St. Michael the Archangel

[dumspirospero]

St. Michael is the name I have chosen for Confirmation. He is my favorite out of all the Saints…maybe it is because I am an ex military guy. Anyways, I have always wondered where exactly St. Michael fits into the Chain of Command (excuse the military term) in Heaven. As we all know, the Holy Trinity…The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit has power over all, but there must be a hierarchy below them. Where does St. Michael fall into this hierarchy? I could be wrong, but I truly believe St. Michael is the next in command of Heaven…like an executive officer. Here is my reasoning for believing such. In Daniel 10:13 he is referred to as “behold Michael, one of the chief princes” and in Daniel 12 he is referred to as “shall Michael rise up, the great prince” And Catholic Encyclopedia had this to say:

Following these Scriptural passages, Christian tradition gives to St. Michael four offices:

• To fight against Satan.
• To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
• To be the champion of God’s people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
• To call away from earth and bring men’s souls to judgment (“signifer S. Michael repraesentet eas in lucam sanctam”, Offert. Miss Defunct. “Constituit eum principem super animas suscipiendas”, Antiph. off. Cf. “Hermas”, Pastor, I, 3, Simil. VIII, 3).

With all of that said. He is referred to as a Chief Prince…the word Chief means he was at the top, and Prince is a word which means nobility…So he was of the highest nobility. Responsible for defending Heaven.

Is it safe to say, that St. Michael, below the Holy Trinity, is next in command. Is he the highest of all Angels? Like I said, I am making assumptions here, and I could be wrong. Thanks.

 

[tralon]

It would have been easier if you just named yourself John Travolta.

 

[dumspirospero]

Why do you say that? This is a serious question. I was hoping to get a serious response.

tralon:

It would have been easier if you just named yourself John Travolta.

 

[tralon]

Sorry dude,I guess you feel you got points with God now because you chose a new name. But he still knows you by the one your Mom gave you at birth. Whether you put on a new name or old spice, you still are the same guy God sees everyday. Nothing changes, we all play the part and then we die.- Motley crew

 

[newby]

I don’t think that we really know the “rankings”, but St. Michael is one angel that at least is highly thought of. I don’t know that I would rank him above the “Queen Mother Mary”. Although when you really think about it, we are all called to be saints…and when we get to heaven we are all saints. Those cannonized mean that we know that they are heaven, so we know that they are saints.

Bless you, and do you know that Michael means “God like”?

 

[Teresa9]

dumspirospero:

St. Michael is the name I have chosen for Confirmation. He is my favorite out of all the Saints…maybe it is because I am an ex military guy. Anyways, I have always wondered where exactly St. Michael fits into the Chain of Command (excuse the military term) in Heaven. As we all know, the Holy Trinity…The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit has power over all, but there must be a hierarchy below them. Where does St. Michael fall into this hierarchy? I could be wrong, but I truly believe St. Michael is the next in command of Heaven…like an executive officer. Here is my reasoning for believing such. In Daniel 10:13 he is referred to as “behold Michael, one of the chief princes” and in Daniel 12 he is referred to as “shall Michael rise up, the great prince” And Catholic Encyclopedia had this to say:

Dear Friend

Take no notice of the tralon comment made. Now as for your question, I don’t have an answer, but it is a good question so I will research it and let you know what I find. I do know St Michael is an archangel which means he is one of the highest orders of angels…

I think you have chosen a beautiful confirmation name… if you don’t know it already here is the prayer to St Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa

 

[dumspirospero]

I thought this was a Catholic Forum and people were supposed to be charitable around here. You are a newcomer, so I can see you obviously don’t know how things work around here. Are you even Catholic? I find it ironic a Catholic would make fun of a Baptismal or Confirmation name, considering the Saint you choose is supposed to be an example to live by…it is not a joke. I would appreciate it if you didn’t respond to any more of my post newbie.

tralon:

Sorry dude,I guess you feel you got points with God now because you chose a new name. But he still knows you by the one your Mom gave you at birth. Whether you put on a new name or old spice, you still are the same guy God sees everyday. Nothing changes, we all play the part and then we die.- Motley crew

 

[dumspirospero]

Thanks Teresa and Newby…your post were actually insightful. THanks for the info. Yes, I was aware that in Hebrew, Michael means “Who is like God”. God bless both of you and thank for the info…this is a question I have been pondering for quite sometime.

