The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29): Benedicite Dominum ("Bless the Lord, all ye his angels")

Benedicite Dominum is the name of both the Introit and the Gradual for this feast day.  The text for both is taken from Psalm 102:20 (103:20 in the Anglican reckoning), followed by the wonderful Verse 1 from the same Psalm:

Bless the Lord, all ye his angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders.

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless his holy name.

Here's an mp3 of the Introit from ChristusRex.org, sung by the Benedictine monks of São Paolo; below is the chant score:

Clearly, this chant is used at some other time than for St.MaAA; an "Alleluia" has been added to be sung during Eastertide ("T.P." = Tempus Paschale).  For what purpose?  I'm not clear yet, but am on the case.  I'm thinking it may be for celebrations of the dedications of churches named after St. Michael - or perhaps for Votive masses in his honor?  I will see what I can find out.

Unfortunately, I haven't found an audio or video file of the Gradual; that is really too bad, because it looks like it must be a beautiful chant!  Here's the elaborate score:

There is, though, at least one polyphonic setting of the Gradual, along with a setting of the Offertory, Stetit angelus.  The composer is the 18th-century Brazilian musician José Maurício Nunes Garcia; you can get all the words at the Vimeo page.


"Gradual e Ofertório a São Miguel Arcângelo" - Pe. José Maurício Nunes Garcia - Madrigal Contemporâneo from Lúcio Zandonadi on Vimeo.



Interestingly, the Liber Usualis 1961 (which was the book for the old, Tridentine Rite), calls this feast "Dedication of the Church of St. Michael, Archangel."    Hymn melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service books, though, calls it straightforwardly "The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels."  I'm actually not sure what's going on at this point; did the feast originate at the dedication of a particular church, then evolve during in the Middle Ages into a more general feast day?  Or was "St. Michael and All Angels" peculiar to the British Isles, while the rest of the church went on celebrating the Dedication of a particular church?   Or did all of Western Christendom celebrate the general feast - until at some point the Roman Catholic Church reverted to the earlier name and celebration?  I'm not sure, and I'm seeing conflicting information about this so far; I'll have to continue to look at this.  (There is also a "Feast of the Guardian Angels," celebrated by Catholics on October 2 - so the whole thing does seem to be quite complicated, all in all.  More to come, hopefully!)

In any case, the church referred to - and it's sometimes called a "basilica" - is appearently the Church of St. Michael on Mount Gargano; it was originally dedicated at some point prior to the year 493.    This comes from the Wikipedia entry for "The Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo":

The Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano, sometimes called simply Monte Gargano, is a Catholic sanctuary on Mount Gargano, Italy, part of the commune of Monte Sant'Angelo, in the province of Foggia, northern Apulia.

It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the archangel Michael and has been an important pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages. The historic site and its environs are protected by the Parco Nazionale del Gargano.

In 2011, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy. Places of the power (568-774 A.D.).

Here are some images from that page.  The first one's labeled "Santuario di San Michele Arcangelo a Monte Sant'Angelo":

This one of the tower was taken by user Idéfix:

 Tango7174 offers this image of a statue of St. Michael from the exterior of the church:

Bartleby.com also has some interesting stuff about the feast from "Rev. Alban Butler's The Lives of the Saints, 1866 (Volume IX: September)":

September 29

The Dedication of St. Michael’s Church

[Or, the Festival of St. Michael and All the Holy Angels.]  THIS festival has been kept with great solemnity on the 29th of September ever since the fifth age, and was certainly celebrated in Apulia in 493. The dedication of the famous church of St. Michael on Mount Gargano, in Italy, 1 gave occasion to the institution of this feast in the West, which is hence called in the Martyrologies of St. Jerom, Bede, and others, The dedication of St. Michael. The dedication of St. Michael’s church in Rome, upon Adrian’s Mole, which was performed by Pope Boniface IV. in 610, and that of several other churches in the West, in honour of this arch-angel, were performed on this same day. 2 Churches were likewise erected in the East, in honour of St. Michael and other holy angels, from the time when the Christian worship was publicly established by the conversion of Constantine, doubtless upon the model of little oratories and churches, which had been formerly raised in the intervals of the general persecutions, in which storms they were again thrown down. Sozomen informs us, that Constantine the Great built a famous church in honour of this glorious archangel, called Michaelion, and that in it the sick were often cured, and other wonders wrought through the intercession of St. Michael. This historian assures us, that he had often experienced such relief here himself; and he mentions the miraculous cures of Aquilin, an eminent lawyer, and of Probian, a celebrated physician, wrought in the same place. This church stood about four miles from Constantinople; a monastery was afterwards built contiguous to it. Four churches in honour of St. Michael stood in the city of Constantinople itself; their number was afterwards increased to fifteen, which were built by several emperors. 3

  Though only St. Michael be mentioned in the title of this festival, it appears from the prayers of the church that all the good angels are its object, together with this glorious prince and tutelar angel of the church. On it we are called upon, in a particular manner, to give thanks to God for the glory which the angels enjoy, and to rejoice in their happiness. Secondly, to thank him for his mercy to us in constituting such glorious beings to minister to our salvation, by aiding and assisting us. Thirdly, to join them in adoring and praising God with all possible ardour, desiring and praying that we may do his will on earth with the utmost fidelity, fervour, and purity of affection, as it is done by these blessed spirits in heaven; and that we may study to sanctify our souls in imitation of the spotless angels to whom we are associated. Lastly, we are invited to honour, and implore the intercession and succour of the holy angels.

