St Michael Prayer In Latin  

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio, contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, princeps militiae caelestis, in virtute Dei, in infernum detrude satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo. Amen.

Saint Michael Prayer in English 

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; and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. 

Learning Latin Prayers

For me, it's much easier to learn a prayer in Latin when I can match up the Latin word or phrase with the English. This is why I always work on learning a new prayer using a side by side or line by line translation like the one below. 

While it's possible to guess the English meaning of some of the Latin when reading the prayers side by side, other lines and phrases can be confusing. If you use Chrome, you can translate the Latin by highlighting a given word or phrase with the Google Translate add-on (here). If you don't use Chrome just google Google Translate and copy and paste.

Side By Side / Line By Line Version (Latin and English)

Why Pray in Latin?

And Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it upon the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.  This title therefore many of the Jews did read: because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. - John 19:19,20 (Douay Rheims Bible)

It commonly said that the devil hates Latin and, in my own experience with prayer, this is absolutely true. Latin (along with Greek and Hebrew) is a sacred language by virtue of its use upon the cross. It is also the language of the Mass.

The angels love the Mass. For me, attending the traditional Latin Mass with an awareness of the presence of the angels is beyond beautiful. When I drop to my knees for the Sanctus, I can almost feel them hovering, gentle and pure, all around us.

At every Holy Mass, heaven is opened for us and we join in the praise and adoration of the Angels who stand night and day before the Throne of God singing unceasingly, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty..." Through the perfection of their praise, the Holy Angels can lead us more deeply into this praise of God and loving communion with Him and His divine Son in the Sacred Liturgy. - The Holy Mass as Communio (Opus Angelorum Circular: Advent 2021)

Holy Communion by Angelo Graf von Courten, 1848-1925.

Printable St. Michael Prayer Card

If you'd like a printable St. Michael English - Latin Prayer Card (as pictured below), please check out the new listing in my Etsy shop here. This is folding prayer card to allow for the English and Latin versions of the prayer (85¢).

Front of the St. Michael English - Latin Prayer Card

Inside of St. Michael English - Latin Prayer Card

The Discernment of Spirits

The Angel God Promises

I decided to invite my guardian angel to pray with me after watching a video by Fr. Matthew Hincks of the Opus Angelorum. In the video, Father shares 12 ways that we can deepen our friendship with the angels. 

In my last post, Praying with the Angels, I promised to share all 12 of Fr. Hincks suggestions so I'm going to do that here. The first suggestion is especially important so I'll have more to say about that below!

The 12 Ways We Can Deepen Our Friendship with the Angels (per Fr. Hincks' video)

Why Suggestion #1 is Critical

Being in a state of grace when attempting to deepen our friendship with our guardian angel is the first suggestion given for a reason. It is very important!

When we are in a state of sin we are especially vulnerable to evil spirits and their deceptions. During my time in the New Age and occult, I practiced divination (a first commandment sin). This opened a door to the demonic. As a result, I believed I was connecting with God's angels when I was not.

But divination is not the only sin that can affect us. All sin muddies the water of our intellect (as stated by Fr. Chad Ripperger and others) and makes spiritual discernment difficult if not impossible. 

Fortunately, there is a solution.

The sacraments of the Catholic church can return us to a state of grace. 

The sacraments are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance and reconciliation, the annointing of the sick, matrimony and holy orders. For me, confession and receiving the Eucharist are particularly powerful!

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• To get Fr. Hincks' two part conference "The Guardian Angel and Our Spiritual Life" (which includes the full teaching on 12 ways to deepen our friendship with the Angels), please click here.
• To read about my experience praying with the angels, please see Praying with the Angels!
• For more on the Opus Angelorum, please see their website here.

Print in my room.

“Each one of us, even the poorest of the poor, has angels watching over him. The angels are glorious, pure and splendid, but they have been given to us as companions along the way of life. They have the task of watching over you all, so that you do not stray away from Christ, your Lord.” - Pope Pius XII, October 3, 1958 

Praying Alone 

I have a print of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane hanging in my bedroom. And even though the trials I face are nothing compared to His, on a level, I can identify.

