If you have ever read “The Little Flowers of Saint Francis”, you may be familiar with the devotion an increasing number of Catholics practice this time of the year. It is a medieval Catholic tradition known as Saint Michael’s Lent.
In “The Little Flowers”, Saint Francis of Assisi expressed his desire for his Franciscan brothers to celebrate the Assumption of the Mary and then spend forty days preparing for the Feast of Saint Michael by fasting.
It was during the practice of Saint Michael’s Lent that Saint Francis was given the stigmata. Also, God has granted numerous miracles through this devotion.
Saint Michael’s Lent is a period of focused prayer, fasting, and penance from the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary to the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. The latter feast was simply known as the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel on the old liturgical calendar and more commonly referred to as Michaelmas.
Similar to Lent, it is a time to deny ourselves of the things of this world in order to make more room in our lives for the grace of God. It is also a special time to honor Our Lady, as Queen of the Angels, as well as, Saint Michael the Archangel.
Saint Michael’s Lent is not as structured nor as stringent as Lent is. Rather, it is perhaps more likened to Advent in that we are free to choose how best to prepare ourselves for the upcoming feast.
It is the time of the year that we can ask ourselves: How might the Lord be calling us to fast during these forty days to increase hunger and thirst for Him? How might the Lord be calling us to engage more deeply into prayer and the sacramental life of the Church in order to grow closer to Him? How might the Lord be calling us to a deeper level of penance?
Overall, this discipline may look different for everyone, but there are some helpful reflections and meditations that we can take to prayer. It is also common practice to pray the Chaplet of Saint Michael throughout the forty days of Saint Michael’s Lent with the Novena to Saint Michael prayed in the nine days leading up to the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels.
It is also a good time to reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and to examine how well we are living them out in our lives, looking for concrete ways to make the works of mercy a more focused part of our lives.
There are many benefits to the practice of the disciplines of Saint Michael’s Lent:
Personal Sanctity - It is often a time of profound personal transformation and conversion through the focused spiritual practices.
Communal Renewal - Reconnecting with this rich spiritual heritage can often open the door to new strength and vitality for the community as a whole.
Spiritual Warfare - The disciplines often represent a deeper engagement in the spiritual battle which can then avail ourselves more to the protection of God, not only for ourselves, but also for our families and the Church.
The war between the holy and the unholy continue to play out in the ripple effects we see throughout the broken world around us. In the broken world around us, we continually see the choosing of self over God…just as Lucifer chose self over God. But Our Lady and Saint Michael both chose God over self.
Like them, we too can choose God over self. Like them, we too can choose to be obedient to God and his Holy Catholic Church in spite of the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Through coming to a deeper love for what is truly good and further developing a willingness to sacrifice for it, we will have the grace to triumph over the evil in our lives Doing so, we will have new freedom to come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
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