually.

St. Michael is an Archangel. He is one step above a regular messenger, he is a chief messenger. These beings are sent to deliver the major messages for God such as the message to Mary of the Incarnation by the Archangel Gabriel. St. Michael is called upon whenever there is anything mighty to be done. He is the ultimate super hero. Not some character in a trumped up costume imagined in a comic book, but a genuine, powerful, real super hero. And he is on our side.

St. Michael is mentioned four times in Scripture. In two of those instances he is disputing with Satan. In today’s epistle we read of the final result that occurs. Perhaps we should pay more attention to the reality of Angels; they are our defense against evil.