St. Michael has long been the special protector of God's children, from the ancient Israelites in the Old Testament, up to our own times.  And he will assist us in days to come as well, even in times of great tribulation and persecution. We are caught up in the middle of a great spiritual battle, which is revealed concretely in world events.  As the late Fr. Gabriel Amorth once said, "Things first happen in the spiritual realms, then they are made concrete on this earth...there are only two spiritual realms: The Holy Spirit and the demonic spirit...evil is disguised in various ways: political, religious, cultural, and it has one source of inspiration: the devil. As a Christian I fight the beast spiritually.”

 

We take up this fight through personal holiness.  No one will be exempt from involvement.  We are all lacking in personal holiness, but holy or not, we are all swept up into the great battle between God and satan.  If we haven't answered the call to holiness up to now, then it's time to get started.  Discouragement is the weapon of our enemy, so dismiss his lies that you can never achieve holiness, that you can never be worthy.  God looks for our fidelity, not our perfection.  It is in persevering fidelity that we can reach perfection.

 

In these days we must turn to the Sacraments, especially confession and the Eucharist, Our Lady and her Rosary, and St. Michael, the Prince of the Heavenly Host, who will battle and defeat the prince of this world. "Couragio!," as Padre Pio liked to say. The task of saving souls might be frightening because of the heavy responsibility God has entrusted to us, but it is also a privilege that the God of all creation, Our Father, asks us poor creatures to help build His Kingdom.  If we are up for the task we can be sure that His abundant grace will sustain us.