St. Michael and the Archangels are fighting the battles for our Glorious King even as we read this reflection. In all moments of your day, the Archangels and angels, your guardian angel, is at work. They are protecting and defending us from the wickedness and snares of the enemy. They are promoting our hearts with wisdom to guide us to right choices. They are praying and interceding for us constantly.
I know I’ve put my guardian angel through a workout over the years. I thank him for all his efforts to save me from making too big a mistake along the way.
St. Michael holds a dear place for me. Beside being my confirmation saint, he came to me and gave me peace from a dark time of life.
My dad did a lot to make sure my sisters and I were raised in the Catholic Faith. He attended Mass with us nearly every Sunday, despite shift work in the Pittsburgh steel mills. Most importantly, he insured we received all the Sacraments. He also gave me a great example of what my Heavenly Father’s Love was like – pure, total and guiding. But, that was it. I never saw him pray, we never prayed in our home. And maybe worse for my piece, he died suddenly of a massive heart attack, without receiving the Sacrament of Anointing. When I learned more about the Sacraments, I saw how important and how huge the blessings received from this final Sacrament. In my heart, I feared for my hero’s final destination.
Then the Lord spoke to me through Divine Mercy in my soul (811), “At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son.” The chaplet of divine mercy must be prayed from the heart with trust. Jesus said it would have great power and draw “unimaginable graces” (Diary 687) — “Everything can be obtained by means of this prayer” (1128).
And from the ‘7 Secrets of Divine Mercy’ which said to ‘pray now and then.’ “By “now and then,” I don’t mean occasionally. We need to pray constantly (see 1 Thes 5:17), offering our prayer both now (in this present moment), and also then (in the past)”. God isn’t within time, now or then doesn’t matter to Him. He can take our prayers now and apply them ‘then’.
With that in my heart, I prayed a Chaplet for my dad. Waiting for the train to go home after work, I asked God to take this Chaplet today and apply its graces to my dad at the moment he died.
I began to pray. Instantly, I was back kneeling at the foot of my dad’s bed (when this all occurred I was in Japan serving in the military). I saw my dad walk into the room. The words caught in my throat, I started to stand but felt a pressure on my shoulder. When I turned to look, I saw the Blessed Mother behind me, and St. Michael with his hand on my shoulder. He smiled warmly and said, “pray, brother”. With tears running down my cheeks, I continued my Chaplet.
I saw my dad close his eyes and then the moment of the heart attack. He died before me while I knelt praying and crying. Then, miraculously, the Blessed Mother was at his side. She took his hand and lifted him to a seated position. He looked around and she smiled then hugged my dad. My dad stood in her embrace and they turned to walk away. As Mary and my dad “walked through a plane of light”, I saw St. Michael turn to face me. He winked and smiled then followed our Lady and my dad. They were gone and I was back on the train platform. The train that was pulling into the station when this began was still coming to a stop. This seemed like 15 minutes but was only seconds.
At that moment, I had no doubt that Jesus had graced me with knowledge that this Chaplet had been poured out in full upon my dad and that at that moment my father was rejoicing in Heaven with Our Father.
Every time I think of this event and grace, I am overwhelmed to tears. Tears of joy and grace. Of all the blessings God has shared with me, this was one of the most incredible and cherished. “unimaginable graces”
Never doubt the mercy of God, the intercession of the angels and archangels and loving mantle of Mary. “Everything can be obtained by means of this prayer” (1128).