WHEN ST MICHAEL PROTECTED MY FINANCIAL RECORDS

It was some years ago, I was living in London, sharing with other women, and I lived with one lady who had a regrettable compulsion. She could be overly interested in other people's finances and obsessed over how much money an individual might have. This itchy temptation drove her and she waited 'til others were gone and then she went through their things to sate her curiosity. That said, she was a genial person who needed very little sleep, was very energetic and would do someone a good turn. 

It was during the nascent stage of online banking, and I usually found ways to hide my more sensitive paperwork, but I was applying for a studio flat and needed a lot of bank records. The local papers around central London were running with a scary fact that at the time there were 10 people for every 1 room, and I believed it, because 'til then (and even afterwards) I'd happily shared a room with another woman. But there came a  day I found myself with a sheaf of financial records and I had only a few hours to catch a flight to Rome to do some journalistic reporting and attend a business meeting. Time was short and I had to hop on the tube to Heathrow. A little while before I'd gotten a statue of St. Michael from a charity shop. It was a lovely china one, and the lapsed Catholic at the cash register gave it a pained look and only charged me two quid. 

I decided to put the sheaf of records on the top shelf which was high because the ceiling was very high, and then placed the statue on them, so that if the lady did get on a chair to see the contents of the top shelf, she'd be confronted with a statue of St. Michael in a flowing red cape, silver sword and a stern expression on his face which was topped by blond curls and a crown.

Had I known what was going to happen next, I'd not have put the statue there and would have suffered her snooping. When I returned from the eternal city, I found the statue in pieces; the chunks of china gathered up and put to one side. It turned out; she had pulled at the large pile of papers only to see the Archangel Michael flying down at her face. Thankfully, she wasn't injured by his crown hitting her, but she was very unnerved. While she didn't replace the statue, she never went through my things again.

Prayer to St Michael 

O God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name and humbly beseech Thy clemency, that, through the intercession of the ever Immaculate Virgin and our Mother Mary, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst vouchsafe to help us against satan and all the other unclean spirits that are prowling about the world to the great peril of the human race and the loss of souls. Amen. 

A very happy feast of St. Michael to you and yours! 

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The photo was taken at Lourdes, France, photo credit: Catherine Collins.  The prayer may be found in Deliverance Prayers For Use By The Laity, which is available here and there is also a handsome statue of St Michael on sale.