THE DYNAMISM OF DUAL DEVOTION TO THE HOLY NAME AND TO ST MICHAEL

Cambodia, 1979. The barbarous Marxist regime left the cities awash with blood. Ordinary people thought to be a threat to the Communist revolution were savagely put to death by poison, shovels and pointed bamboo sticks (bullets were not to be wasted). A person's past was often their death sentence; if they had taken part in the free market, they were thought too contaminated by capitalism to be a good comrade.

Next, the Combodian government killers "the Khmer Rouge" in their olive green uniforms ventured out into rural areas, into the farming villages to lay to waste the lives of those who tilled the soil. In one little hamlet they ordered the villagers to dig deep pits in the ground, and then told them to face the earth basins. One non-Christian woman had heard of Christ's crucifixion, that God had hung on the Cross to save us from our sins, and she called on His Name. Her fellow villagers joined her, and in panicked desperation a chorus called on Jesus to save them. When the Holy Name reached the ears of the soldiers, they fled, and the villagers' lives were saved. (I read about this in The God Who Hung on the Cross)

The lives of the villagers were saved because the vocal offering of the Holy Name drove the demonic spirits away - the evil spirits that were inspiring the militia to murder these innocent people - could not bear to be present while the Holy Name was called upon. The supreme holiness of the Holy Name causes satan and his satellites to flee and also drives away people who are under the control of demons. The Holy Name of Jesus is wholly holy, meaning the unholy demonic spirits cannot withstand to be present while It is offered.

The denizens of Hell tremble at the name of the Archangel Michael. The name of the Archangel Michael means, "Who is like unto God?"  This was the rhetorical question used by the Archangel to put satan in his place and to answer the question truthfully means that an angelic spirit may not claim they are "like unto God" because it was God who created the angels (the good and the bad) and not the other way round. And while the name, "Michael" is not the Holy Name, the Holy Name of God is contained within the name of Michael for the name is the battle-cry, "Who is Like unto God?"

I have witnessed the life-saving power of the name Michael in my pro-life work. On more than a few occasions, I was helping a young mother who was in desperate circumstances. These young mums were often the victims of a pressure campaigns, those around them were shamelessly bullying them to abort. I had the impression there was a lot of demonic energy driving the people who were trying to break the will of the mother and have her do their will by aborting the child.

I got into the habit of asking the young mothers to call the baby Michael, and they always agreed to do so. Before this, the mother had it in mind to call the baby a name from pop-culture, or the name of their first crush. They would often agree to my suggestion because they were convinced the baby was going to be aborted anyway, so why not give him a temporary name? Very baffling events occurred after the baby was called Michael (even if the baby was a girl - the baby was later given a feminine version of the name at birth).  I would not believe this had I not seen it. But the people who were pressurizing for the abortion fell silent. They got mental freeze when they tried to follow through on their threats. It was as if the demonic intelligence that informed the tactics to push the woman to abort was suddenly removed, as if a demon had been evicted by the name Michael. To name the baby Michael was to show devotion to the Archangel who holds a demon captive by trapping it under his foot. Every single time the baby was called Michael, the abortion was cancelled and the babies were born. This taught me that the battle to save the lives of the unborn is truly one of spiritual warfare.

My intention is not to put forth that the Holy Name and the name of Michael are on equal footing - perish the thought - Angel Michael exists to uphold that no one is "like unto God". What I would like to set forth is a dual devotion to the Holy Name and to St Michael. When we have given ourselves totally to doing all in the Name of Jesus, and while we may call on the Holy Name to save us from everything from having our life's work ruined as in the case of St Alexander, to being murdered by a death squad as in the case above of the Cambodians, we may simultaneously invite the protection of St Michael by praying the prayer to St Michael everyday, and by having statues and pictures of him in our homes and by giving them as gifts. The reason I suggest making St Michael visually present is to confirm in people who he is, and the role he has as a warrior on our behalf. Many of the young mothers I encountered knew Michael was a first name, but except in the case of a Polish Catholic, very few of them knew Michael is the name of an Archangel.

It has pleased Almighty God to allow His Name to be present in the name Michael, and I humbly submit this endows the Archangel's name with certain efficacy.