Teresa9:

dumspirospero:

St. Michael is the name I have chosen for Confirmation. He is my favorite out of all the Saints…maybe it is because I am an ex military guy. Anyways, I have always wondered where exactly St. Michael fits into the Chain of Command (excuse the military term) in Heaven. As we all know, the Holy Trinity…The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit has power over all, but there must be a hierarchy below them. Where does St. Michael fall into this hierarchy? I could be wrong, but I truly believe St. Michael is the next in command of Heaven…like an executive officer. Here is my reasoning for believing such. In Daniel 10:13 he is referred to as “behold Michael, one of the chief princes” and in Daniel 12 he is referred to as “shall Michael rise up, the great prince” And Catholic Encyclopedia had this to say:

Dear Friend

Take no notice of the tralon comment made. Now as for your question, I don’t have an answer, but it is a good question so I will research it and let you know what I find. I do know St Michael is an archangel which means he is one of the highest orders of angels…

I think you have chosen a beautiful confirmation name… if you don’t know it already here is the prayer to St Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa

 

[tralon]

No I’m not good enough to be a Catholic. I’m just a believer in Jesus. To be Catholic your on a treadmill of works. I’d never make it. I sin everyday and sometimes I have fun in it. There’s some hot chicks out there and a cold light Bud goes down real good.

 

[dumspirospero]

I will pray for you. By your posts, it appears you need it. Seek and find truth in the Catholic Church. If it were easy, there would be no sinners. Yes…we are all sinners, but we are called to live the best lives possible…we should follow Christ’s example the best we can. Seek and you shall find…

tralon:

No I’m not good enough to be a Catholic. I’m just a believer in Jesus. To be Catholic your on a treadmill of works. I’d never make it. I sin everyday and sometimes I have fun in it. There’s some hot chicks out there and a cold light Bud goes down real good.

 

[Theodora]

newby:

I don’t know that I would rank him above the “Queen Mother Mary”. QUOTE]

Angles are defined as servants or messengers of God. St. Michael is the leader of all the angels and is also at the disposal of Queen Mother Mary. One of the many titles the Catholic Church has given Mary is, after all, “Queen of the Angels.”

Theodora

 

[Northwind]

Hi, my 2cents here. You were right when you quoted from Daniel. Michael is ‘one’ of the chief princes, implying that there are others. But thats not a bad thing. There is definately a hierarchy within the angelic realm where Michael occupies one of the top posts. Good luck

 

[AmyS]

Ah, St. Michael, there is something about him that just puts me at ease… I know that only three of the Angels had been named… Gabriel (“Hero of God”) Raphael ("God hath healed) and Michael (“Who is like God”). I don’t see them being above Mary because they would bow to her… Great choice by the way… I chose Anne, Mary’s mother… She raised such a wonderful daughter, just like I have been blessed to do myself.

 

[dumspirospero]

I am embarrassed to admit this…but I knew that Mary was the Queen of the Angels…but for some reason it completely slipped my mind when posting…I feel like an idiot. Oh well…this Angel Hierarchy is mind boggling…One would think that “Who is like God” would be the more powerful of all the Arch Angels…yet one could also conclude that all of the Arch Angels are of equal power and together they are over all the other Angels??? Still much to learn

AmyS:

Ah, St. Michael, there is something about him that just puts me at ease… I know that only three of the Angels had been named… Gabriel (“Hero of God”) Raphael ("God hath healed) and Michael (“Who is like God”). I don’t see them being above Mary because they would bow to her… Great choice by the way… I chose Anne, Mary’s mother… She raised such a wonderful daughter, just like I have been blessed to do myself.

 

[kepha1]

He is also the patron saint of police officers.
Check out www.saint-mike.org

kepha1

 

[mayra_hart]

St. Michael the Archangel, whose name means, “one who is like God,” led the army of angels who cast Satan and the rebellious angels into hell; at the end of time, he will wield the sword of justice to separate the righteous from the evil (cf. Rv 12:7ff).

