C
Cardinalsin
Guest
am I allowed to use the st Michael prayer 3 times but the second time say Gabriel and the 3rd Raphael!
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J
Joe_5859
Guest
You’re “allowed to” in the sense that no ecclesial authority is going to come to your door and excommunicate you for doing so.
But there is a good reason why this prayer calls on St. Michael in particular (and not the other archangels). That is because, in Scripture, it is St. Michael that defeats Satan and his minions (Revelation 12:7–9). So, in the St. Michael prayer, we are praying that this comes to pass.
Scripture does not place Gabriel or Raphael in this role. Which is not to say that they cannot help us in the battle against the devil, of course. I’m sure they can. But there is not the same scriptural basis to invoke them as such.
I think it’s great that you want to foster a devotion to all three archangels. I think a better practice would be to pray to them in different ways rather than indiscriminately swapping names in the same prayer. St. Raphael is often invoked as the Angel of happy meetings (as he led Tobias in the book of Tobit) and St. Gabriel is invoked for strength (as he is the one who ministered to Jesus in Gethsemane). Try learning those two prayers and pray them in addition to the St. Michael prayer. That’s what I would recommend.
A great answer.You’re “allowed to” in the sense that no ecclesial authority is going to come to your door and excommunicate you for doing so.
But there is a good reason why this prayer calls on St. Michael in particular (and not the other archangels). That is because, in Scripture, it is St. Michael that defeats Satan and his minions (Revelation 12:7–9). So, in the St. Michael prayer, we are praying that this comes to pass.
Scripture does not place Gabriel or Raphael in this role. Which is not to say that they cannot help us in the battle against the devil, of course. I’m sure they can. But there is not the same scriptural basis to invoke them as such.
I think it’s great that you want to foster a devotion to all three archangels. I think a better practice would be to pray to them in different ways rather than indiscriminately swapping names in the same prayer. St. Raphael is often invoked as the Angel of happy meetings (as he led Tobias in the book of Tobit) and St. Gabriel is invoked for strength (as he is the one who ministered to Jesus in Gethsemane). Try learning those two prayers and pray them in addition to the St. Michael prayer. That’s what I would recommend.
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