The Parishioner - Edition 26|Spring 2016

H o m i l y f o r t h e F e a s t o f S S M i c h a e l , G a b r i e l a n d R a p h a e l
given by Fr Michael Woodgate at St. Michael’s Church, Peckham Bush on September 29th 2015.
T
his
is the second time in four days
that I have had the privilege of
being at mass in a redundant
pre-Reformation church. Only last Saturday
I was in the church of Snave on Romney
Marsh, which is cared for by the Romney
Marsh Historic Churches’ Trust for a sung
mass in the Extraordinary Form. We were made
ver y welcome by the President of the Trust,
who, though not a Catholic, hoped there would
be more Masses there in the future. And one
reason why I mention this is because he said
that unless the redundant churches are used,
they will fall into disrepair because of lack of
interest or the will to keep them in good repair.
Can we guarantee that there will always be a
Churches’ Conser vation Trust to go on doing
the excellent work that they do here, for
example? The celebrant and preacher at the
Mass, Fr. Marcus Holden, PP of Ramsgate,
reminded us in his homily that these
pre-Reformation churches were built for the
celebration of Mass.
That is why it is so good that we
are celebrating here in St. Michael’s
this evening; we are fulfilling the
purpose for which those builders of old
constructed it. Since this occasion last
year, I have had the opportunity to read Margaret
Lawrence’s histor y of this church, which I found quite
absorbing. In Spain, and maybe other countries too, there is
a tradition of having a pilgrimage church outside a village,
in addition to the parish church in the village. On certain
occasions during the year and presumably on the patronal
feast, parishioners come on pilgrimage to honour the saint,
ask for his or her prayers and, above all worship Almighty
God.
It is precisely this that we are doing once again this
evening. We are on pilgrimage to a lovely building dedicated
to St. Michael the Archangel, seeking his prayers and help,
along with those of SS Gabriel and Raphael and indeed
honouring all the angelic host.
As we know , the angels belong and always have
belonged to the world of spirit. They are not and never have
been human beings, which is why it is ridiculous to say, as
some ignorantly do, that when we die we become angels.
There is a timelessness about the angelic world, the
heavenly world, again unlike the saints, who lived on this
earth, which is bound by time. When the Archangel Gabriel
came to Our Blessed Lady, time and timelessness meet. The
incarnation, in a sense, sanctifies time, for God chose the
moment of His Son’s conception with astonishing care. It
was no accident that he chose the country, the place, the
time, the culture and above all, the mother, in the way that
He did.
Our reading of the Apocalypse speaks of a war breaking
out in heaven when the angel which we call Satan rebels
against God and is driven out of heaven by St. Michael and
his angels. But why did Satan, described in our reading as
a dragon, rebel? According to some Jewish traditions, he did
so because he refused to acknowledge the dignity bestowed
7
on man when God made man in his own image and likeness,
as the Book of Genesis tells us. He refused to bow down
before this image of God, unlike Michael who did so. Satan
and his angels regarded man as their inferior and so
rebelled. If we go back to the Book of Daniel we find
it is Michael who defends the Chosen People on
God’s behalf. His name means “Who is like God?”
and his mission is to guard the rights of God
against those who would usurp them. The
Christian Church has always
regarded St. Michael as her
guardian in adversity, especially
when that adversity has emanated
from Satan.
Because of that sense of timelessness, we could see
that battle as being the war which Satan has never
ceased to wage against the Church and which
will take the most dreadful form at the end of
time. It is important at this point not to start
speculating, as some love to do. Let’s stick to
what we have in Holy Scripture but at the same
time not be blind to the signs of the times in
which we (and each generation) lives. We
are seeing clearly what happens in our own
times when people give up belief in God.
It used to be said that the Devil
scores a big point when he gets us to stop
believing in him. Well, he’s achieved that
pretty well. The next thing is to stop people
believing in God – and he’s achieving that pretty well, too.
It’s becoming more and more difficult to say to people,
“Such and such behaviour is not Christian” or “You’re going
against God’s laws by doing such and such” or “How can you
make your peace with God if you do that?” It’s becoming
much more difficult because the answer may well be “Well,
I don’t believe in God” or “I don’t believe in a personal God”
or “You have to keep up with the times – we don’t believe
in that kind of God any more.” Yes, the battle is on, but often
it doesn’t feel like a battle. That’s where the Devil scores
again because he can get on with his work undetected.
Fortunately, Pope Francis is very aware of the devil and
tells us so from time to time. In our battle against evil, St
Michael and the heavenly host are there to assist us. “Holy
St Michael, defend us in the day of battle….” The battle is
now, ever y day, and God has provided us with heavenly
protection through the ministry of the Holy Angels, with St
Michael as their leader. This church, perched on a hill, like
so many dedicated to that Archangel – Mont St Michel. St.
Michael’s Mount, for example, is a powerful witness to that
ministr y. Some words from another homily on St Michael
seems to sum up what we have been saying this evening.
“With Michael, all here are engaged in spiritual warfare. The
battle continues as we, though hindered by our own sins and
failures. Strive to create an oasis of sanity in a mad world,
a place where the love and peace of God is manifested”.
May this church of St Michael and our Mass on this
lovely feast inspire us. Incidentally, is it he who is the angel
who takes the Holy Sacrifice to the altar in heaven, as
proclaimed in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer 1) Some
certainly think so.