The early Church Fathers recognized the importance of the angels and archangels, particularly St. Michael. Theodoret of Cyr (393-466) in his Interpretation of Daniel wrote, “We are taught that each one of us is entrusted to the care of an individual angel to guard and protect us, and to deliver us from the snares of evil demons. Archangels are entrusted with the tasks of guarding nations, as the Blessed Moses taught, and with those remarks the Blessed Daniel is in accord; for he himself speaks of ‘the chief of the Kingdom of the Persians,’ and a little later of ‘the chief of the Greeks,’ while he calls Michael the ‘chief of Israel.’” The Church Fathers would also posit that St. Michael stood guard at the gate of paradise after Adam and Eve had been banished, and he was the angel through whom God published the Ten Commandments, who blocked the passage of Balaam (Nm 22:20ff), and who destroyed the army of Sennacherib (2 Chr 32:21). St. Basil and other Greek Fathers ranked St. Michael as the Prince of all the Angels. With the rise of scholasticism and the exposition of the “nine choirs of angels,” some said St. Michael was the prince of the Seraphim, the first of the choirs. (St. Thomas Aquinas, however, assigned St. Michael as the prince of the last choir, the angels.)

 

[mayra_hart]

Finally, St. Michael figures prominently in the Rite of Exorcism, particularly in the case of diabolical infestation of places. Here the priest prays: “Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Army, Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle against the princes and powers and rulers of darkness in this world, against the spiritual iniquities of those former angels. Come to the help of man whom God made in his own image and whom he bought from the tyranny of Satan at a great price. The Church venerates you as her custodian and patron. The Lord confided to your care all the souls of those redeemed, so that you would lead them to happiness in Heaven. Pray to the God of peace that he crush Satan under our feet; so that Satan no longer be able to hold men captive and thus injure the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High God, so that His mercies be given us soon. Make captive that Animal, that Ancient serpent, which is enemy and Evil Spirit, and reduce it to everlasting nothingness, so that it no longer seduce the nations.” i hope this help god bless you all

 

[dumspirospero]

Thanks Mayra…you are awesome
mayra hart:

Finally, St. Michael figures prominently in the Rite of Exorcism, particularly in the case of diabolical infestation of places. Here the priest prays: “Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Army, Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle against the princes and powers and rulers of darkness in this world, against the spiritual iniquities of those former angels. Come to the help of man whom God made in his own image and whom he bought from the tyranny of Satan at a great price. The Church venerates you as her custodian and patron. The Lord confided to your care all the souls of those redeemed, so that you would lead them to happiness in Heaven. Pray to the God of peace that he crush Satan under our feet; so that Satan no longer be able to hold men captive and thus injure the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High God, so that His mercies be given us soon. Make captive that Animal, that Ancient serpent, which is enemy and Evil Spirit, and reduce it to everlasting nothingness, so that it no longer seduce the nations.” i hope this help god bless you all

 

[AmyS]

dumspirospero:

I am embarrassed to admit this…but I knew that Mary was the Queen of the Angels…but for some reason it completely slipped my mind when posting…I feel like an idiot. Oh well…this Angel Hierarchy is mind boggling…One would think that “Who is like God” would be the more powerful of all the Arch Angels…yet one could also conclude that all of the Arch Angels are of equal power and together they are over all the other Angels??? Still much to learn

One thing I love about this site is learning from eachother…

As for the Arch Angels I think they all have their special roles…Rapheal the healer, he healed the earth after the big flood, ect… Gabriel the messenger, he announced to Mary that she was going to be the mother of Jesus… And, Michael… he casted Satan to hell… I do think that he is the most powerful, he is a protector… Pretty wonderful.

 

[dumspirospero]

YEs it is all wonderful…I love Catholicism…the only problem is that I can never get enough of it…I am on a constant learning experience, which is good

AmyS:

One thing I love about this site is learning from eachother…

As for the Arch Angels I think they all have their special roles…Rapheal the healer, he healed the earth after the big flood, ect… Gabriel the messenger, he announced to Mary that she was going to be the mother of Jesus… And, Michael… he casted Satan to hell… I do think that he is the most powerful, he is a protector… Pretty wonderful.