While Jesus prayed, on the eve of His crucifixion, his disciples slept. He knew what it was like to pray without human company. And, so do I.

I do understand, of course, that God is always listening. Just like I know He is always there when we pray. Sometimes I feel His presence and sometimes I don't. And when I don't, I can't help wishing that there were other people there to pray with me. 

Unfortunately, there are no family prayers in our house and no immediate possibility of them either. Or so I thought.

Because now, thanks to the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels), I'm starting to see prayer in a different way. 

My New Course of Study

The Opus Angelorum (or OA) promotes devotion to the holy angels through Church approved spiritual formation. The Order offers a 12 month home study course with access to priests and religious if needed, various retreat locations, a nice selection of books and media, and a path to consecration at a nearby OA event.

Everything I've received from the OA so far is wonderful. This includes monthly Formation Letters, prayer cards and related books and booklet. Some of which are pictured below.

I'll be sharing more on what I'm learning in future posts. But in this one I want to talk about something I heard in a video by OA associated Fr. Matthew Hincks. 

The video explains the 12 ways you can grow with the angels. While all 12 suggestions were excellent, there was one that really stuck with me.

A New Way to Pray

I'll write out the 12 suggestions in my next blog post because it is my intent incorporate all of them into my life. But this morning I'm focusing on number eight, which I have already tried.

Pray with your Holy Guardian Angel.

Note the wording here. Fr. Hinck does not say that we should pray to our guardian angel (though we certainly can pray to him - provided we understand the difference between angels and God). Instead, Father is telling us to pray with our guardian angel. 

Fr. Hinck goes on to remind us that when two or three are gathered together in His name, Our Lord is present. For me, the idea that my guardian angel can serve as a companion in prayer was a revelation. So this morning, when I prayed the Rosary, I asked my guardian angel to pray along with me and then I asked the angels of various family members to join in. 

By the time we got to the Salve Regina, there was an entire company of us, there in my room praying. And I felt myself to be in wonderful company.

You can get Fr. Hinck's full teaching on this topic (Twelve Steps to a Living Friendship with the Guardian Angel) on the Opus Angelorum website for $4. I just picked it up and have already listened to it twice!

Material from the OA.

Russell Crowe in the Pope's Exorcist 

Russell Crowe (of Gladiator fame) is an unlikely Fr. Gabriel Amorth. But he portray Fr. Amorth in the newly released film, "The Pope's Exorcist" anyway. 

The late Fr. Amorth was chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome and the founder of International Association of Exorcists. He wrote a number of wonderful books and I have read all of them. In other words, I'm a huge fan. So I was prepared to hate Crowe's portrayal of the saintly Fr. Amorth. But I actually didn't. 

In my opinion, Crowe did a good job overall. He made the occasional joke (as did the real Fr. Amorth) and, to my untrained ear, his Italian accent (and Latin) was good. He did not try to be Fr. Amorth but he did try to build a likable character and I think he succeeded.

Anti-Catholic Elements in the Film

My main concern about the film was not that it would be badly acted but that it would be strongly anti-Catholic, in the way of some other movies (like Prey for the Devil). And I wasn't the only the only one who expressed that concern 

Prior to the release of the film, the International Association of Exorcists made this observation on the trailer for "The Pope's Exorcist:"

...the Vatican environments, painted with the usual proven range of chiaroscuro colors, give the film a "Da Vinci Code" effect, for instill in the public the usual doubt: who is the real enemy? The devil or the ecclesiastical "power"? - Comunicato Stampa / Press Release – About the trailer for the film: “The Pope's Exorcist” (The International Association of Exorcists)

There WAS a Vatican conspiracy storyline in the film, as I discuss in my podcast episode, below. But it was focused mostly on the past. Also, as part of the larger plot of the movie, some clergy opposed Fr. Amorth because they didn't believe in evil spirits (or even necessarily evil). But the movie did not suggest that these clergy were the majority. 

