September 29, Saints Michael and All Angels

Angels Everywhere

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One of the most striking things about Rome’s churches -- and about Italian churches in general -- is that they are full of representations of the angels. American churches in contrast, especially those built in the last fifty years, are strangely devoid of angelic imagery. In Italian churches there are angels everywhere: all sorts of angels. There are majestic angels of graceful athletic appearance, angels in splendid apparel playing musical instruments, and playful little angels with fat cheeks and chubby legs. In Italian churches, one is always conscious of praising God in conspectu angelorum, “in the sight of the angels” (Ps 137:1).

Angels in the Family

Whenever I have the good fortune to be in Italy, I travel two hours south of Rome to visit my mother’s cousins at my great-grandmother Donna Emma Onoratelli Barbato's ancestral home in the little village of Sepicciano. My grandfather Angelo Barbato spent time there as an infant with his mother, his brother Vincenzo, and his sister Filomena.

The Palazzo Onoratelli

Baroque in style, the palazzo was built in the early 1700s. Amazingly, there too, angels are depicted everywhere! Over the imposing front door, the family stemma, or coat of arms, bears the sword of Saint Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the house and of the family. Appropriately, the motto of the Onoratelli family is that of the Archangel Saint Michael, Quis ut Deus? Quis resistet Sancti Michaelis gladio? (Who is like unto God? Who can withstand the sword of Saint Michael?)

The shield of the coat of arms, surmounted by the strawberry-leaved diadem of a marchese, is held aloft by two chubby angels -- both of them blissfully naked -- and smiling broadly over the street below! To the right of the front door is a gallery of arches and, over each arch, is a smiling cherubic face. Not two of them are alike. Clearly, this house was built by Christians conscious of the presence of the angels and of their involvement in everyday life.

Saint Michael Delivers Don Clemente

Across from the palazzo adorned with images of the angels stands the family’s private chapel, a church constructed in honour of Saint Michael the Archangel by my ancestor, the Marchese Clemente Onoratelli (1669-1729), and consecrated in 1743. Over the altar hangs a large painting of Saint Michael defeating the devil. According to family legend, Clemente Onoratelli, beset with the vice of gambling (as were so many of the Neapolitan nobility under the Borboni dynasty), had made a pact with the devil so as always to win. After this pact, he found himself anxious, unhappy, and unable to sleep. One night, Saint Michael the Archangel visited him in a dream, saying, “Don Clemente, build a church in my honour, and I will undo this evil pact, and become your protector and the protector of all your family.” Don Clemente rose the next morning and ordered the building of the church of Saint Michael on the slope facing his palace.

In the Sight of Angels

The church was bombed and very nearly destroyed on October 15, 1943. After the War, it was restored at great cost. Apart from the majestic Saint Michael over the altar, the vaulting of the church’s nave is marked by a series of cherubic heads, all of them smiling, made in the same Baroque style as those of the palazzo. Again, the presence of the angels is something believed, something celebrated, an invisible reality depicted outwardly.

I cannot help but question the absence of an angelic iconography in today’s churches. And very rare indeed are homes and even monasteries graced with images of the angels! Out of sight, out of mind? The angels are as present today to us as they were to my Onoratelli ancestors in the village of Sepicciano, but we, sadly, may not be present to them.

Angels at the Liturgy

Are we in danger of forgetting the angels? While the liturgy mentions them repeatedly, all too often we assist at the Sacred Mysteries as if the angels were not there, joining in our praises, observing our attitudes, grieving over lack of zeal, and rejoicing to see us recollected and reverent. Saint Benedict speaks explicitly of the presence of the angels in Chapter 19 of the Rule: “We must therefore consider how we should behave in the sight of the Divine Majesty and his Angels, and as we sing our Psalms let us see to it that our mind is in harmony with our voice” (RB 19:6-7).

From Heaven Sent

One thing is certain. We need the angels. God created the angels for the praise of his glory and for our salvation, that is, to participate in his work of bringing us to wholeness, to peace, and to life everlasting in his presence. The angels are sent to us to comfort us in the hour of trial and affliction. Saint Luke, the evangelist most sensitive to angelic interventions, relates that an angel was sent to console Jesus during His agony in the garden (cf. Lk 22:43).

The angels are sent to bring us the healing of heavenly medicine, and the brightness of God’s deifying light. The angels are sent before every advent of the Word, to dispose our hearts and unstop our ears. The angels are sent before Christ, our Priest and our Victim, present in the offering of His Body and of His Blood. The angels are sent to bear our prayers up to heaven, and to descend to us, laden with heavenly blessings. The angels protect us in all our ways. They do all of these things gladly, joyfully, and unhesitatingly in obedience to the command of God.

