Feast of St
Michael 29.9.19 Giving God the best
St Michael is
especially noted for fighting against Satan and his followers.
He is depicted in
art as having a sword. Of course, angels do not really use swords. The battle
is fought at the spiritual level; at the level of thought, ideas – truth
against falsehood, love against hate.
What is it like to
fight at the spiritual level? We should know: we have been in it all our lives.
The choice between right and wrong confronts us every day. Right and wrong, or
better and worse. It comes to this: Do we love God or not? This question means everything.
All day we face
temptations to turn away from God, and invitations to turn towards Him. This is
the essence of the battle we fight, and in which we are caught up.
When we experience
the wrestling and the anguish that can go with a moral choice we might
sometimes wish we could have a sword fight instead!
Evil can be attractively
packaged, and look good to eat (cf Eve and the fruit). And good can appear rather boring by contrast.
Being good takes discipline, restraint, self-control – not always the most sought-after
qualities!
Our desires tend
to be somewhat distorted at the best of times – the result of previous sin.
If we do what our
unreflected desires tell us we will often take the wrong path. With more
maturity and balance (helped by the angels) we are more likely to choose
rightly.
The fruits
indicate whether we got it right or not (cf Gal 5 love, joy, peace or
dissensions, envies, uncleanness etc).
The battle is
invisible, subtle and long-term.
The obvious sins
(like robbing the bank) are easier to avoid. The little things are not so easy.
It is easy to go through a day without committing a murder; but how avoid the
uncharitable remarks, the jealous thoughts, the impure glances?
The battle is fought
on many fronts; we must be attentive to the whole battlefield.
Are we really
attuned to the divine presence, to the claims that God has on us? Are we really
trying to give Him the best we can?
We are tempted to
give Him just what is good enough, not the best lamb in the flock. Good enough
for God, so we think.
The angels give of
their best to God, and they challenge us to follow their example.
They also pray for
us that we will have the necessary strength to progress.
We need a large
dose of humility. It was humility that enabled St Michael to hold firm in his
time of trial; pride which brought down the evil angels.
With much practice
we can reach the point where our will is locked in with God, permanently and
securely; so we are no longer like a gate swinging in the breeze. We will come
to see more clearly how both sides work, and make our decision to be on the
right side.
The devil will frustrate
as much as possible. Watch out for ‘snares and wickedness’ (St Michael prayer).
He will present
things to us in whatever way is most likely to lead us to sin.
We must be
vigilant and never over-confident. (everyone sins, this is only a little
sin, God will forgive…not a sin this time… you are a good person… ) All this and more - whatever will work for
him.)
St Michael and the
angels did not take God for granted, and nor do we. We give Him serious
attention; seeking to pull out the weeds and replace them with flowers.
The angels help us
to search for God to love Him more. They would be learning still about God's
infinite goodness. They want us to share
in it.
Let us thank God
for such strong help. Let us acknowledge the Queen of the Angels, even holier
than those angels.
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