SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 – ST. MICHAEL, ARCHANGEL.
- Dedication of the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel (Michaelmas) (530). (Traditional)
- Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. (Current)
MICHAEL, or “Who is like to God?” Such was the cry of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has been known as “Michael,” the captain of the armies of God, the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful! soul in strife with the powers of evil. Thus he appears in Holy Scripture as the guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it is who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory, and who rescues the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One. And since Christ’s coming the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trump, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.
REFLECTION: “Whenever,” says Saint Bernard, “any grievous temptation or vehement sorrow oppresses thee, invoke thy guardian, thy leader; cry out to him, and say, Lord, save us, lest we perish!”
WORD OF THE DAY
INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES. Good habits of the mind, enabling it to be a more efficient instrument of knowledge. They are distinguished from the moral virtues, since they do not, as such, make one a better person. They make one more effective in the use of what he or she knows and, to that extent, contribute to the practice of moral virtue. According to Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, there are five intellectual virtues: three pertaining to the theoretical or speculative intellect concerned with the contemplation of the true; and two pertaining to the practical intellect, concerned with the two forms of action, making and doing.
The three speculative intellectual virtues are understanding, science, and wisdom. Understanding (Greek nous, intuitive mind) is the habit of first principles. It is the habitual knowledge of primary self-evident truths that lie at the root of all knowledge. Science (Greek episteme, knowledge) is the habit of conclusions drawn by demonstration from first principles. It is the habitual knowledge of the particular sciences. Wisdom (Greek sophia, wisdom) is the habit of knowing things in their highest causes. It is the organized knowledge of all principles and conclusions in the truth called philosophy.
The two practical intellectual virtues are art and prudence. Art (Greek techne, craftsmanship) is the habit of knowing how to make things, how to produce some external object. As a practical virtue, it includes the mechanical and fine arts and most liberal arts. Prudence (Greek phronesis, practical wisdom) is the habit of knowing how to do things, how to direct activity that does not result in tangible products. It enables one to live a good human life and is the only one of the intellectual virtues that cannot exist apart from the moral virtues.
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
This article, SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 – ST. MICHAEL, ARCHANGEL. is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/september-29-2025-st-michael-archangel/
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