There's much more at that link.  And this is "Note 2" from the same page:

This festival has been celebrated in the church with great solemnity ever since the sixth century. It was enacted in the ecclesiastical laws of King Ethelred in England, in the year 1014, “That every Christian who is of age, fast three days on bread and water, and raw herbs, before the feast of St. Michael, and let every man go to confession and to church barefoot.—Let every priest with his people go in procession three days barefoot, and let every one’s commons for three days be prepared without anything of flesh, as if they themselves were to eat it, both in meat and drink, and let all this be distributed to the poor. Let every servant be excused from labour these three days, that he may the better perform his fast, or let him work what he will for himself. These are the three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, next before the feast of St. Michael. If any servant break his fast, let him make satisfaction with his hide, (bodily stripes,) let the poor freeman pay thirty pence, the king’s thane a hundred and thirty shillings; and let the money be divided to the poor.” See Sir Henry Spelman’s Councils, vol. i. p. 530, and Johnson’s Collection of the Canons of the Church of England, t. 1, an. 1014. Michaelmas-day is mentioned among the great feasts in the Saxon Chronicle on the year 1011; in the Saxon Menology of the ninth century, published by Mr. Wanley (in Lingue. Aquilon. Thes. l. 2, p. 107,) and in the English Calendar published by Dr. Hicks. (in his Saxon Grammar, p. 102, &c.)

About St. Michael himself, New Advent notes that:

Regarding his rank in the celestial hierarchy opinions vary; St. Basil (Hom. de angelis) and other Greek Fathers, also Salmeron, Bellarmine, etc., place St. Michael over all the angels; they say he is called "archangel" because he is the prince of the other angels; others (cf. P. Bonaventura, op. cit.) believe that he is the prince of the seraphim, the first of the nine angelic orders. But, according to St. Thomas (Summa Ia.113.3) he is the prince of the last and lowest choir, the angels. The Roman Liturgy seems to follow the Greek Fathers; it calls him "Princeps militiae coelestis quem honorificant angelorum cives". The hymn of the Mozarabic Breviary places St. Michael even above the Twenty-four Elders. The Greek Liturgy styles him Archistrategos, "highest general" (cf. Menaea, 8 Nov. and 6 Sept.). 

NA says this about what seems to be a different St. Michael's church:

At Rome the Leonine Sacramentary (sixth century) has the "Natale Basilicae Angeli via Salaria", 30 September; of the five Masses for the feast three mention St. Michael. The Gelasian Sacramentary (seventh century) gives the feast "S. Michaelis Archangeli", and the Gregorian Sacramentary (eighth century), "Dedicatio Basilionis S. Angeli Michaelis", 29 Sept. A manuscript also here adds "via Salaria" (Ebner, "Miss. Rom. Iter Italicum", 127). This church of the Via Salaria was six miles to the north of the city; in the ninth century it was called Basilica Archangeli in Septimo (Armellini, "Chiese di Roma", p. 85). It disappeared a thousand years ago. At Rome also the part of heavenly physician was given to St. Michael. According to an (apocryphal?) legend of the tenth century he appeared over the Moles Hadriani (Castel di S. Angelo), in 950, during the procession which St. Gregory held against the pestilence, putting an end to the plague. Boniface IV (608-15) built on the Moles Hadriani in honour of him, a church, which was styled St. Michaelis inter nubes (in summitate circi). 

And the Reverend Stephen Gerth of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York writes this week that:

The Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, September 29, commonly called "Michaelmas" (MIK-uhl-mus), dates back to the dedication of a basilica near Rome on the Via Salaria in the fifth century. The basilica is gone, but the festival survived the Protestant Reformation among us Anglicans. Massy Shepherd wrote that this feast was "especially popular in medieval England" (The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary [1950] 251).

Obviously  there is disagreement about which of these Churches of St. Michael is at the heart of the original dedication and feast.

But I will not solve this problem today - so I'll end by simply wishing you a Happy Feast of St. Michael and All Angels!


Here are sound files and/or chant scores for all the mass propers, again from ChristusRex.org:

Die 29 septembris Ss. Michaelis, Gabrielis et Raphaelis, Archangelorum

Introitus: Ps. 102, 20 Benedicite Dominum (1m13.2s - 858 kb) score
Graduale: Ps. 102, 20. V. 1 Benedicite Dominum (not available) score
Alleluia:  Sancte Michael archangele (not available) score
                    vel, ad libitum, Laudate Deum omnes angeli (1m54.7s - 1345 kb) score
Offertorium: Apoc. 8, 3.4 Stetit angelus (2m25.2s - 1703 kb) score
Communio: Dan. 3, 58 Benedicite, omnes angeli (48.1s - 565 kb) score

And these are posts on Chantblog about the propers for this day:

• The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29): Benedicite Dominum ("Bless the Lord, all ye his angels")
• An Alleluia for St. Michael and All Angels: Laudate Deum, omnes angelus
• The Office for September 29: The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

And whatever you do, don't forget to check out Full Homely Divinity's Angel page!


