St. Michael the Archangel: Who Is Like God?

A Name That Is a Question

Michael's name in Hebrew, Mika'el, is itself a question: "Who is like God?" It is traditionally read as a battle cry and a rebuke — the answer being no one, certainly not Lucifer, who fell from heaven for refusing to serve God. Unlike every other figure in the Faith Library's Saints collection, Michael was never a human being who lived, sinned, and grew in holiness on earth. He is described in Scripture and Catholic tradition as one of the archangels, a pure spirit created by God before the material universe, and Catholic teaching about him rests on a small number of biblical texts and a long, continuous history of devotion rather than on a biography.

Michael in the Old Testament

Michael appears by name three times in the Book of Daniel, written in the centuries before Christ. In Daniel 10:13, the angel speaking to Daniel says that "Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me," describing him as a protector engaged in unseen conflict on behalf of God's people. Daniel 10:21 calls him "your prince," meaning guardian of Israel, and Daniel 12:1 foretells that "at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people" during a period of great distress — a passage the Church has long read as pointing toward final judgment and vindication.

Contending for the Body of Moses

The New Testament Letter of Jude, verse 9, briefly alludes to a dispute between Michael and the devil over the body of Moses, drawing on an older Jewish tradition also found in the non-canonical Assumption of Moses. Even in this one terse verse, Michael appears in his characteristic role: not acting on his own authority or by his own power, but as God's instrument, resisting the devil while still leaving final judgment to God ("The Lord rebuke thee").

Michael in the Book of Revelation

The fullest and most famous scriptural picture of Michael comes in Revelation 12:7-9: "And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world." This vision of Michael leading the angels against Satan is the foundation of his patronage as protector against evil, and the image most frequently painted by artists across the centuries — armored, sword or spear raised, the defeated dragon beneath his feet.

Devotion Through the Centuries

From the early centuries of the Church, Christians in the East and West built churches and shrines in Michael's honor and invoked him in the liturgy, especially at the hour of death and in prayers for protection. His feast, Michaelmas, became one of medieval Europe's major calendar markers. In the late nineteenth century, Pope Leo XIII composed a prayer to St. Michael and had it recited after every low Mass for decades — a practice later suppressed after Vatican II but revived in many parishes since, particularly amid renewed public interest in deliverance and spiritual warfare ministry.

Helper

Reflection Questions:

1. Michael's name means "Who is like God?" — a question, not a boast. Where in your life do you quietly treat something else (status, comfort, control) as if it deserved God's place?
2. Scripture shows Michael contending with the devil but still saying only "the Lord rebuke thee" rather than acting on his own authority. What would it look like to resist evil without needing to win the argument yourself?
3. Michael is described as a protector standing watch, often unnoticed, on behalf of people who don't ask for his help by name. Who in your life protects you in ways you rarely acknowledge?
4. The Book of Revelation places Michael's battle against the dragon in heaven, before it ever touches earth. Where do you need to fight a temptation earlier — in the mind or heart — before it becomes an action?
5. Pope Leo XIII asked the whole Church to pray to Michael for protection every day. Is there a daily prayer, however short, that you have let quietly drop that you could pick back up this week?