February 26, 2005
Lacking an authorized exorcist, all baptised persons are entitled to pray when confronting what they believe to be evil:
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray. O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world for ruin of souls. Amen.
Why this, here, today? Who knows? Maybe because Scott Peck of the long-term best seller The Road Less Traveled has published a new book, Glimpses of the Devil: A True Story of Evil, Possession, Exorcism and Redemption, inspired by his experiences as a young psychiatrist. Now ill, he does not expect to write another book.
Via Dappled Things. The modern icon of St. Michael was written by Shirley Kontos.
Update: for an even more frequently useful prayer, see Darwin Kirby's Jottings:
Sometimes at night, when I am saying my prayers, I end by saying -- God bless all the people that I don't like and all the people who don't like me. And that covers a mighty multitude.
Via Orthodixie, which also proposes others.
That's a beautiful Michael, based on this one, from the 14th century.
http://www.skete.com/moreinfo.cfm?Category=55&Product_ID=616
(One of my sons is a bit of a Michael afficionado) I love seeing this, here!
Posted by: The Anchoress | March 01, 2005 at 07:24 PM
Very interesting about the new Peck book, also. I'll check it out.
Posted by: The Anchoress | March 01, 2005 at 07:26 PM