St. Michael the Archangel

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Sir Knight:
However, the quote from Luke 1:51-52 refers to the “mighty” who have either abused their power or were “full of themselves” and therefore God “exalted those of low degree” to teach them a leason.
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I quoted Mary, of course, who is singing her praise to God about his exalting those of low degree.

The handmaid of the Lord becomes the Queen of Heaven and Earth! The Queen of Angels could understand how a lowly humble angel became the commander of the angel forces. 😉
 
Hail holy queen enthroned above,
Oh Maria.
Hail mother of mercy and of love,
Oh Maria.
Triumph all ye cherubim,
Sing with us ye seraphim.
Heaven and earth resound the hymn.
Salve, salve, salve regina.

:love:

:angel1:
 
Hello ex military guy,

You might be interested in scripture that possibly explains the Spiritual deadlyness of Michael the Archangel’s weapon. Only Christ’s death can destroy the devil. Did Micheal the Archangel wield the mighty Spiritually deadly Sword of our Lord?

Please visit and let me know what you think.
geocities.com/athens/forum/3325/ironrod.html

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
 
The real answer is…I don’t know. But according to the scriptures, I believe that God enabled Michael to defeat Satan and cast him and his minions out of Heaven. I believe God worked through Michael by empowering him. What do you think? All of this intrigues me and I want to learn as much as possible. 🙂
Steven Merten:
Hello ex military guy,

You might be interested in scripture that possibly explains the Spiritual deadlyness of Michael the Archangel’s weapon. Only Christ’s death can destroy the devil. Did Micheal the Archangel wield the mighty Spiritually deadly Sword of our Lord?

Please visit and let me know what you think.
geocities.com/athens/forum/3325/ironrod.html

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
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Sir Knight:
I stand by my original statement that Michael stands next in line after God & Mary.
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Just curious, but where does St. Joseph, Patron and Protector of the Church fit into your hierarchy?

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We can’t be sure of any certainity beyond Michael. God (individually and as the Trinity) obviously occupies the top spot.

Mary, with the titles of “queen of heaven & earth”, “queen of angels”, “queen of saints & angels”, etc.; would rank next.

Michael as “prince of angels” and “commander of the heavenly hosts” (heavenly hosts would include saints & angels), would rank after Mary.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. Could be Joseph. Could be Peter. Could be one of the faithful prophets of old. Could be some unnamed angel. Nobody can say with any certainity. We just don’t have enough information. If I were to venture a guess, I would say that Joseph ranks pretty high up there but exactly where, I can’t say.

The important thing to remember is that none of them (not even Mary) can do anything on their own and without God’s approval. We may pray to them asking them to intercede for us and to pray for us but ultimately it is God who grants our request (through their intercession).
 
First off, correct if I’m wrong, but none of these hiearchies of angels are actually dogma, are they? They may very well be correct, or we may have it a bit off. I believe the Biblical data and tradition strongly suggest Michael is very high-up…very possibly (I’m quite sure he is) the chief of all the angels. We have:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 1 Thes. 4:16
The voice of the Archangel? I can’t pretend that I know what this means with certainity, but St. Michael is called “the Archangel” elsewheret.

But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
St. Jude is saying “Even Michael…didn’t bring charge” which implies that St. Michael was venerated as a very great being indeed, likely first among the angels.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
(Dan. 10:13)
Here, as in other translations, it says “Michael, one of the chief princes”. There are couple important things to note in this verse. Michael is mentioned by name, so he is quite important, and the angel speaking to Daniel singles him out as the one angel who came to his aid. As well, I have read that the Hebrew can also mean ‘first’, which would then render this passage “Michael, first of the chief princes”. Either way, this verse seems to strongly imply that St. Michael is either the greatest or among the greatest of the princes of the angels.

But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me against these, but Michael your prince.
(Dan. 10:21)
Michael is the Prince of the Chosen People…their guardian. Would not God use His greatest angel to protect His Chosen People?

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
(Dan. 12:1)
Again we see the great importance of St. Michael, then as the guardian of Israel, and in the Last Days.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; (Rev. 12:17).
Michael and HIS angels. Michael is clearly seen as the commander of the Heavenly Hosts in this verse. Surely he is a mighty spirit indeed.

It’s also important to note that he is mentioned several times by name. Quite unusual for an angel. I believe there is an even greater ‘angel’ who shows up in the Old Testament though…more on this later, I plan to start a thread on it later this weekend. (Not an ‘angel’ in the traditional sense of the word, you’ll see).
 
