Just when we thought that dissatisfied liberal Catholics couldn’t find anything else to criticize, America Magazine has surprised us with a rather peculiar target.
An associate editor at the Jesuit publication recently expressed his personal frustrations about a specific Church tradition on X, taking aim at the Prayer to St. Michael. This prayer, typically recited at the end of Mass, seeks the archangel Michael’s intercession against the “wickedness and snares of the Devil.”
For many Catholics, this devotion is a protective prayer, asking God to help defeat the forces of evil in the world. However, the editor seems to find the language expressing opposition to the Devil—who is often called the Father of Lies—too intense. He remarked, “I cannot express how much I dislike the St. Michael Prayer after Mass. it [sic] is so, so jarring to me every time.”
Now, I wouldn’t usually describe a commonly recited prayer as suddenly shocking or uncomfortable, but that’s just my take.
The editor elaborated further by stating, “To say nothing of the intent/content of the prayer, the language, and repetition and prominence given to it breed a sense of paranoia and cynicism. Instead of going out to evangelize the world, everyone is ready to go to war with it.”
This brings up some strong implications. Does he really disagree with a prayer asking for protection against evil? The way he critiques the prayer also misses the point somewhat. The St. Michael Prayer is not an assault on the world; rather, it calls for divine assistance against those who wish to bring about its destruction. The suggestion that its “repetition and prominence” is unjustifiable doesn’t hold much weight either, since saying the St. Michael Prayer after Mass is optional and occurs only after the final blessing, outside the official liturgy.
It’s worth noting, The Devil is, indeed, considered an enemy in this context.
The author wasn’t finished. He wrapped up with, “This prayer is totally fine in private devotion. It does not belong in the liturgy (or effectively within the liturgy, when it is said after the final blessing but before the recessional hymn).”
Such reasoning seems odd, especially given that Pope Leo XIII wrote the prayer in 1884. Interestingly, Pope Francis—admired by America Magazine—has even suggested reintroducing the St. Michael Prayer into liturgical practices since it became optional after the Second Vatican Council. In response to church scandals revealed in 2018, Pope Francis remarked, “[The church must be] saved from the attacks of the malign one, the great accuser and at the same time be made ever more aware of its guilt, its mistakes, and abuses committed in the present and the past.”
Pope Francis also consecrated the Vatican to St. Michael and St. Joseph in 2013, with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI present, seeking the angel’s protection against evil.
Reactions on X have, as usual, been quite entertaining. A Jesuit seminarian politely noted, “Sir, the prayer seeks the wellbeing [sic] of the world. It is a prayer for protection against the enemy of all humanity.”
Another priest commented, “The paranoia and cynicism isn’t [sic] coming from the St. Michael’s prayer. It’s coming from a worldview so comfortable with the age it has forgotten the Church is by divine design ALWAYS in battle. The St. Michael Prayer is simply the honest acknowledgment of that fact.”
But I think the real standout came from Michael Knowles. His response speaks volumes.
