St. Michael
The great prince of all the angels and leader of the celestial armies.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not.-- Rev. xii, 7, 8.
Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince, And thou, in military prowess next, Gabriel; lead forth to battle these my sons Invincible; lead forth my armed Saints By thousands and by millions ranged for fight.
Milton, Paradise Lost, vi, 44.
His day ( St. Michael and All Angels) is September 29, and in the Roman Church he is also commemorated on May 8, in honor of his apparition in 492 to a herdsman of Monte Gargano. In the Middle Ages he was looked on as the presiding spirit of the planet Mercury, and bringer to man of the gift of prudence.
In art St. Michael is depicted as a beautiful young man with severe countenance, winged, and clad in either white garments or armor, bearing a lance and shield, with which he combats a dragon. In the final judgment he is represented with scales, in which he weighs the souls of the risen dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment