In our images, we depict St. Michael standing over the devil and thrusting a spear into him while holding the scales of justice. This is because St. Michael is the victor over the devil.
The book of the Apocalypse speaks about this victory. “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.” (Apoc. 12:7-9)
This passage refers to the future when St. Michael will bind the devil in hell for all time. But we know that St. Michael already defeated the devil at the beginning of time, when the angels had to choose between God and themselves.
We will sing about this victory at Vespers this afternoon in the hymn “Te splendor”. Michael bears thy standard dread, And lifts the mighty Cross on high. He in that Sign the rebel power. Did with their Dragon Prince expel; And hurled them from the heaven's high towers, Down like a thunderbolt to hell.
The bottom line is that the devil is a loser and the good angels are winners. Everyone who rejects God is on the losing side; everyone who serves God is on the winning side.
We are on the side of God; we are on the side of the good angels. And so we are on the winning side. But in today’s difficult times, when evil is so triumphant, we can easily forget about the good angels and the fact that the devil has already lost.
We obviously have to take the devil seriously. At the same time, we do not have to worry if we are leading a good Catholic life and we have a devotion to the holy angels.
Today, I just want to remind us of the fact that the good angels are far superior to the devils. So, if we have a devotion to them, they will definitely be able to keep the devil away from us.
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