Here's a wonderful icon I don't think I've posted before; it's "the 13th-century icon of St. Michael from Archangel Cathedral in Yaroslavl [Russia]."

An Alleluia for St. Michael and All Angels: Laudate Deum, omnes angelus

According to the Benedictines of Brazil, Laudate Deum, omnes angelus - the Alleluia for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany - can be used as an alternate to Sancte Michael archangele as the Alleluia for the September 29 Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (AKA "Ss. Michaelis, Gabrielis et Raphaelis, Archangelorum").

I could not find a recording of  Sancte Michael archangele - so here's Laudate Deum, omnes angelus, which is very pretty indeed.   (Again, though:  I am quite amazed at the cottage industry of St. Michael Archangel videos - all highly dramatic, and often using some of the most surprising music as background! - at YouTube.  It seems that the "soldier of God's armies" image really appeals to some people.)




The text comes from Psalm 148, verse 2:

Laudate Deum, omnes Angeli eius: laudate eum, omnes virtutes eius. Alleluia.

Praise God, all His Angels, praise Him, all His hosts. Alleluia.

EDIT:  A commenter on this post, Renain, has kindly linked to a recording of the other Alleluia for this day, Sancte Michael archangele.  It's very beautifully sung here by a group called Harpa Dei:



Here's the chant score:

The Collect for St. Michael and All Angels is a nice one:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Marion Hatchett, in his Commentary on the American Prayer Book, says about this feast that:

The observance of a day to honor Saint Michael dates to the fifth century when a church near Rome was dedicated to the archangel.  The Leonine sacramentary contains a proper for St. Michael's Day (nos. 844-859).  In the Eastern churches other angels have been so honored, but the feasts of Gabriel and Raphael did not enter the ROman calendar until this century.

In the 1549 Book the title was expanded to include all angels.  Michael is mentioned in Jude 9 and Rev. 12:7 (see also Dan. 10:13, 21, and 12:1).  On the basis of these passages he has been honored as the "captain of the heavenly hosts."  Gabriel was the messenger of God at the annunciation to Zechariah (Lk. 1:19) and to Mary (Lk. 1:26).  He is also mentioned in Dan. 8:16 and 9:21.  Raphael is named in the Old Testament Apocrypha (Tobit 3:16-17 and 5:5 ff.).  The word "angel" literally means "messenger."

  

Just for interest, this appears to be a composition by one Rafał Krzychowiec based on the text of other Alleluia for today, Sancte Michael archangele (gregorian chant score below the vid).  Interestingly, this piece has spoken parts; I don't know what's being said, though.




I'm not sure which came first, but this text has often been used as an antiphon in various offices in addition to its use here as an Alleluia for the mass:

Sancte Michael archangele defende nos in proelio ut non pereamus in tremendo judicio. 

Saint Michael Archangel, defend us in battle so that we may not perish in the awful day of judgment.

Wikipedia has more about a longer "Prayer of St. Michael," and notes that:

This prayer, whose opening words are similar to the Alleluia verse for Saint Michael’s feasts on 8 May and 29 September in the Roman Missal of the time (which ran, "Sancte Michael, defende nos in proelio ut non pereamus in tremendo iudicio"), was added in 1886 to the Leonine Prayers that in 1884 Pope Leo XIII ordered to be said after Low Mass, for the intention of obtaining a satisfactory solution to the problem that the loss of the Pope's temporal sovereignty caused in depriving him of the evident independence required for effective use of his spiritual authority.

Here are sound files and/or chant scores for all the mass propers, again from ChristusRex.org:

Die 29 septembris Ss. Michaelis, Gabrielis et Raphaelis, Archangelorum

Introitus: Ps. 102, 20 Benedicite Dominum (1m13.2s - 858 kb) score
Graduale: Ps. 102, 20. V. 1 Benedicite Dominum (not available) score
Alleluia:  Sancte Michael archangele (not available) score
                    vel, ad libitum, Laudate Deum omnes angeli (1m54.7s - 1345 kb) score
Offertorium: Apoc. 8, 3.4 Stetit angelus (2m25.2s - 1703 kb) score
Communio: Dan. 3, 58 Benedicite, omnes angeli (48.1s - 565 kb) score

And these are posts on Chantblog about the propers for this day:

• The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29): Benedicite Dominum ("Bless the Lord, all ye his angels")
• An Alleluia for St. Michael and All Angels: Laudate Deum, omnes angelus
• The Office for September 29: The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

Here's a lovely piece of Byzantine art with Michael as subject; the page says it's an "Ivory panel from a Byzantine diptych. Constantinople (AD 525-550)," now in the British Museum.

More from the Wikpedia page:

Constantinople, 6th century AD

Standing beneath an ornate arch, at the top of a flight of steps, the archangel holds an orb and a staff. The Greek inscription, which would have continued on the other leaf read: Receive the suppliant before you, despite his sinfulness.

This is the largest surviving Byzantine ivory panel and probably represents an imperial commission originating from Constantinople. It has been suggested that the angel was presenting the orb to an emperor, perhaps Justinian I (527-565 AD), who was depicted on the other lost leaf.

Height: 42.8 cm (16.9 in) Width: 14.3 cm (5.6 in) Depth: 0.9 cm (0.35 in)

Still more for St. Michael and All Angels: Duo seraphim clamabant, Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599)

A gorgeous version of this motet sung by The Choir of Westminster Cathedral.



Here is the text and translation from CPDL; the texts come from Isaiah 6:3 and 1 John 5:7:

Duo seraphim clamabant alter ad alterum:
Sanctus Dominus Deus Saboath.
Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.
Tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in coelo:
Pater, Verbum et Spiritus Sanctus:
et hi tres unum sunt.
Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.


Two seraphim cried to one another:
Holy is the Lord God of Sabaoth.
The whole earth is full of his glory.
There are three who bear witness in heaven:
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit:
and these three are one.
Holy is the Lord God of Sabaoth.
The whole earth is full of his glory.

More for St. Michael and All Angels: Faire is the Heaven

This beautiful piece for double choir by William Harris (1883-1973) takes its text from Edmund Spenser (1552-1599). Here it's sung by the University of London Chamber Choir at Ely Cathedral.

FAIRE is the heaven, where happy soules have place
In full enjoyment of felicitie;
Whence they doe still behold the glorious face
Of the Divine, Eternall Majestie;
Yet farre more faire be those bright Cherubins,
Which all with golden wings are overdight.
And those eternall burning Seraphins,
Which from their faces dart out fiery light;
Yet fairer than they both and much more bright,
Be the Angels and Archangels, which attend
On God’s owne person without rest or end.
These then in faire each other farre excelling,
As to the Highest they approach more neare,
Yet is that Highest farre beyond all telling,
Fairer than all the rest which there appeare.
Though all their beauties joyned together were;
How then can mortall tongue hope to expresse
The image of such endlesse perfectnesse?

  - Edmund Spenser

The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels: St. Peter's, Chicago and Full Homely Divinity

This video has last year's full service of the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels celebrated at St. Peter's, Chicago (observed in 2011 on October 2).



Here's the blurb at the YouTube page:

For more information, visit our website at http://www.stpeterschicago.org/. St. Peter's celebration of the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (transferred from September 29) was truly a feast -- for the senses and for the soul. Hymns included "Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels"; "Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore Him"; "Ye holy angels bright"; "Let all mortal flesh keep silence"; and "Ye watchers and ye holy ones." The choir also performed a fantastic anthem written by our organist and choirmaster, Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm, based on Psalm 96.

St. Peter's welcomed its former rector, the Very Rev. James H. Dunkerley, back to the pulpit to help dedicate some portions of the most recent capital campaign -- Visions, Voices, and Devotion. And the rector, the Very Rev. Sarah K. Fisher, sang the Mozarabic chant for Eucharistic Prayer D, which appropriately enough for the day tells of "countless throngs of angels [who] stand before You to serve You night and day."

A beautiful liturgy by beautiful people, in a beautiful church for a beautiful God.

"Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels" is is the English-translation version of Christe, sanctorum decus Angelorum, the traditional hymn at Lauds for this feast day. As you can see, there are loads of other angel-themed hymns as well, including the wonderful and spooky "Let all mortal flesh keep silence," with its references to "six-winged seraphs" and "cherubim with sleepless eye," sung at Communion. And you don't often get to hear Eucharistic Prayer D chanted Mozarabic-style - but you do hear it on this video (beginning at around 52 minutes). (They also say the Prayer of Humble Access at this parish - nice to hear it.)

And Full Homely Divinity has a new (or revised) version of its posting for this day; don't miss it!   It's got a full rundown on all the orders of angels:  watchers and holy ones, bright seraphs, cherubim, and thrones; dominions, princedoms, powers, virtues, archangels, and angels' choirs. (Plus a bit about the Theotokos, even "higher than the cherubim, more glorious than the seraphim!") Here's an excerpt:

We suspect that ... colloquial and figurative uses of the term "angel" are rooted in an uncertainty about and, quite probably, a discomfort with the true nature of angels. In our experience, many people reject the existence of angels out of hand. Their objections often appear to arise from an intellectual objection to the existence of anything that cannot be seen or verified "scientifically," which, we might note, puts God in a somewhat tenuous position, as well. However, we suspect that a deeper objection for many, if not all, has to do with the realization that angels are not merely the Christian version of a fairy godmother who goes around smiling sweetly and doing nice things for people. At some of the principal appearances of angels in the Bible, the first words out of the mouth of the angel are, "Fear not!" It is not necessary to tell people not to be afraid, unless they are afraid, or think they have some reason to be afraid. When we contemplate the story of the appearance of the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem, we hear the words, "Fear not," but it is likely that what we see (in our mind's eye) is a child, perhaps our own daughter, or the child of a friend, dressed in a flowing white gown and aluminum foil wings. The effect on us is to feel warmth and affection. Fear is the last emotion that would occur to us. And then we immediately fast forward to a vision of a sky full of twinkling stars and angels singing "Glory be to God on high!" Beauty and wonder are the things we imagine--but it is very likely that the shepherds were frightened half to death and needed to be calmed and reassured before it was possible for them to hear the truly wonderful news the angels brought. We recall a story told in class by the church historian Jaroslav Pelikan. He told us how one evening his young son was agitated and unable to sleep and came to his father for comfort. The problem, he told his father, was that there was an angel in his room. The famous scholar did not dismiss his son's story as a bad dream, the product of an active imagination, or even a ploy to delay going to bed. Rather, he took the boy seriously, and assured him that the angel had come to protect him, not to harm him. The child's fear was genuine, and understandable. The father's belief was also genuine, and no one in that class of graduate students had any doubt about that.

"We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen...." or, as the older translation puts it, "all things visible and invisible." Is the Creed referring merely to those technically "unseen" aspects of creation which are discernible to some of the senses but not to the naked eye, such as the wind, which blows where it will but cannot be seen, or to microscopic matter, whether animate or inanimate, which is so small that it is virtually invisible? Or were the Fathers of Nicaea and Constantinople referencing a realm of creatures of another order, either in heaven or perhaps even existing side by side with us in this world in an unseen, spiritual state? Scripture and the Liturgy leave little doubt about the answer to that question. When it deals with angels at all, popular culture tends to reduce them either to the putti of Renaissance art, adorable pudgy "cherubs" adorned with wings, or else the more stately, but delicate, and almost always feminine, winged adults in flowing robes. This is a far cry from the biblical cherubim, fearsome four-faced creatures who are ever-watchful by the throne of God and who were set at the entrance to the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the Tree of Life when Adam and Eve were cast out. Far, too, from the archangels named in canonical and apocryphal Scripture, who are not characterized by gender and, in any case, are hardly delicate. Jacob Epstein's monumental Michael at the entrance to Coventry Cathedral (above left) is formidable in his triumph over Satan in the apocalyptic confrontation between good and evil. And even the usually playful putti seem distressed by the appearance of Gabriel in El Greco's painting of The Annunciation....

There is another important application of the term "angel" which must not be overlooked here, though it is not our primary subject. There are occasions in Scripture when angels appear on earth who are not actually angels. The most significant instance of this is the visit of the three men to Abraham by the oak of Mamre in Genesis 18. The story is sometimes (intentionally?) vague in its identification of the men. At a point in the story, the Lord himself speaks to Abraham. Is the speaker one of the three men or not? It is not clear, but at the beginning of the next chapter, only two of them travel on towards the doomed city of Sodom and the two are explicitly described as angels. Christian tradition has generally interpreted this appearance in trinitarian terms. No mortal may look directly upon God and survive, but God does occasionally appear in person, taking the form of an angel or, in the case of Abraham's visitors, three angels. Later in Genesis (chapter 32), Abraham's grandson Jacob is confronted in the night by a man with whom he wrestles until daybreak. The man does not prevail and Jacob refuses to let him depart until he has blessed him. The man (or angel as tradition almost always identifies him) not only blesses Jacob but gives him a new name, Israel--"he who strives with God."

Much, much more at the article.  The artwork to the right above is Viktor Vasnetsov's Seraphim, from 1896.  And here's the El Greco Annunciation mentioned in the quote above (I'm not sure of the dates of some of these, but El Greco lived from about 1541 to 1614):

EG didn't stop there, though; he was Annunciation-mad, it would seem.  Here are several more:

See the office hymns for St. Michael and All Angels, and more about the feast day, here. Other posts about St.M & AA are here.

Christ, the Fair Glory

Christe, Sanctorum decus Angelorum is the hymn at Lauds on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.  This is a version in English, with a metric tune, apparently sung at St. Thomas Church NYC; it's part of a playlist, so if you like Anglican hymns, keep watching!



CyberHymnal has the words; what's on the video is a slightly different version overall, though:

Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels,
Thou Who hast made us, Thou Who o’er us rulest,
Grant of Thy mercy unto us Thy servants
Steps up to Heaven.

Send Thy archangel, Michael, to our succor;
Peacemaker blessèd, may he banish from us
Striving and hatred, so that for the peaceful
All things may prosper.

Send Thy archangel, Gabriel, the mighty;
Herald of Heaven, may he from us mortals
Spurn the old serpent, watching o’er the temples
Where Thou art worshipped.

Send thy archangel, Raphael, the restorer
Of the misguided ways of men who wander,
Who at Thy bidding strengthens soul and body
With Thine anointing.

Father almighty, Son and Holy Spirit,
God ever blessèd, be Thou our Preserver;
Thine is the glory which the angels worship,
Veiling their faces.

The original words to this hymn are very old, written by Rhabanus Maurus sometime in the early 9th Century. Cyberhymnal has more on this hymn, including a midi file here, and says that:

Maurus was ed­u­cat­ed in Tours, France, around 802. In 803, he be­came di­rect­or of the Ben­e­dict­ine school at Ful­da, Ger­ma­ny. He was or­dained in 814 and went on a pil­grim­age to the Ho­ly Land. He be­came ab­bot at Ful­da in 822, and served there two de­cades. In 847, he was ap­point­ed arch­bi­shop of Mainz.

Maurus also apparently wrote the words for the Vespers hymn for this feast: Tibi Christe, Splendor Patris.


Here's something interesting about Caelites plaudant:

The text 'Christ, the fair glory of the holy angles,' is a translation of a 9th C. office hymn for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, Christe sanctorum decus angelorum. This hymn names the celestial visitors who have graced this earth, and once again calls on them to renew their graces: Chrst the Savior, three archangels (Michael, defender; Gabriel, herald; Raphael, healer), Mary, the saints, and all the company of angels. The hymn concludes with a doxology.

The English text appeared in the 1906 hymnal, matched to Caelites plaudant, a French tune from the Rouen Antiphoner newly harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a majestic setting that is today a fixture for Michaelmas. The tune is one of very few that supports the the peculiar Greek poetic form known as Sapphic meter (11.11.11.5), named for the Greek poet who used this verse form for a significant portion of her work. The tune name means 'from heaven praise,' and is also sometimes spelled Coelites plaudant.

The Latin version of this hymn is also sung to another French tune from the same period, Christe sanctorum, which takes it's name from the words of the hymn, and in The Hymnal 1982, is given the honor of being hymn 1.

And it all comes together, doesn't it? RVW and the folk tune project involved, too! (Some day I'll have to write about that, too. I just discovered, very much by accident, that the text for one of my very favorite RVW hymns, "Monk's Gate" in the 1982 hymnal, "He who would valiant be," comes from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"! There are a lot of really interesting, and for me unsuspected and unexpected, connections between music and literature of different eras. This makes me even more eager to promote deep theology that will stand up to the test of time and make further such connections.)

(And, BTW, as I've written before: Sapphic meter (11.11.11.5) is my favorite meter! It's actually used for many of the Office hymns - in particular the one hymn sung, with varying words, for the Commons of Saints. But also others, including Ut Queant Laxis. It would be mighty interesting to research this fact, actually; I wonder if it's coming from Prudentius or somebody very early? Or if, instead, it was simply a popular rhythm around the time Benedict and contemps? It's a dramatic meter; the last line gets a strong emphasis simply being so different from - and so much shorter than - the first three. Well, that's on the list, too, then.)

All very interesting.

I'd like to find a good plainchant recording of this hymn, but haven't so far. When I do, I'll post it. (There was a fantastic vocal alternatim version of Dufay's Tibi Christe, Splendor Patri out there for awhile, but the YouTuber has closed his/her account. God, that was gorgeous.....)

BTW, there is a veritable cottage industry in YouTube videos dedicated to St. Michael - and especially to his battle against Satan. Well, as I've said before: I'm very much looking forward to the movie.

I believe this is an icon of St. Michael. It "comes from a gallery in Skopje, Macedonia, that mostly works on crafting and painting icons."

Blessed St. Michael and All Angels!

That's "St. Michael liberating souls from purgatory," by Jacopo Vignali, from the 17th Century.   And below is "The Archangel and Tobias," by an unknown painter, also from the 17th Century.  It's presumably St. Raphael, since it's found at St. Raphael's Church in Milan.

Here's last year's post, which includes the music for this feast day.

Ss. Michaelis, Gabrielis et Raphaelis, Archangelorum (St. Michael and All Angels, that is): September 29

Today is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels: Michael ("Who is like God?"); Gabriel ("God is my champion"); Raphael ("God heals"); Uriel ("God is my light"). More about this:

The word El appears in other northwest Semitic languages such as Phoenician and Aramaic and in Akkadian ilu as an ordinary word for god. It is aso found also in the South-Arabian dialects and in Ethiopic, and as in Hebrew it is often used as an element in proper names. In northwest Semitic texts it appears to be often but not always used of one single god, of "the God", the head of the pantheon, sometimes specifically said to be the creator.

El is used in both the singular and plural, both for other gods and for the God of Israel. As a name of God, however, it is used chiefly in poetry and prophetic discourse, rarely in prose, and then usually with some epithet attached, as "a jealous God." Other examples of its use with some attribute or epithet are: El ‘Elyon ("most high God"), El Shaddai ("God Almighty"), El ‘Olam ("everlasting God"), El Hai ("living God"), El Ro’i ("God of seeing"), El Elohe Israel ("God, the God of Israel"), El Gibbor ("Hero God"). In addition, names such as Gabriel ("Hero of God"), Michael ("Who is Like God"), and Daniel ("God is My Judge") use God's name in a similar fashion.

Here's the Collect for the day, which is also called "Michaelmas":

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

And the New Testament reading, from Revelation 12:7-12:

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,

"Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!"

And of course, Jacob's Ladder with angels ascending and descending, from Genesis, too.

Here's something about Michael:

Michael (Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל‎, Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; Greek: Μιχαήλ, Mikhaḗl; Latin: Michael or Míchaël; Arabic: میکائیل‎, Mikā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God. He is mentioned by name in the Book of Daniel, the Book of Jude and the Book of Revelation. In the book of Daniel, Michael appears as "one of the chief princes" who in Daniel's vision comes to the angel Gabriel's aid in his contest with the angel of Persia (Dobiel), and is also described there as the advocate of Israel and "great prince who stands up for the children of your [Daniel's] people".

The Talmudic tradition rendered Michael's name as meaning "who is like El?", - so Michael could consequently mean "One who is like God." But its being a question is alternatively understood as a rhetorical question, implying that no one is like God.

And Gabriel:

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, Modern Gavriʼel Tiberian Gaḇrîʼēl; Latin: Gabrielus; Greek: Γαβριήλ, Gabriēl; Arabic: جبريل, Jibrīl or جبرائيل Jibrail; Aramaic: Gabri-el, "strong man of God"[1]) is an angel who serves as a messenger from God. Based on two passages in the Gospel of Luke, many Christians and Muslims believe Gabriel to have foretold the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus.

And Raphael:

Raphael (Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāp̄āʾēl, "It is God who heals", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal", Arabic: رافائيل, Rāfāʾīl) is the name of an archangel of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who performs all manner of healing.

The angels mentioned in the Torah, the older books of the Hebrew Bible, are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias (A.D. 230-270), asserted that all the specific names for the angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.

Raphael in the Book of Enoch

Raphael bound Azazel under a desert called Dudael according to Enoch 10:5-7:

"And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire."

Of seven archangels in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only Michael, mentioned as archangel (Daniel 12:1) and Gabriel are mentioned by name in the scriptures that came to be accepted as canonical by all Christians. Raphael is mentioned by name in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as canonical by Catholics and Orthodox. Four others, however, are named in the 2nd century BC Book of Enoch (chapter xxi): Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jarahmeel.

I think I'll leave these last Enoch angels for my 2010 post!

The Introit for the day is Benedicite Dominum, from Psalm 102:20 (103:20 in the Anglican reckoning), the second half being the wonderful Verse 1 from the same Psalm:

Bless the Lord, all ye his angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless his holy name.

Here's the mp3 from the Benedictines of Brazil, and below is the chant score:





The Offertory for the day is Stetit angelus, from Revelation 8:3-4:

3 And another angel came and stood before the altar, having a golden censer: and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which is before the throne of God.

4 And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel.

Here's the mp3, and below is the chant score:





Here's Giovanni Vianini's version of this Offertory:



And this Stetit angelus comes from a contemporary composer, Giovanni Bonato:



The Communion song for the day is Benedicite, omnes angeli, from Daniel 3:58 (part of the Benedicite, omnia opera):

O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

here's the mp3, and below is the chant score:





See also the Office hymns, posted last year.

Here's a nice Guido (Reni, that is) of St. Michael:





I posted a lot of Michael images last year - they're a dime a dozen - but you know, I'd really like to give Gabriel and Raphael some equal time this year, so here goes.
About Raphael:

The name of the angel Raphael appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered canonical by Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". During the adventurous course of the journey the archangel's protective influence is shown in many ways including the binding of the demon in the desert of upper Egypt. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" Tobit 12:15. Compare the unnamed angels in John's Revelation 8:2. Christian churches following Catholic teachings (Roman, Oriental, Orthodox, Anglican, etc) venerate and patronize him as Saint Raphael.

Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael,[1] we have little more than his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his daughter-in-law, from the devil (Asmodeus) that was the serial killer of her husbands.[2] Among Catholics, he is considered the patron saint of medical workers and matchmakers, travellers and may be petitioned by them or those needing their services.[3]

And - saving the best for last - I'm sure I don't need to mention (yet again) my fondness for this Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli, and the terrific take on the Archangel Gabriel:

September 29: The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

From Hymn melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service books:

On the Feast of S. Michael & all Angels (Sept. 15):

Evensong & Mattins: Tibi, Christe, Splendor Patris ...... 67
Lauds: Christe sanctorum ... ... ... ... 59

We think that "(Sept. 15)" designation is a misprint in the book, since September 29 has been St. Michael's day since the Middle Ages, at least, according to New Advent.

Follow along with the Offices for this feast at Breviary Offices, from Lauds to Compline Inclusive (Society of St. Margaret, Boston) (published in 1885). You can get all the Psalms, the collect, Chapter, antiphons, etc., for each of the offices of the day at that link, although no music is provided; also check the iFrame look-in at the bottom of this post.


Here's the chant score for Tibi, Christe, Splendor Patris:

Here's G. Vianini's version of the hymn:



The Latin words are attributed to Rhabanus Maurus (776-856); here's the English translation, from Cyberhymnal, and again from J.M. Neale:

Tibi Christe splendor Patris
Vita ac virtus cordium
In conspectu Angelorum
Votis voce psallimus
Alternantes concrepando
Melos damus vocibus.

Conlaudamus venerantes
Omnes caeli milites
Sed precipue primatem
Celestis exercitus
Michaelem in virtute
Conterentem Zabulum.

Quo custode procul pellas
Rex Christe piissime
Omne nefas inimici
Mundo corde et corpore
Paradyso redde tuo
Nos sola clementia.

Gloriam Patri melodis
Personemus vocibus
Gloriam Christo canamus
Gloriam Paraclyto
Qui Deus Trinus et Unus
Extat ante secula.

Thee, O Christ, the Father’s splendor,
Life and virtue of the heart,
In the presence of the angels
Sing we now with tuneful art,
Meetly in alternate chorus,
Bearing our responsive part.

Thus we praise with veneration
All the armies of the sky;
Chiefly him, the warrior primate,
Of celestial chivalry,
Michael, who in princely virtue
Cast Abaddon from on high.

By whose watchful care repelling—
King of everlasting grace—
Every ghostly adversary,
All things evil, all things base,
Grant us of Thine only goodness,
In Thy paradise a place.

Laud and honor to the Father,
Laud and honor to the Son,
Laud and honor to the Spirit,
Ever Three, and ever One,
Consubstantial, co-eternal,
While unending ages run.

You can also find Tibi, Christe, Splendor Patris in The Latin hymns of the Anglo-Saxon church. Interestingly, Tibi, Christe, Splendor Patris is listed in "Early christian hymns" as a "Hymn to the Archangel Raphael." The next page lists Te Splendor et Virtus Patris as the "Hymn to the Archangel Michael"; this change represents yet another divergence in the Sarum use.

Here's TPL on Te Splendor et Virtus Patris:

From the Roman Breviary. This hymn is by Pope Urban VIII (1632) and is based upon Tibi, Christe, splendor Patris which is attributed to Rabanus Maurus.

This video is labeled "Tommy Smith's KARMA [Tibi, Christe, splendor Patris] dedicated to Norway and its lost souls" - I'm sure after the shooting there. The music here is definitely based on this hymn tune.




Here's the chant score for the Lauds hymn, Christe, sanctorum decus angelorum ("Christ, the Fair Glory of the Holy Angels"):

You can listen to the St. Mark's Cathedral Compline Choir (Seattle) sing this hymn to melody #59 (at about 1:05) on this mp3 of their September 29, 2013 podcast of Sunday evening Compline.   That's a link to an mp3 of the entire service, and the hymn is the first thing sung - but it's always very worth listening to the whole service.  You'll also hear a version of Tibi Christe, splendor patris with polyphonic alternatim by Palestrina.  If the link to the mp3 doesn't work, get the whole service at this page.


Here's TPL on Christe, sanctorum:

This hymn, less the concluding doxology, is attributed on questionable grounds to Rabanus Maurus (776-856), a pupil of Alcuin. It is traditionally used for Laudes for the feasts of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Today, verses 2, 3, and 4 of the hymn are used for their feast on September 29.

 
And here are the words from that page:

CHRISTE, sanctorum decus Angelorum
Rector humani generis et auctor,
nobis aeternum tribue benigne
scandere caelum.

ANGELUM pacis, Michael ad istam
caelitus mitte, rogitamus aulam:
nobis ut crebro veniente crescant
prospera cuncta.

ANGELUS fortis Gabriel, ut hostem
pellat antiquum, volitet ab alto,
saepius templum veniat ad istud
visere nostrum.

ANGELUM nobis medicum salutis
mitte de caelis Raphael, ut omnes
sanet aegrotos, pariterque nostros
dirigat actus.

HINC Dei nostri Genetrix Maria,
totus et nobis chorus Angelorum
semper assistat, simul et beata
concio tota.

PRAESTET hoc nobis Deitas beata
Patris ac Nati pariterque Sancti
Spiritus, cuius resonat per omnem
gloria mundum. Amen.

CHRIST, the fair glory of the holy Angels,
Thou who hast made us, Thou who o'er us rulest,
grant of Thy mercy unto us Thy servants
steps up to heaven.

SEND Thy Archangel, Michael, to our succor;
Peacemaker blessed, may he banish from us
striving and hatred, so that for the peaceful all
things may prosper.

SEND Thy Archangel, Gabriel, the mighty,
herald of heaven; may he from us mortals
spurn the old serpent, watching o'er the temples
where Thou art worshiped.

SEND Thy Archangel, Raphael, the restorer
of the misguided ways of men who wander,
who at Thy biding strengthens soul and body
with Thine anointing.

MAY the blest Mother of our God and Savior,
may the assembly of the Saints in glory,
may the celestial companies of Angels
ever assist us.

THIS He vouchsafe us, God forever blessed,
Father eternal, Son, and Holy Spirit,
whose is the glory which through all creation
ever resoundeth. Amen.

Here's Medieval Music Database's S. Michaelis archangeli page where you can find snippets of the hymns, responses, and antiphons. Here are the mass chants from the Benedictines of Brazil for Ss. Michaelis, Gabrielis et Raphaelis, Archangelorum.
Here's the beautiful Alleluia in mp3 format; here's the chant score:

Interestingly, in England:

The feast of St Michael the Archangel, 29 September, is one of the Quarter Days, a date for the payment of rents and the beginning or ending of hiring engagements (see hiring fairs). It was also a day for feasting, the traditional fare being a roast goose, fattened on the stubble fields; such geese were sometimes presented by tenant farmers to their landlords. It was said that ‘if you eat goose on Michaelmas Day you will never lack money all year’.

Here's that peek-through to the SSM Breviary for today:





There are, as you might expect, many great images of Michael and the others (here, matter of fact, is an entire page at Wikimedia Commons of "Icons of Saint Michael"). And since I've only used 5% of my allotted Blogger storage so far, why shouldn't I just go ahead and load up on my favorite images? No reason.

Here's a nice one, called "The Archangel Michael Trampling the Devil Underfoot," Russian, from 1676:

Here's one I like a lot for some reason, called "Pala dei tre Arcangeli," by Marco d'Oggiono (who was born in 1470):

Here's an old favorite: Michael by Raphael:

And here's a really interesting one from the other side of the spectrum, of "Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and the Three Archangels, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael," by Sebastiano Mainardi:

And, my favorite of all, "The Mother of God and the Archangels," a 14th-Century mural from the Ubisi Monastery in Georgia:

Really, that is just splendid.