Hmm… my RE teacher said Michael IS an archangel, which will place him only second last in the nine choirs of angels. Lucifer (light bearer) is a Seraphim (the fiery one), the highest ranked, the most powerful and the brightest of all the choirs. Yet when he revolted, a lowly archangel (Michael) rose up to fight and, by the power of God, defeated him. I think he made a connection here to David. The battle in Heaven is Davidic, he said. St Michael is not, of course, given the title ‘the Prince of Angels’
 
I respectfully disagree. Read what I have written below and cut and paste from an article. It doesn’t coincide with your RE teacher. I have also included a link to the complete article.

**I got this from following the link below. I could be reading this wrong, but my understanding is that St. Michael is a Princely Seraphim…a chief Seraphim, so he is in fact the highest ranking Angel right? Again, I could be wrong.

Archangels
**Archangels are generally taken to mean “chief or leading angel” ( Jude 9; 1 Thes 4:16), they are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible. They may be of this or other hierarchies as St. Michael Archangel, who is a princely Seraph. The Archangels have a unique role as God’s messenger to the people at critical times in history and salvation (Tb 12:6, 15; Jn 5:4; Rv 12:7-9) as in The Annunciation and Apocalypse. A feast day celebrating the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael is celebrated throughout the Church Sep 29. A special part of the Byzantine Liturgy invokes the “Cherubic Hymn” which celebrates these archangels and the guardian angels particularly. Of special significance is St. Michael as he has been invoked as patron and protector by the Church from the time of the Apostles. The Eastern Rite and many others place him over all the angels, as Prince of the Seraphim. He is described as the “chief of princes” and as the leader of the forces of heaven in their triumph over Satan and his followers. The angel Gabriel first appeared in the Old Testament in the prophesies of Daniel, he announced the prophecy of 70 weeks (Dn 9:21-27). He appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist (Lk 1:11). It was also Gabriel which proclaimed the Annunciation of Mary to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour. (Lk 1:26) The angel Raphael first appeared in the book of Tobit (Tobias)Tb 3:25, 5:5-28, 6-12). He announces “I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God.” (Tb 12:15)

catholic.org/saints/anglchoi.php
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mrS4ntA:
Hmm… my RE teacher said Michael IS an archangel, which will place him only second last in the nine choirs of angels. Lucifer (light bearer) is a Seraphim (the fiery one), the highest ranked, the most powerful and the brightest of all the choirs. Yet when he revolted, a lowly archangel (Michael) rose up to fight and, by the power of God, defeated him. I think he made a connection here to David. The battle in Heaven is Davidic, he said. St Michael is not, of course, given the title ‘the Prince of Angels’
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Just because an Angel is an Arch Angel, does not exclude them from being a Seraphim. Michael is a Prince Seraphim and he is the highest of all Angels.

dumspirospero said:
I respectfully disagree. Read what I have written below and cut and paste from an article. It doesn’t coincide with your RE teacher. I have also included a link to the complete article.

I got this from following the link below. I could be reading this wrong, but my understanding is that St. Michael is a Princely Seraphim…a chief Seraphim, so he is in fact the highest ranking Angel right? Again, I could be wrong.

Archangels
Archangels are generally taken to mean “chief or leading angel” ( Jude 9; 1 Thes 4:16), they are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible. They may be of this or other hierarchies as St. Michael Archangel, who is a princely Seraph. The Archangels have a unique role as God’s messenger to the people at critical times in history and salvation (Tb 12:6, 15; Jn 5:4; Rv 12:7-9) as in The Annunciation and Apocalypse. A feast day celebrating the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael is celebrated throughout the Church Sep 29. A special part of the Byzantine Liturgy invokes the “Cherubic Hymn” which celebrates these archangels and the guardian angels particularly. Of special significance is St. Michael as he has been invoked as patron and protector by the Church from the time of the Apostles. The Eastern Rite and many others place him over all the angels, as Prince of the Seraphim. He is described as the “chief of princes” and as the leader of the forces of heaven in their triumph over Satan and his followers. The angel Gabriel first appeared in the Old Testament in the prophesies of Daniel, he announced the prophecy of 70 weeks (Dn 9:21-27). He appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist (Lk 1:11). It was also Gabriel which proclaimed the Annunciation of Mary to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour. (Lk 1:26) The angel Raphael first appeared in the book of Tobit (Tobias)Tb 3:25, 5:5-28, 6-12). He announces “I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God.” (Tb 12:15)

catholic.org/saints/anglchoi.php
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard 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, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

http://www.smcenter.org/images/michaelarmor_sm.gif
 
When you think about it our Confirmation name is very important.
Our mother or father choose are first name and our baptisimal name.
We choose our Confirmation name.
I chose Joseph,my father’s name,and the name of the man selected by God to care for his son.
 
