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The Spellbook · Protection

The Spellbook · Christianity

St Michael Protection Prayer with a Candle

How Catholics pray to St Michael the Archangel for protection with a candle, scripture and Leo XIII's prayer, and the history of Michael as defender.

  • TraditionCatholic devotion; prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII and ordered after Low Mass from 1886; biblical figure of Michael in Daniel, Jude and Revelation
  • ForProtection, Courage
  • DifficultySimple
  • Time10–15 minutes
  • WhenAt any time of fear or spiritual struggle; traditionally on Tuesdays (dedicated to the angels) and at Michaelmas, 29 September

St Michael the Archangel is the great protector of Christian tradition: the prince who stands for God's people in the Book of Daniel and who casts down the dragon in Revelation. Catholics turn to him in times of danger, fear and temptation, most often with the short prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in the 1880s, "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle". This simple devotion pairs that prayer with a candle and a reading from scripture, as many families do.

How to do it§

  1. Prepare. Place the candle in a secure holder on a table, with an image of St Michael if you have one. If you use holy water, bless yourself with it.
  2. Light the candle. As you light it, you may say: "Christ is the light of the world; may his light keep this house." (This wording is modern.) The candle is a sign of prayer and of Christ's victory over darkness, not a magical object in itself.
  3. Read scripture. Read Revelation 12:7–12, where Michael and his angels fight the dragon, or Daniel 12:1, "at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people" (King James Version).
  4. Say the prayer to St Michael. The prayer opens: "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil." It continues by asking God to rebuke the devil and asks Michael, by the power of God, to cast Satan and the evil spirits into hell. The full text is in most Catholic prayer books.
  5. Name your need. In your own words, ask Michael to pray for you or for those you name: for protection on a journey, courage in a trial, peace in a troubled house, or freedom from a temptation.
  6. Pray to God. Finish with the Lord's Prayer and the Glory Be, since in Catholic teaching all protection comes from God and the saints and angels intercede.
  7. Close. Make the sign of the cross and extinguish the candle; do not leave it burning when you go out or sleep.

Origins and history§

Michael ("Who is like God?") first appears in the Book of Daniel (10:13, 21; 12:1) as a heavenly prince who defends Israel. The Letter of Jude (verse 9) depicts him disputing with the devil over the body of Moses, and Revelation 12 shows him leading the angels in the war in heaven. Jewish apocalyptic literature, such as 1 Enoch, counts him among the chief angels. Early Christians invoked him as a healer at shrines such as Chonae in Phrygia, and from the fifth century as a heavenly warrior. Shrines on heights followed: Monte Gargano in Apulia from the late fifth century, Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy from the early eighth. Michaelmas, 29 September, became a major feast and a quarter day in England.

The prayer to St Michael was composed by Leo XIII. In 1884 the pope ordered certain prayers to be said after Low Mass, and in 1886 he added the prayer to St Michael to them. A popular story that the pope wrote it after a terrifying vision of Satan's power was reported only decades later and is treated with caution by historians. The "Leonine prayers" were dropped from the Mass in 1964, but Pope John Paul II urged Catholics in 1994 to say the prayer to St Michael again, and many parishes now pray it after Mass. Leo XIII also composed a longer exorcism prayer invoking Michael, intended for bishops and priests, which is not used in private devotion.

The candle belongs to the wider Christian custom of votive lights, burned before images of saints as a sign of prayer continuing after one has left the church.

Variations§

The Chaplet of St Michael, approved in the nineteenth century, honours the nine choirs of angels with salutations and prayers. The Franciscan "Lent of St Michael" is forty days of fasting and prayer before Michaelmas, kept by St Francis in 1224. In Orthodox churches Michael is honoured on 8 November with all the angels and on 6 September for the miracle at Chonae.

Safety and good sense§

Set the candle on a heat-proof surface away from curtains and paper, and never leave it unattended. If you or others are in physical danger, contact the police or emergency services first. Feelings of being spiritually attacked can sometimes be linked to anxiety or other health conditions; a doctor and a trusted priest or pastor can both help.

Sources and further reading§