Our Defenders

War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it - Revelation 12:7-9

Sometimes you hear the question asked, "How many angels can you fit on the head of a pin?" The correct answer? WHO CARES?! The important thing is that they are quite the formidable force to be reckoned with in the battle between good and evil as can be seen in this passage from the Revelation of St. John.

There is good news and bad news in all of this. The good news is that satan and his angels have been defeated and have been cast out of heaven. The bad news? They were thrown down to earth to be a menace to human beings. Oh, and they are really pissed off, too.

Tradition tells us that the devil and his legions were cast out in the primordial battle, a battle which was waged against God after the incarnation of the Son of God was revealed to them. Satan would have no worshipping of flesh, so he rebelled fully aware of the repercussions of his rejection of the incarnation. He is jealous of God's love for us revealed most perfectly in the person of Jesus, and his mission in this world is to tempt us and accuse us before God when we falter.

On the other hand, there are myriads of angels in heaven who are our defenders. They are messengers who reveal God's plan of salvation in time, a plan that was established even before time. These attendants at the throne of God like all of the saints in heaven are constantly interceding for us for protection and divine guidance throughout our journey of faith. They reveal to us one more aspect of what Christ meant when he said to his apostles prior to the ascension, "I will not leave you as orphans," because in Christ we have all the heavenly host with us.

I for one am glad that St. Michael is there to defend us. He has won the battle for all eternity. The devil will never prevail. Even though we are acting out the drama in time, satan's fate has been decided, and for this we can thank St. Michael for his perfect loyalty to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which led to the devil's defeat.

Through the intercession of St. Michael and all angels, may Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.