The Feast of the Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel
(September 29)

ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

"AND THERE WAS a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with
the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels; and they prevailed not,
neither was their place found any more in heaven, and that great dragon was
cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth
the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown
down with him."         
-- Apocalypse 12:7-9

DEVOTION TO ST. MICHAEL
Most Suitable for Our Times

    Lucifer has placed his stamp upon the present age. Open and secret
revolt against God and His Church, the spirit of criticism, unbelief and
immorality are spreading. The arrogant boast of Lucifer, "I will be like
the Most High!" re-echoes everywhere. Puffed up with their discoveries and
the progress in material science, men loudly proclaim their
self-sufficiency and deny the existence of a Supreme Being. Governments and
secret societies, plotting against God and striving to blot out from homes
and schools, from offices and factories, all traces of Christianity, show
plainly whose standard they follow. Never before in the world's history
were God's rights so blasphemously mocked and denied, or the rights of man
so arrogantly asserted, as they are today.

    These frightful evils must convince us that we must turn to St.
Michael, the Archangel, that glorious prince of Heaven who rendered all
glory to God, conquering Lucifer and casting him into the abyss.

    Already three centuries ago, St. Francis de Sales wrote: "Veneration
of St. Michael is the great remedy against despising the rights of God,
against insubordination, skepticism and infidelity" - vices which are
perhaps more prevalent now than ever before.

    Surely, it is time for Christians to "rise from sleep" and to offer
vigorous resistance to the enemies of salvation. The weapons in this
conflict are not the arms of civil warfare, but the spiritual weapons of
prayer and penance, increased fidelity to the Commandments of God, and
frequent reception of the Sacraments. And surely we can choose no better
leader in this conflict than the powerful captain who led the faithful
Angels to victory.

    Let us, then, with confident trust invoke the aid and the protection
of this mighty Archangel whose shield bears the inscription: "MI-CHA-EL" -
"Quis ut Deus" - "Who is like unto God?"

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The above is taken from the excellent booklet "St. Michael the Archangel"
published by TAN Books (www.tanbooks.com).

We see the vast number of non-Christians lost; we see the vast number of sects separated from the Catholic Church is likewise lost. The Holy Ghost only dwells in the Catholic Church. Outside of Her there is no salvation. But, how many who are within the Church will be saved? How many can truly say that they love Christ, and they can attest to it by their actions (keeping His word)?

Bishop Giles OFM

Pope St. Sergius I

(Reigned 687-701), date of birth unknown; consecrated probably on 15 Dec., 687; died 8 Sept., 701.

While Pope Conon lay dying, the archdeacon Pascal offered the exarch a large sum to bring about his election as his successor. Through the exarch’s influence the archdeacon was accordingly elected by a number of people; about the same time another faction elected the archpriest Theodore. The mass of clergy and people, however, set them both aside and chose Sergius, who was duly consecrated.

Dream of Pope St. Sergius, painting by Rogier van der Weyden

Sergius, the son of Tiberius, was a native of Antioch; he was educated in Sicily, and ordained by [St.] Leo II. The new pope had numerous relations with England and the English. He received [St.] Caedwalla, King of the West Saxons, and baptized him (689); and, as he died in Rome, caused him to be buried in St. Peter’s. He ordered St. Wilfrid to be restored to his see, greatly favoured St. Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury, and is credited with endeavouring to secure the Venerable Bede as his adviser. Finally he consecrated the Englishman [St.] Willibrord bishop, and sent him to preach Christianity to the Frisians.

St Hubert of Liège is consecrated bishop by Pope St. Sergius.

The cruel Emperor Justinian wanted him to sign the decrees of the so- called Quinisext or Trullan Council of 692, in which the Greeks allowed priests and deacons to keep the wives they had married before their ordination, and which aimed at placing the Patriarch of Constantinople on a level with the Pope of Rome. When Sergius refused to acknowledge this synod, the emperor sent an officer to bring him to Constantinople. But the people protected the pope, and Justinian himself was soon afterwards deposed (695).

Sergius succeeded in extinguishing the last remnants of the Schism of the Three Chapters in Aquileia. He repaired and adorned many basilicas, added the Agnus Dei to the Mass, and instituted processions to various churches.

Liber Pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, I (Paris, 1886), 371 sqq.; HEFELE, Hist. of the Councils, V (tr., Edinburgh, 1894), 221 sqq.; BEDE, Hist. eccles., V; PAULUS DIACONUS, De gest. Langob., VI; HODGKIN, Italy and Her Invaders, VI (Oxford, 1895), 352 sqq.; MANN, Lives of the Popes, I (London, 1902), ii, 77 sqq.
Horace K. Mann (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Mary is the queen of Martyrs, for her Martyrdom was longer and greater than
that of all the Martyrs.



Who can ever have a heart so hard that it will not melt on hearing the most
lamentable event that once occurred in the world? There was a noble and
holy mother who had an only son. This son was the most amiable that can be
imagined - innocent,  virtuous, beautiful, who loved his mother most
tenderly; so much so that he had never caused her  the least displeasure,
but had ever shown her all  respect, obedience, and affection; hence this
mother had placed her affections on earth in this son. Hear, then, what
happened. This son, through envy, was falsely accused by his enemies; and
though the judge knew, and himself confessed, that he was innocent, yet,
that he might not offend his enemies, he condemned him to the ignominious
death that they demanded. This poor mother had to suffer the grief of
seeing that amiable and beloved son unjustly snatched from her in the
flower of his age by a barbarous death; for, by dint of torments and
drained of all his blood, he was made to die on an infamous gibbet in a
public place of execution, and this before her own eyes. Devout souls, what
say you? Is not this event, and is not this unhappy mother, worthy of
compassion? You already understand of whom I speak. This son, so cruelly
executed, was our loving Redeemer Jesus; and this mother was the Blessed
Virgin Mary; who, for the love she bore us, was willing to see him
sacrificed to divine justice by the barbarity of men. This great torment
which Mary endured for us - a torment that was more than a thousand deaths
- deserves both our compassion and our gratitude. If we can make no other
return for so much love, at least let us give a few moments this day to
consider the greatness of the sufferings by which Mary became the Queen of
martyrs; for the sufferings of her great martyrdom exceeded those of all
the martyrs; being, in the first place, the longest in point of duration;
and in the second place, the greatest in point of intensity.

 From "Victories of the Martyrs"
By St. Alphonsus Liguori