There are nine choirs of angels and archangels, like St Michael, actually constitute the second lowest of these choirs. So St Michael is far from the highest angel. The highest choir are the seraphim.
 
You are wrong. St. Michael is the Prince Seraphim. Just because one is an Arch Angel, doesn’t exclude them from being another type of angel. St. Michael is an Arch Angel and Seraphim. Also, wouldn’t you find it hard to believe that all the Angels would be led by a lowly Angel…he had the command of all the Angels in Heaven, and that would not be granted to a private or corporal…to put it in military terms. He is a 5 Star General…a General of Generals.
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tuopaolo:
There are nine choirs of angels and archangels, like St Michael, actually constitute the second lowest of these choirs. So St Michael is far from the highest angel. The highest choir are the seraphim.
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dumspirospero:
You are wrong. St. Michael is the Prince Seraphim. Just because one is an Arch Angel, doesn’t exclude them from being another type of angel. St. Michael is an Arch Angel and Seraphim. Also, wouldn’t you find it hard to believe that all the Angels would be led by a lowly Angel…he had the command of all the Angels in Heaven, and that would not be granted to a private or corporal…to put it in military terms. He is a 5 Star General…a General of Generals.
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No I’m not wrong. St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, says that St Michael is from the second lowest choir, not from the Seraphim.
 
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dumspirospero:
You are wrong. St. Michael is the Prince Seraphim. Just because one is an Arch Angel, doesn’t exclude them from being another type of angel. St. Michael is an Arch Angel and Seraphim. Also, wouldn’t you find it hard to believe that all the Angels would be led by a lowly Angel…he had the command of all the Angels in Heaven, and that would not be granted to a private or corporal…to put it in military terms. He is a 5 Star General…a General of Generals.
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Well, perhaps like David, a lowly one risen in battle and led a great victory and then appointed King for his success; the lowly archangel Michael has perhaps given Lucifer’s seraphic rank that he left vacant after leaving Heaven…
 
I have two things to ask:

1] was Lucifer higher than Michael in rank prior to the fall? Was he not the most beautiful one?

2]Is it Our Lady who will crush the head of the serpent but Michael’s job is just to keep him at bay?

Just questions that also fascinate me…
Blessings,
Shoshana
 
To the first question…yes, Lucifer was higher than Michael prior to the fall. He was the highest of the high angels, prior to the fall. He was the most beautiful. Like I said earlier, Michael was both an Arch Angel and a Seraphim…and I truly believe that after the fall…Michael booted Satan out, through Gods will and power, and he assumed command of the Angel hierarchy after the battle. He is the Prince…he is the protector of Heaven…he is the Chief Prince…deservingly.

As to your second question…I don’t know. 🙂
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Shoshana:
I have two things to ask:

1] was Lucifer higher than Michael in rank prior to the fall? Was he not the most beautiful one?

2]Is it Our Lady who will crush the head of the serpent but Michael’s job is just to keep him at bay?

Just questions that also fascinate me…
Blessings,
Shoshana
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1] was Lucifer higher than Michael in rank prior to the fall? Yes Was he not the most beautiful one? Yes
 
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mrS4ntA:
Well, perhaps like David, a lowly one risen in battle and led a great victory and then appointed King for his success; the lowly archangel Michael has perhaps given Lucifer’s seraphic rank that he left vacant after leaving Heaven…
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Michael was NOT given Lucifer’s seraphic rank. St Thomas Aquinas teaches that St Michael is not a seraph, but is from the second lowest choir of angels. An angel can’t be a member of more than one choir anyway. The choirs of angels are classes of angelic species, each angel being his own species. Let me quote from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

“according to St. Thomas (Summa Ia.113.3) he is the prince of the last and lowest choir, the angels.”

newadvent.org/cathen/10275b.htm

And there is NO Catholic theologian in Church history who believed that an angel could be a member of more than one choir – that would be like saying that an angel could be a member of more than one species!

It is legitimate to believe that perhaps Michael’s title “archangel” refers not to the choir to which he belongs but to his preeminence among all the angels and that he in fact belongs to the choir of seraphim, but it is not legitimate at all and indeed incoherent to believe that an angel can belong to more than one choir of angels.

On taking the place of Lucifer … First Mary Most Holy has the very highest place in Heaven; she is more glorious than all the angels and saints combined and is thus honored with hyperdulia. Second, there is a story sometimes told by some Franciscans that God gave St Francis of Assisi the place that He was going to give Lucifer before he rebelled.
 
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