Michaelmas

MICHAELMAS

Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days; in England, it is one of the “quarter days”.

There are traditionally four “quarter days” in a year (Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th Spetember) and Christmas (25th December)). They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes. They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun. It used to be said that harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming. It was the time at which new servants were hired or land was exchanged and debts were paid. This is how it came to be for Michaelmas to be the time for electing magistrates and also the beginning of legal and university terms.

St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. As Michaelmas is the time that the darker nights and colder days begin - the edge into winter - the celebration of Michaelmas is associated with encouraging protection during these dark months. It was believed that negative forces were stronger in darkness and so families would require stronger defences during the later months of the year.

Traditionally, in the British Isles, a well fattened goose, fed on the stubble from the fields after the harvest, is eaten to protect against financial need in the family for the next year; and as the saying goes:

“Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,
Want not for money all the year”.

Sometimes the day was also known as “Goose Day” and goose fairs were held. Even now, the famous Nottingham Goose Fair is still held on or around the 3rd of October. Part of the reason goose is eaten is that it was said that when Queen Elizabeth I heard of the defeat of the Armada, she was dining on goose and resolved to eat it on Michaelmas Day. Others followed suit. It could also have developed through the role of Michaelmas Day as the debts were due; tenants requiring a delay in payment may have tried to persuade their landlords with gifts of geese!

In Scotland, St Michael’s Bannock, or Struan Micheil (a large scone-like cake) is also created. This used to be made from cereals grown on the family’s land during the year, representing the fruits of the fields, and is cooked on a lamb skin, representing the fruit of the flocks. The cereals are also moistened with sheeps milk, as sheep are deemed the most sacred of animals. As the Struan is created by the eldest daughter of the family, the following is said:

“Progeny and prosperity of family, Mystery of Michael, Protection of the Trinity”

Through the celebration of the day in this way, the prosperity and wealth of the family is supported for the coming year. The custom of celebrating Michaelmas Day as the last day of harvest was broken when Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church; instead, it is Harvest Festival that is celebrated now.

St Michael is also the patron saint of horses and horsemen. This could explain one of the ancient Scottish traditions that used to be practiced on Michaelmas Day. Horse racing competitions in the local communities would be held and small prizes won. However, with a twist, it was the only time at which a neighbour’s horse could be taken lawfully the night before and ridden for the entirety of the day, as long as the animal was returned safely!

In British folklore, Old Michaelmas Day, 10th October, is the last day that blackberries should be picked. It is said that on this day, when Lucifer was expelled from Heaven, he fell from the skies, straight onto a blackberry bush. He then cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, spat and stamped on them and made them unfit for consumption! And so the Irish proverb goes:

“On Michaelmas Day the devil puts his foot on blackberries”.

The Michaelmas Daisy

The Michaelmas Daisy, which flowers late in the growing season between late August and early October, provides colour and warmth to gardens at a time when the majority of flowers are coming to an end. As suggested by the saying below, the daisy is probably associated with this celebration because, as mentioned previously, St Michael is celebrated as a protector from darkness and evil, just as the daisy fights against the advancing gloom of Autumn and Winter.

“The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,
Bloom for St Michael's valorous deeds.
And seems the last of flowers that stood,
Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”

(The Feast of St. Simon and Jude is 28 October)

The act of giving a Michaelmas Daisy symbolises saying farewell, perhaps in the same way as Michaelmas Day is seen to say farewell to the productive year and welcome in the new cycle.

Not Angles but angels

Today is the memorial feast of St Gregory the Great.

The idea of one English nation is found in other writers of Ethelred's time, most notably the Anglo-Saxon Chronicler, who gives us a graphic account of England's decline in the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'.

But the notion of an English nation goes back much further, to the Venerable Bede. Bede was born around 672, near Sunderland. He lived as a monk at the monastery of Jarrow in Northumbria and probably never journeyed further south than York in his entire life.

He may not have been well travelled, but Bede was fantastically well read. In his mind at least, he travelled far - he even knew about the Muslim Advent in the Mediterranean.

It was Bede who first articulated the idea of the English people. In 732, he wrote his 'History of the English Church and People', in which he treated the inhabitants of lowland Britain, whether Saxons, Jutes or Angles, as one English nation.

He traces the name back to a tale from the 590s. The story goes that Pope Gregory the Great saw some fair-haired and fair-skinned slaves in a slave market in Italy, and was told that they were Angles. 'Not Angles but angels,' he replied.

It was a lovely pun, and somehow created an idea, which one senses in Bede, that the English were a chosen race.

Since then, the English have always been the English because Bede said so.