Under the Protection of the Angels

We are in great need of angelic assistance. We need the comfort of their presence, the healing ministry of their hands, and the beauty of the praise that ceaselessly they offer God. While we may not have smiling angelic faces on the outer walls of our homes, we do have today’s feast and the daily celebration of the Sacred Liturgy to remind us that angels, unlike us, never forget. May they hold us in their prayer today and cover us with their protection. Who, indeed, can withstand the sword of Saint Michael?

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

Hymn

Thee, O Christ, the Father’s splendour,

Life and virtue of the heart,

In the presence of the Angels

Sing we now with tuneful art;

Fitly in alternate chorus

Bearing our responsive part.

Thus we praise with veneration

All the armies of the sky;

Chiefly him, the warrior Primate

Of celestial chivalry,

Michael, who in princely virtue

Cast Abaddon from on high.

By whose watchful care repelling,

King of everlasting grace,

Every ghostly adversary,

All things evil, all things base,

Grant us of thine only goodness

In thy Paradise a place.

Glory to the Father sing we

With resounding voices sweet,

Glory unto Christ our Saviour,

Glory to the Paraclete:

Standing forth, One God and Trinal,

Ere the ages; as is meet.

Psalm 8 The greatness of God, the dignity of man

King of the angels, how exalted is your glory above the sky!

How wonderful is your name over all the earth,

O Lord, our Lord!

How exalted is your glory

above the sky!

Out of the mouths of children and infants you have brought praise,

to confound your enemies, to destroy your vengeful foes.

When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and stars, which you set in their place –

what is man, that you should take thought for him?

what is the son of man, that you should look after him?

You have made him but one step lower than the angels;

you have crowned him with glory and honour;

you have set him over the works of your hands.

You have put everything beneath his feet,

cattle and sheep and the beasts of the field,

the birds in the air and the fish in the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the waters.

How wonderful is your name above all the earth,

O Lord, our Lord!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

King of the angels, how exalted is your glory above the sky!

Psalm 137 (138) Thanksgiving

In the presence of the angels I will make music to you, my God.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart,

for you have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I will make music to you,

worship before your holy temple.

I will praise your name

because of your mercy and faithfulness:

high above all other names is the greatness of your word.

Each day that I call on you, Lord,

listen to me, strengthen my spirit.

All the kings of the earth will proclaim your glory, Lord,

when they hear your word.

They will sing of the paths of the Lord,

so great is his glory.

For the Lord is on high

but he cares for the humble;

and he knows the proud from afar.

If I walk in the midst of troubles, you will give me life.

If my enemies rise up against me,

your right hand will keep me safe.

The Lord does all that I need.

Lord, your kindness lasts for ever:

do not forsake the work of your hands.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

In the presence of the angels I will make music to you, my God.

Canticle	(Colossians 1)

Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead

I saw by the throne a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed, and I heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne.

Let us give thanks to God the Father,

who has made us worthy to share in the light that is the saints’ inheritance.

He has rescued us from the power of the shadows

and brought us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption

and the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the first-born of all creation,

for in him all things were created,

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

thrones and dominations,

principalities and powers.

All things were created through him and for him:

he is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the Church.

He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,

and so he is pre-eminent above all.

For it was the Father’s will that the fullness of God should dwell in him,

and that through him all things should be reconciled to himself.

Through the blood of the Cross he brought peace to all things,

both on Earth and in the heavens.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

I saw by the throne a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed, and I heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne.

Short reading	Apocalypse 1:4-5,6 ©

Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits in his presence before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, who is the First-born from the dead and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood. To him, then, be glory and power.

Short Responsory

Sweet smoke rises in the sight of the Lord.

– Sweet smoke rises in the sight of the Lord.

The hands of the angels burn incense.

– Sweet smoke rises in the sight of the Lord.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– Sweet smoke rises in the sight of the Lord.

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

The angel Gabriel said to Mary: ‘Behold, you are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.’

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.

For he has shown me such favour –

me, his lowly handmaiden.

Now all generations will call me blessed,

because the mighty one has done great things for me.

His name is holy,

his mercy lasts for generation after generation

for those who revere him.

He has put forth his strength:

he has scattered the proud and conceited,

torn princes from their thrones;

but lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things;

the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel,

he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The angel Gabriel said to Mary: ‘Behold, you are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.’

Prayers and Intercessions

Let us pray to the Lord that, with the angels who do his will, we may be made more eager to hear his words: