"But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people... And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book." (Daniel 12:1)
It seems a bit too good to be true, but Pope Francis and Benedict XVI have deigned to officially place the Vatican under the special protection of St. Michael the Archangel by consecrating the Holy City to his protection. Following a brief ceremony in the Vatican Gardens on July 5, Francis addressed those present, noting how St. Michael defends the children of God from the wicked one. He said that even if the devil attempts to disfigure the face of mankind, Michael wins, because God Who is stronger acts in him.
"Michael struggles to restore divine justice and defends the People of God from his enemies, above all from the enemy par excellence, the devil. And St. Michael wins because in him, there is God who acts. Though the devil always tries to disfigure the face of the Archangel and that of humanity, God is stronger. It is His victory and His salvation that is offered to all men. We are not alone on the journey or in the trials of life. We are accompanied and supported by the angels of God, who offer, so to speak, their wings to help us overcome so many dangers, in order to fly high compared to those realities that can weigh down our lives or drag us down.
"In consecrating Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him."
The understanding of course is that Michael will win our battles only if we invoke him. Clearly Francis and Benedict realize that the Church is under siege and have invoked the special protection of this heavenly warrior during this "final battle between the Church and the anti-church." It seems that Benedict may have prompted this action, being in the know about the satanic infiltration of the Vatican, and no doubt he briefed Francis about the infernal state of affairs in Rome and conferred with him on the Third Secret of Fatima which prophesied this very blight to the Church. Hopefully the consecration to Michael is step-one to universally bringing back the St. Michael prayer after Mass.
If the restoration of the Holy Roman Catholic Church has failed to materialize as expected, it's because St. Michael has not been given his place of honor as the guardian of the Faith. For Michael is the highest guardian of Heaven whose mission is to lead the armies of God in their fight against satan, therefore the evil one was intent on reaching in and inscribing those infamous words in the 1964 Vatican II document, Inter Oecumenici, which ordered that the traditional prayer to St. Michael be "suppressed." (article 48)
This was to prove fatal for the Church. For it was through the restraining force of this great Archangel that the influence of the devil was formerly held back through the ages and kept out of the Church (2 Thess. 2:6, 7). But by removing Michael from the liturgy, this opened the door to infiltration and gave the enemy easy access to enter. The devil wanted the lock off the gate so he could get in there and remodel the fort without interference from his arch rival, Michael.
And the rest is history. The Church since Vatican II has been without spiritual protection which is why it stands "half in ruins" today. Sacred chant has given way to strumming, prayer has given way to clapping, and the sacrosanct order of God has given way to the new liturgical merry-go-round that caters to the whims of the people.
But this latest move to restore St. Michael offers fighting help for the wearied bands and lays the groundwork for a true and lasting restoration. We may very well be witnessing the dawning of a great and glorious renewal for the Church as foretold in Holy Scripture: "At that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people: and a time shall come, such as never was from the time that nations began, even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book." (Daniel 12:1)
The consecration of the Vatican to St. Michael truly constitutes a major building block towards restoration. But let us build on this. This is the time to fan the good flame and to start blowing away the smoke of satan that Pope Paul said had "entered into the temple of God." (June 29, 1972)
We pray that the cause of St. Michael continue to flourish and that traditional discipline be restored so that the Church Militant can again be girt with that brilliance and armor "wherewith it may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one." (Ephesians 6:16)
David Martin is the former moderator for St. Michaels Radio which is the one radio program of our time specializing in Catholic prophecy. He has also authored numerous articles on the Church and the Papacy which have appeared on various blogs and websites.
David presently resides in Los Angeles, California where for thirty years he has coordinated a Catholic ministry. He is a daily communicant in his parish church and strongly supports Benedict XVI’s aspiration to see the Traditional Latin Mass returned to every Catholic parish of the world.