The Guardian Angels

The term guardian angels refers to the belief that each soul has an angel who is available to shepherd the soul through life, and help bring them to God.

Belief in the reality of angels, their mission as messengers of God, and man's interaction with them, goes back to the earliest times. Cherubim kept Adam and Eve from slipping back into Eden; angels saved Lot and helped destroy the cities of the plains; in Exodous Moses follows an angel, and at one point an angel is appointed leader of Israel. Michael is mentioned at several points, Raphael figures large in the story of Tobit, and Gabriel delivered the Annunciation of the coming of Christ. The concept of each soul having a personal guardian angel, is also an ancient one, and long accepted by the Church:

See that you despise not one of these little ones [children]: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. - Jesus, Matthew 18:10

How great the dignity of the soul, since each one has from his birth an angel commissioned to guard it. - Saint Jerome in his commentary on Matthew

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? - Hebrews 1:14

The feast, celebrating the angels who helped bring us to God, began in many local calendars centuries ago, and was widley known by the 16th century. Pope Paul V placed a feast venerating the angels on the general calendar on 27 September 1608. Ferdinand of Austria requested that it be extended to all areas in the Holy Roman Empire. Initially placed after the feast of Michael the Archangel, it was seen as a kind of supplement to that date. Pope Clement X elevated the feast, celebrated 2 October, to an obligatory double for the whole Church. On 5 April 1883, Pope Leo XIII raised the feast to the rank of a double major.AA

Prayer to One's Guardian Angel

Dear Angel, in his goodness God gave you to me to guide, protect and enlighten me, and to being me back to the right way when I go astray. Encourage me when I am disheartened, and instruct me when I err in my judgment. Help me to become more Christlike, and so some day to be accepted into the company of Angels and Saints in heaven. Amen.

Prayer Before Starting on a Journey

My holy Angel Guardian, ask the Lord to bless the journey which I undertake, that it may profit the health of my soul and body; that I may reach its end, and that, returning safe and sound, I may find my family in good health. Do thou guard, guide and preserve us. Amen.

Prayer to Holy Angels

Bless the Lord, all you His angels. You who are mighty in strength and do His will, intercede for me at the throne of God. By your unceasing watchfulness protect me in every danger of soul and body. Obtain for me the grace of final perseverance, so that after this life I may be admitted to your glorious company and with you may sing the praises of God for all eternity.

All you holy angels and archangels, thrones and dominations, principalities and powers and virtues of heaven, cherubim and seraphim, and especially you, my dear guardian angel, intercede for me and obtain for me the special favor I now ask {mention your petition}.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Feast of Title

John 1:47-51

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

St Michael and All Angels, Scarborough

I don't know why this church was named "St Michael and All Angels" but I am glad that it was. Angels are an important part of Biblical revelation. They are an essential aspect of our Christian faith.

Earlier this year when I was preparing to go on pilgrimage to Fatima I was surprised to be told that it would not only put me in touch with Mary but with angels too. Sure enough the chapel where many of our daily eucharists were celebrated was "The Chapel of the Holy Angels". Then I discovered that the Fatima children not only met Our Lady six times in 1917 but that these were preceded by three meetings with the Fatima Angel during 1916.

On my return I found a new book by Jane Williams, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the title "Angels" and she informed me that "Angels widen your horizons and deepen your faith". I was more familiar with another book with the same title published in 1995 and written by Martin Israel in which he explores the subject biblically, historically, and personally. He tells of his own meetings with angels and also quotes the experience of friends too. He is an Anglican priest but also a distinguished pathologist and former lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons.

Today's gospel draws our attention our Lord and the Angels. We are given an image of Jesus' links with heaven through angels ascending and descending upon Him. It is the gospel counterpart of Jacob at Bethel when he saw in a dream a ladder set up from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it. He exclaimed "How awesome is this place. This is the gate of heaven." The gospels report angels at the Annunciation, at the Birth of Jesus, at His Temptations in the Wilderness, and at His Agony in the Garden. We find them at the Resurrection and at the Ascension. Jesus speaks about angels a lot in his teaching and announces that at the Parousia "The Son of Man will come with His Father's glory accompanied by His angels".

Last Tuesday we commemorated St Sergius, Patron of All Russia, who was a 14th century holy monk. He is described by a contemporary as "a heavenly man and earthly angel". Saints are like our Lord, our Lady, and the Angels. They are link persons between earth and heaven. You sense it when you are with them. They help you know the reality and the mystery of God. They give assurances of His goodness towards us. No wonder that Martin Israel subtitled his book"Messengers of Grace". Like St Sergius we too can become "earthly angels". Through Christ we can enable others to make contact with God and with heaven.

At the third meeting with the children of Fatima the Angel appeared with a chalice and a host to communicate them. He joined with them in prayer to the Most Holy Trinity.

I pray that blessing from God will continue to be found in this church and people.

"Surely the Lord is in this place. This is none other than the house of God".

May we all, especially in eucharist "see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man".

Opus Sanctorum Angelorum

How did the "Work of the Holy Angels" come into existence?

In his last audience, shortly before his death, Pope Pius XII paternally admonished the pilgrims "to awaken and sharpen your realization of the invisible world about you, ... and to foster a certain familiar acquaintance with the Angels, who are so constant in their solicitude for your salvation and holiness." (Oct 3,1958, at Castelgandolfo).

Faced with the needs of the time, a similar thought had occasioned some ten years before in Innsbruck, Austria a group of priests and theology students from different nations to join together. They were thus strengthened by the Holy Father's admonition to become even more conscious of the help of the Angels along their personal path to God and especially in their pastoral work, calling upon them for help in the manifold needs of the present hour. By means of regular circular letters the members were led more deeply into the spirituality which was oriented after the model of the holy Angels and which simultaneously provided a deepening in the mysteries of the Catholic Faith.

The bishop of Innsbruck, Paul Rusch, gave his "imprimatur" to these letters. Due to his esteem for this spiritual movement, he wanted to consolidate it canonically and integrate it into the life of the Church. To this end he erected the Confraternity of the Guardian Angels on April 20, 1961. In the course of the years the Work of the Holy Angels, called Opus Angelorum [Work of the Angels] grew steadily; not so much through publicity and human proficiency, but rather, as we believe, through the initiative of the holy Angels themselves. They were the ones who guided, directed and showed the ways; who opened the doors to the hearts of the faithful, to priests and bishops. Many became interested in the Work. Especially in retreats offered by the Opus Angelorum, the faithful found the needed strength and help they were seeking for their Christian lives. Thus the Work of the Angels developed into a world-wide movement.

To whom does the Work of the Holy Angels address itself?

The Work of the Holy Angels rests wholly on the Faith taught by the Catholic Church. It addresses itself to all the faithful, inviting them to a conscious and profound life in union with the holy Angels. To be sure, those who do not believe in the existence and activity of the holy Angels will have a hard time with all this. But whoever takes his Faith in the Church's teaching on the Angels seriously will find the evidence for the existence and activity of the holy Angels throughout Sacred Scripture, from Genesis to the Apocalypse. The Lord's coming is always preceded by the holy Angels, whether it is His coming in the flesh (Lk 1,26) or His second coming in glory (Mt 25, 31; Lk 9, 26: Apoc 22,6). From the Acts of the Apostles we see clearly that for the first Christians, faith in the Holy Angels and the experience of their intervention was a reality beyond question (cf. e.g. Acts 12, 15). For the saints throughout the history of the Church the existence of these powerful, pure spirits was a truth of faith quite concrete, which they could experience for themselves time and again. A great many saints were united in a very special manner to the Angels, above all to their Guardian Angels, by means of an extraordinary veneration and love, at times even by means of a unique familiarity with them. Certainly the words of the famous dogmatic theologian and cardinal, Charles Journet, also hold true: "Yes, the Angels manifest themselves, but only to those who love them and invoke them." (cf. G. Huber, "My Angel will go before you" Christian Classics. MD, 1983. ch. 7, p.100).

What is the Essence and Goal of the Work of the Holy Angels?

The goal of the Work of the Angels, like that of every Angel who remained faithful to God, is to serve the Lord always and to lead men to the praise of His glory (Eph 1,12). The Preface of the Mass in honor of the holy Angels emphasizes that we can recognize God's power and grandeur in the glory of the Angels. The priest gives praise to God the Father in the name of the people: "In praising your faithful Angels we also praise your glory, for in honoring them, we honor you, their creator. Their splendor shows us your greatness, which surpasses in goodness the whole of creation."

