St. Michael the Archangel

I want to write a little on St. Michael the Archangel. To understand who Michael is, we have to read back into the history of the world and the history on the creation of the angels. What is an angel? Simply put, an Angel is a messenger of God. It is a spirit and does not have a physical body that we humans have. You may also note that in the old testament there were times, that angels appeared in bodily form. God allowed them to appear in a body, but it wasn't a human body, it was merely a coating of what a human looks like. I know that is a bit confusing to think about, maybe that is a little too deep for my first post.

The first time that we hear about St. Michael is in the old testament. St. Michael, who ranks among the seven archangels, is also one of the three angels mentioned by name in the Scriptures, the others being St. Raphael and St. Gabriel. St. Michael is spoken of twice in the Old Testament, and twice in the New. In the Apocalypse (chapter xii) we find the most dramatic reference to St. Michael. Here John recounts the great battle in Heaven, when the wicked angels under Lucifer revolt against God, and how Michael, leading the faithful angels, defeats the hosts of evil and drives them out.

Because of this victory, St. Michael is revered in Catholic tradition and liturgy as the protector of the Church, as once he was regarded as the protector of the Israelites. In the Eastern Church, as well as among many theologians in the West, St Michael is placed over all the angels, as prince of the Seraphim.

His emblems are a banner, a sword, a dragon, and scales. The name Michael is a variation of Micah, meaning in Hebrew, "Who is like God?"

I will post more on the only Basilica in the world that hasn't been consecrated by a Priest, it was consecrated by St. Michael himself, in a stone rock we have the very "foot"print of the angel that resided there as his place of rest and prayer.