16th Sunday of Pentecost, the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels. Why celebrate this festival of St. Michael and all angels? And why if Michael is an angel do we call him a saint?
What we are doing is not teetering into Catholicism by worshiping angels. Rather this service is a distinctly Christian thing to do. We are reminded today that our Lord Jesus commands his angels concerning us. Calling the archangel Michael a “saint” is not worshiping him. Rather, this fits well the definition of what a saint is, namely someone who is forever in God’s holy presence in heaven. It is in His presence we all will be one day with all the saints of God. There we will dwell and serve our God with his angels forever in glory!