The holy Angels are "ministering spirits, sent forth to help those who are to obtain salvation" (Heb 1,14). Therefore, they can and want to help us grow in the knowledge and love of God. But this requires that they be better known and loved as powerful servants of God and that they be invoked more insistently for help in the pressing needs of our time. Hence, the members of the Work aspire to a conscious collaboration with the holy Angels for the glory of God, the salvation of souls and the sanctification of the entire creation. Jesus Christ wanted to visibly continue these essentially priestly tasks in His Church by means of the ordained priests, those totally consecrated to God. For this reason, concern for the sacramental priesthood of the Church is a characteristic feature of the Work of the Holy Angels. Expiation for priests, especially for those who have become unfaithful to their vocation, pertains to the ardent solicitude one should have for the threatened priestly state. The promotion of healthy Christian families as the most promising seedbed for priestly vocations is another objective of the Work. Further characteristics of the Work of the Holy Angels are: guiding the faithful to the adoration of God, the promotion of Eucharistic worship and of Marian devotion, and fidelity and obedience to the Vicar of Christ.

On October 23, 1968, priests from four nations, who were actively engaged in the Work of the Holy Angels, spoke with Pope Paul VI. The Holy Father said to them: "Beloved sons, your Work is a great work of love for our brothers in the priesthood with an important missionary mandate in the Holy Church!" Further, he expressed the urgent appeal that wherever they might go, they should exhort the faithful to pray even more intensely for priests.

These aims are not exclusive to the Opus Angelorum. What is proper, though, is the manner in which they are realized: by attentively heeding the Angel it is easier for man to discern the will of God and to fulfill with the Angel's help his God-given mission in life ever more perfectly. Further, through the particular devotion to the holy Angels and a conscious orientation towards the holy Guardian Angel, apostolic and contemplative vocations are being fostered and lived more fully. Innumerable individuals have witnessed to this Divine guidance with joy and gratitude.

How does the Church judge the Activity and Spirituality of the Work of the Holy Angels?

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith subjected the doctrine and practices of the Work of the Holy Angels to an examination that lasted for several years. The results of the examination, a document dated September 29, 1983 (Prot. Nr. 1005/69), were communicated to the Procurator of the Work of the Angels on October 5, 1983. In the cover letter the Prefect of the Congregation for the Faith, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger writes among other things: "In this document you will find those decisions which will help the Opus Angelorum to develop along the lines of the ecclesial orientation. I wish you and your fellow workers a fruitful activity in the service of the only Lord Jesus, in full fidelity towards the directives of the Magisterium of the Holy Church, and I avail myself of this opportunity to assure you of my sincere esteem."

With the Roman decree of June 6, 1992, a second examination of the Work was brought to a close; the use of the private revelations on the holy Angels, to the extent that they do not correspond to the universal tradition of the Church, was prohibited. In an official declaration, the directors of the Work of the Holy Angels noted, first of all, that the decree was addressed directly to the Opus Ss. Angelorum as an "association of the faithful" recognized by the Church. "Consequently, it cannot possibly be a question of a prohibition of the Work of the Holy Angels, as such" (Press release of June 22, 1992, point 1). Concerning the directives of the decree, the same declaration stated:

2 "The Opus Angelorum may and should foster and spread devotion to the holy Angels in the Church. The restricting measures of the Decree affect the use and dissemination of precisely specified parts of the writings of the Work, containing a particular angelology, which is not reducible to the written or transmitted word of God, but is known only through private revelations; these measures also affect practices linked with it.

3 The Work of the Holy Angels confesses itself to the Word of God, as it is presented to the faithful in Holy Scripture, in Tradition and by the living Magisterium of the Church (cf. Dei Verbum, 10) as the foundation of all Christian spirituality and especially of the consecrated life. The Work stands in fidelity and obedience to the Holy Father and to the directives of the Decree from June 6, 1992, even as every member promised at their admittance into the Work of the Holy Angels.

4. The interpretation and implementation of the several determinations of the Decree will follow in agreement and in collaboration with the Holy See."

What is the Order of the Holy Cross? What is its Task and Relation to the OA?

In many members of the Work of the Holy Angels, especially in young people, there arose the desire to consecrate their lives totally to God. For this reason priests who had devoted themselves to the growth and development of the Work of the Angels undertook the foundation of male and female religious communities. At first, the "Societas Fratrum a Cruce," a community for men, was established in the Archdiocese of Aparecida, Brazil. For women, the "Societas Sororum a Cruce" was established. Both groups see themselves as communities that pursue a religious life in the classical sense. Further, the community of the "Mission Helpers" was established; they dedicate themselves both to the apostolic and to the social and charitable mandates of the Church in a form that responds to the needs of the Church in the modern world.
In their further efforts to found a religious institute recognized by the Church, the leading members were counseled not to found a new community but rather to restore an old Order, whose religious ideals were in harmony with those goals that the Opus Angelorum seeks to realize. In their search they came upon the Order of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross. This Order had been founded in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1131 and had applied itself particularly to the proclamation of the holy Gospel and to the solemn liturgy. The first prior was Saint Theotonius, the first canonized saint of Portugal.