While the trailer for "The Pope's Exorcist" did seem to suggest a very strong anti-Vatican conspiracy, it turned out to be a relatively minor plot point. The actual movie, in my opinion, was not wildly anti-Catholic. And I suspect that if any of the members of the International Association of Exorcists watch it, they will probably agree.

But they were right about the special effects.

The Problem with Special Effects

We conclude these brief considerations with a reference to the so-called "special effects" , inevitable in every film dedicated to the theme of diabolical possession. As has already happened in other films, everything is exaggerated, with striking physical and verbal manifestations, typical of horror films. Now, this way of narrating Don Amorth's exorcistic experience, in addition to being contrary to historical reality, distorts and falsifies what is truly lived and experienced during the exorcism of truly possessed people whom we, Catholic exorcists, celebrate according to the directives given by the Church. In addition, he is offensive towards the state of suffering in which those who are victims of an extraordinary action of the devil find themselves. - Comunicato Stampa / Press Release – About the trailer for the film: “The Pope's Exorcist” (The International Association of Exorcists)

Sadly, this seems to be what the public wants or what Hollywood thinks it wants. The biggest problem I have with this type of film is that it portrays the devil not necessarily as more powerful than he is in fact, but as far less subtle. 

There is a real danger in believing that Satan is obvious or clumsy - which we will discuss this in future posts.

In summary, I did not hate "The Pope's Exorcist" and wouldn't tell anyone (over 18 and not triggered by cursing and violence) that they shouldn't watch it. But I would encourage them to read what the real Fr. Amorth had to say about Satan.

To listen to my full review on the movie including some discussion of the sacramental of exorcism please check out the podcast below or find my podcast "New Age To Catholic" on most popular podcast apps.

Or, if you prefer, you can watch video episode of the podcast below (and follow my channel YouTube.com/c/barbaragraver if so inclined):

• To read two of my favorite books by Fr. Amorth, please check out An Exorcist Explains the Demonic or Father Amorth: My Battle Against Satan (affiliate links).
• To read the original statement by the International Society of Exorcists or support it in its very important work please visit their website (there is an English option for this particular page).
• If you speak Italian, you can watch the documentary the Association discusses in their press release here. 

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Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. This means that, if you purchase through one my links, I may receive a small commission at not cost to you.

In this post we'll be talking about two Bible passages that warn us about the mysterious beings called the "glorious ones." We'll try to figure out who the ancient writers (Saints Peter and Jude) are talking about and what they were actually saying about.  

Here are the passages:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.... Bold and willful, they are not afraid to slander the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring against them a slanderous judgment from the Lord. - 2 Peter 2:1,9,10, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE)

Yet in like manner, these men [false teachers] in their dreamings defile the flesh, reject authority, and revile the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these men revile whatever they do not understand, and by those things that they know by instinct as irrational animals do, they are destroyed. - Jude 8-10 (NRSV-CE)

What Are These Passages Saying?

The passages above are very similar. Each is about untrustworthy teachers who are making false statements about the "glorious ones." Both saints are clear in saying that these teachers will be destroyed.

Both authors go on to remind us of other sinners punished by God. Fallen angels are mentioned in each account.

For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor′rah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly... then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment... - 2 Peter 4-6,10 (NRSV-CE)

Now I desire to remind you, though you were once for all fully informed, that he who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; just as Sodom and Gomor′rah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. - Jude 5-7 (NRSV-CE)

These passages suggest that God will punish the false teachers for "denying the master" who is Christ. But both authors also obviously believe that slandering the glorious ones is a dangerous game. 

According to St. Peter the false teachers "are not afraid to slander the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring against them a slanderous judgment from the Lord." St. Jude points out that not even St. Michael dared to slander the devil, during their dispute over the body of Moses.

