September 29th, we celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, this is also known as Michaelmas. I read from Revelation chapter 12 where Michael and his angels fight the dragon Satan:
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Traditionally I think you’re supposed to eat Blackberries on Michaelmas using them all up, since as stories for children go, when the devil was cast out of Heaven he landed in a bramble patch. I didn’t have blackberries, so raspberries it was, raspberry cobbler for dessert, unfortunately there was no ice cream to go with it either! Yes, very very sad.
This Feast is a great occasion to teach children about what God’s Word says about angels and about the devil. We also talked about Gabriel, how he came to Mary to announce the coming of Jesus. For Gabriel we listened to one of my favorite Christmas songs:
“Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted
the service of angels and men in a wonderful order.
Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels
always serve and worship You in heaven,
so by Your appointment they may also
help and defend us here on earth.”