The seal of the Order, a large Cross with two Angels in adoration, already showed that this ancient Order cultivated a special veneration of the holy Angels. The Order flourished for 700 years, until it was violently suppressed by the liberal government in 1834.

Further amazing coincidences with the ideals pursued by the Work of the Holy Angels finally led to the ecclesiastical restoration of this Order of the Cross by members of the Work of the Holy Angels. This was finalized by a decree of the Holy See of May 29, 1979.

One of the principal tasks of the old Order of the Cross was the direction of the medieval University of Coimbra. For centuries, indeed, up until the suppression of the Order, it provided the Rector of the University. Shortly after the restoration a diocesan bishop from Brazil came to Rome and asked Pope John Paul II in a personal audience on July 4, 1983, whether he might engage theologians from the Work of the Holy Angels for the purpose of building up his seminary. The Holy Father gave his consent. The Order of the Cross saw this invitation as a mandate and took up the old teaching tradition of the Order anew. In the meantime, the Order's "Institutum Sapientiae" as a center for priestly formation could be established in the diocese of that bishop.

The spirit of adoration, the spiritual and ascetical training of the candidates to the priesthood, the celebration of the solemn liturgy and a deepened prayer life form the foundation for the education at this Institute. Objectives of this education are an unconditional following of the Cross, an ever more intimate love for the Lord in the Most Blessed Eucharist and for His Mother Mary, the Queen of the Angels and Mother of all priests. Solid scientific studies of philosophy and theology in fidelity to the Magisterium and to the living Tradition are aimed at providing the Catholic Church with well-trained, zealous priests who are devoted to the care of souls and whose hallmark is obedience to the Holy Father and to the legitimate ecclesiastical authority. The formation is accompanied by the fervent prayers of the faithful.

Students to the priesthood hail from many different nations, members of diverse religious communities and dioceses are presently attending the new faculties of philosophy and theology. From 1983 to 1996, 60 seminarians, who had received their formation at the Institutum Sapientiae, were ordained priests.

In addition to this special apostolate dedicated to the formation of priests, the Order seeks to help deepen the spiritual life of priests and consecrated souls, and engages in the pastoral ministry in general. The canonical life in community, following the pattern of our Lord's life together with His Apostles ("Vita apostolica") and in accordance with the Rule of St. Augustine, serves the purpose of mutual support and provides principally for the solemn celebration of the liturgy. The Church explicitly recognizes the Order of the Cross and the Work of the Holy Angels as two autonomous institutions, which may enrich one another spiritually.

This brief information is designed to offer only a generic overview of the Work of the Holy Angels. A more comprehensive introduction, orientation and further direction are available to those who participate in retreats or days of recollection conducted by the priests of the Work and the Order of the Cross. Further information may be sought on an individual basis.

With the approval of the Delegate of the Holy See
August 18, 1997
Rev. Fr. Benoît Duroux,OP
Work of the Holy Angels®13800 Gratiot Ave.Detroit, MI 48205 USA (313) 527-1739 Fax (313) 527-1729email: opusangelorum@rc.net The Texts of the Circular Letters are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written premission.©2004 Order of the Holy Cross

Corpus Christi

Thomas Aquinas

Pange Lingua (hymn for Vespers on the Feast of Corpus Christi), stanza 5


Down in adoration falling,

Lo! the sacred Host we hail,

Lo! oe'r ancient forms departing

Newer rites of grace prevail;

Faith for all defects supplying,

Where the feeble senses fail.




Aquinas also wrote a powerful prayer for the festival, that encompasses many aspects of the doctrine of the eucharist:


O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of your Passion: grant, we implore you, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of your body and blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of your redemption.

Angel of Fatima

Today's solemnity carries me back to Fatima and the third apparition of the angel to the children in the autumn of 1916, prior to the apparitions of our Lady in the summer of 1917.

At this apparition the angel appeared to them holding a chalice in his left hand, with a host suspended above it, from which some drops of blood fell into the chalice. Leaving the chalice and the host suspended in the air, the angel prostrated beside the little shepherds and asked them to say the following prayer:

"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners."

Then, rising, the angel took the chalice and the hosts in his hands. He gave the host to Lucia, and the contents of the chalice to Francisco and Jacinta, saying as he did so: "Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God".

Once again, he prostrated on the ground and repeated with them, three times more, the same prayer "Most Holy Trinity...." He then disappeared. He had completed his mission. Six months later, the heavens would open once more to make way for her who was to bring a message of love and salvation to mankind.