Who are the Glorious Ones?

The ancient (intended) audience of these epistles would have probably known exactly who the glorious ones were, but we do not and the passages are fascinating for that reason alone. There is a mystery here that hints at things lost, or at least partially lost, in the mists of time.

This post, however, focuses on how these passages are relevant in the present day. 

This is what I have come up with:

1. The glorious ones are angels. If they were not, the analogy about St. Michael refusing to slander the devil (a fallen angel) wouldn't make sense. 
2. The glorious ones seem to be associated with fallen angels (who are mentioned often in the texts) or angels of a particular rank or both. The rank in question could be the rank of Lucifer (before the fall) - a higher rank than that of St. Michael. I think the glorious ones are very likely fallen and probably high ranking.
3. Both saints agree that teaching a false doctrine about angels is unwise and that offending the angels, or these particular angels anyway, is a very bad idea. While the punishment of God is mentioned it seems that the authors are also talking about demonic retaliation.

These passages support some things we already know about demons and self-styled exorcisms and lay people trying to command demons. But they also have a very specific message for anyone who teaches (or writes or talks) about angels.

Be wary.

But are we?

A search of the keyword "angel cards" yields over 6000 results on Amazon. A search for "angel guides" yields over 10,000. Paranormal romance categories on Amazon include both "angel" and "demon." And more content like this is being produced every day.

Are angels and demons accurately represented in any of this material? 

Does it matter?

According to Scripture, it does. 

The Bible on Demons

How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.” - Isaiah 14:12-14 (NRSV-CE)

Satan fell because of pride. That pride is clearly described in Isaiah (above). It is apparent that Lucifer wanted to be like God. Because of this envy, Lucifer becomes Satan (in Hebrew Ha-Satan, the adversary) and rebels against heaven taking a third of the angels with him (Rev 12:4).

St. Michael and the good angels, however, took as their war cry "Who is like God?" And St. Michael's name (מיכאל‎ / Mikha'el) asks the very same question-in direct opposition, in my opinion, to the angels who fell.

The good angels weren't. and aren’t, proud. They don't want to take the place of God or disobey him or (in case you were wondering) be involved in divination which He has expressly forbidden in Scripture.

And I'm pretty sure that they don't want to be glamorized in popular books or media either. Demons, however, are another story entirely.

Are demons offended by the fact that most popular material about angels gets just about everything wrong? I'm not sure, but I do think it gets their attention. And (as I have learned firsthand) that attention has a serious backlash. Always.

But there is a more important consideration. Directing our spiritual practices or our creative work toward demons is a form of sacrifice. And this profoundly offends God. 

They sacrificed to demons, not God, to deities they had never known... You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw it, and... spurned his sons and daughters. He said: I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness. - Deuteronomy 32:17-20 (NRSV-CE)

Or, as St. Peter reminds us, "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment..."

God, then, has no problem dividing the godly from the unrighteous. The only question is, on what side of the line do we intend to be?

I've been waffling on this blog and the general direction I should take with my other writing projects for a while now but today, on this Good Friday, things finally fell into place. So I decided to narrow my focus - from all things spiritual to angels - and changed the name of the blog to match. 

I will still continue with traditional Catholic spiritual formation on my own but angels, discernment and spiritual warfare will be my primary focus here on the blog. 

Blogging on Angels

One great thing about blogging on angels is that I have a LOT of study materials already. These include some very good Catholic books (including the Bible), online videos and DVDs, the Opus Angelorum website and more. 

In addition to blogging on what I'm learning, I will be posting a book list and various spiritual warfare resources including prayers in both Latin and English. I will also be sharing some of my own experience from my time in the New Age and occult. 

The books I'm reading right now are Dominion by Fr. Chad Ripperger and The Angels: In Catholic Teaching and Tradition by Fr. Pascale Parente. I'm really just getting started. There is a lot to learn!

