Prayer to St Michael (Long Form)
O Glorious Archangel St. Michael,
Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare
which we carry on against principalities and powers,
against the rulers of this world of darkness, and
spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God
created immortal, made in His own image and likeness,
and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the
devil. Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together
with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the
leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate
host, who were powerless to resist Thee, nor was there
place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that
ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who
seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with
his angels.
Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has
taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he
wanders about with all the multitude of wicked
spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the
name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and
cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the
crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out,
as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on
men; his depraved mind, corrupt heart, his spirit of
lying, impiety, blasphemy, his pestilential breath of
impurity and of every vice and iniquity. These most
crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall
and bitterness the Church, the Spouse of the
Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her
most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself,
where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter
and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world,
they have raised the throne of their abominable
impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the
Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.
Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against
the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God,
and give them the victory. They venerate Thee as their
protector and patron; in Thee Holy Church glories as
her defense against the malicious power of hell; to
Thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be
established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God
of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far
conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in
captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in
the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly
conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down
the dragon, the ancient serpent who is the devil and
Satan, do Thou again make him captive in the abyss,
that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered, hostile
powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the
root of David.
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord
R. As we have hoped in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee
LET US PRAY
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon
Thy holy name, and we humbly implore Thy clemency,
that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin
Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious
Archangel St. Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us
against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who
wander about the world for the injury of the human
race and the ruin of souls. Amen.
Given to us by our Dear Pope Leo XIII, 1884.
Raccolta 1933
St Michael Things
St Michael the Archangel Prayer In English and Latin (Short Form)
Deliverance Prayers for Use By the Laity
1957 Raccolta
St Michael Statues
Actually, permission for the laity to use this prayer was withdrawn by the Holy See in 1988. Lay people are not to use this prayer. See here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19850924_exorcism_en.html
Sorry.
I understand your concern, but the document you posted only applies to the Exorcism prayer, which is not the prayer posted. The St Michael exorcism prayer is posted here:
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=682
Here it is again here:
http://smwa.org/St_Michael/Document_St_Michael_Exorcism_Roman_Ritual.htm
It’s interesting that the commenter above thinks that this is an exorcism prayer, and yet it doesn’t seem to be any more bold then the commonly used short form prayer. Is it possible your link refers to another exorcism prayer by the same Pope?
Agreed!
You prayer above is a preamble to the exorcism prayer of Leo XIII. Most of the exorcism portion has been removed, yet where it says “Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered, hostile powers”…who are you speaking too? Not St. Michael…and not God. You are speaking to the Devil or a demon. I would say that it still contains elements of an exorcism formula and falls within the prohibition of the Holy See. To be sure, see if you can find an exorcist and ask him. That is the best way to find out.
And you could also first find out from an exorcist before making any pronouncements!
This prayer doesn’t contain any exorcism, preamble or not. What is scary about it? Is it scary to say “Vade Retro Satana” (Go back Satan)? I don’t think so; therefore, the excerpt you quoted is not scary.
This prayer is also posted on Taylor Marshall’s site (a traditional theologian).
Interesting how post Vatican II, this prayer that was proper to the laity, is suddenly not for the laity? Hmm. I wonder why? Should we not pray against the demonic forces in the world? Is that the real objective?
You’re going to have to show me something that lists this exact prayer with an admonition not to pray it. 🙂
I have reached out to my exorcist friend, to see what he says. Will let you know. And it is not a matter of being scary or not. It is a matter of Canon law and the Church being prudent.
Ok..my friend who is an exorcist just got back to me, and according to him the version that you have above is not prohibited by the Holy See. Hello, The prohibited prayer is the one that is in the Roman Ritual, Chapter Three of the section on exorcisms.
So…one slice of humble pie for me please!!!
DT
Thanks for confirming Dominican Tertiary. I would have hated to be leading anyone into danger!
Laity is definitely not allowed to use this exorcism prayer. You should remove it from your blog immediately.
http://www.ewtn.com/v/experts/showmessage_print.asp?number=348843&language=en
“The St. Michael Prayer that has been forbidden to the laity is NOT the Prayer to St. Michael, which Catholics may pray publicly and privately in all kinds of circumstances, including after the rosary, after Mass (but outside the liturgy to comply with Church norms) or any other time one wants. The Church greatly encourages this prayer. In fact, 1994 Pope John Paul II asked people to say it more often. A Polish bishop once told a priest I know that the reason was the increase of the demonic in our world.
The prayer that is forbidden is an exorcism prayer, also from Pope Leo XIII, which adjures the Enemy and the demons directly. This prayer was widely distributed in the past by TAN Books in a little pamphlet. It is this prayer which is forbidden to the laity, not the shorter “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil …”
See above, bill.
I appreciate the clarification, but to be safe, I will stick with the easy-to-remember and just as effective short version St Michael’s prayer. I also try to say on a regular basis the St Michael Chaplet, which we pray in the name of all nine choirs of angels. If said on a regular basis, we are promised to have 9 angels from each choir accompany us to Holy Communion, and we will have St Michael’s continual assistance along with all the holy angels throughout our earthly life. And I personally need all the help I can get!
https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/chaplet-of-st-michael.htm
Further interesting to note that one of the links you provide in your comment specifically states “to be said by priests only,”
I think the confusion comes in because most people do not realize there are 3 separate prayers we are talking about:
1. Prayer to St Michael short form
2. Prayer to St Michael Long Form (the one above for non clerics)
3. Exorcism Prayer to Saint Michael contained in the actual Roman Ritual, which is the only one forbidden as it is contained in the rite of exorcism of the church and meant to be recited publicly.
The long form St Michael prayer is definitely not forbidden and is even more appropriate when said privately.
Thanks for the clarification! You are correct!