One reason I want to focus on angels is because various New Age practices like "angel meditation" and "angel card reading" are very widespread. While a lot of this stuff seems harmless, it can have serious spiritual and psychological consequences. 

Spiritual Deception and the New Age

I'll have more to say on all of this but I'd like to close this post with a (kind of fuzzy) video of me at the height of my deception.

The video was recorded eleven years ago. I had just changed the name of my blog from the Mystic Review to the New Age Review as I went from tarot cards to "angel" cards. 

I was already deeply involved with the demonic and believed that switching from tarot to "angel" cards was stepping away from the darkness of the occult. It seems foolish now, but it is a very common way of thinking that was widely promoted by Doreen Virtue (who is now an Evangelical) and others.

I ended up changing the name of the blog back to the Mystic Review because I liked it better but I continued to "work with my angels" off and until 2017. The whole new-agey angel thing may seem harmless and kind of silly, but (just like Ouija boards and Wiccan circles) it throws open the door to the demonic. In my case, it led directly to mediumship and witchcraft and some very dark expereinces.

I'll say more about "angel" card reading in the weeks ahead. It is wrong on many different levels but what strikes me most about this video is how offensive such things must be to God and His Holy Angels.

PLEASE NOTE: Aside from the part about my dog and moving, none of what I say in this video is true!

My Experience with Light and Dark   

I've toggled between light and dark enough, over the course of my life, for it to become a theme for me.  And angels and demons are part of that theme.  

Largely because I believe that I've had experience with both.   

I believe, for example, that I've felt the influence of my guardian angel on several occasions.  And I'm quite sure that I dealt with the demonic directly, and repeatedly, during my time in the occult.

I have tried (on multiple occasions) to write a full account of those experiences.  But I've failed to finish that book.

So I decided to put a condensed version up here on the blog.  That may well be the end of that particular story.  But my interest in light and dark persists.  

Learning About Angels and Demons

I've been reading about angels ever since I came back to the faith.  My reference, right now, is Catholic exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger's excellent book Dominion (affiliate link).

In Dominion, Fr. Ripperger breaks down the the teachings of "angel saint" (and flat-out genius) Thomas Aquinas on the topic of angels and demons.  And Ripperger does so in a way that sacrifices nothing.

Or that's my sense of it anyway.  I can't really know for sure because I find the writings of St. Thomas difficult.  Dominion on the other hand is perfectly readable.  Though this does NOT mean the book is a breeze (or at least it isn't for me).

For me, reading Dominion is a little like reading a textbook and, as with many textbooks, the only way I can really be sure I'm not missing anything is by taking notes as I go.  This way of working through a book is slow going, however, and my wrist has been hurting lately  - so I had set Dominion aside.

Then an interesting thing happened.  

Talking About Angels

This week, I received a Facebook message from someone I had done a bit of Internet radio with when I was still in the New Age and occult.   In the message I found a series of questions about my current beliefs. One in particular stood out.

"Do you still work with the angels?"  

So I responded as best I could - basing much of what I said on what I'd learned from Fr. Ripperger's book.

I should get back to that book, I thought, and maybe I would have.  Or maybe not.

Then, as luck or providence would have it, I finished writing out my response and went for a walk.  I was only a few blocks from the house when I noticed a book lying on the pavement in front of me.  It was a Chicken Soup for the Soul book.  

I'm not really a huge a fan of the series but the title did catch my attention.  

"Believe in Angels."

I already do, I thought, though probably not in the way this particular book suggests.  

Later that day I shared a picture of the Chicken Soup angel book with the person who'd sent the questions.  She  felt certain I was meant to read it.  But it's my practice, as of late, to stick with books that are true to the faith.

So I went back to Dominion, sore wrist and all, and began to take notes.

To purchase Fr. Ripperger's book on Amazon, please click here: Dominion (affiliate link)

If you want to know more about my time in the New Age and occult, please visit check out my online Testimony right here on the blog.

Please note, this post contains Amazon affiliate links.  If you buy a book through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.