Saint Michael Is The Modern Patron Saint of Police Officers
Usually painted wearing armor, carrying a spear, and holding the scales of justice, Saint Michael is the modern patron saint of police officers. He got his reputation for handing out justice and protecting people from his many roles delineated in the Bible and throughout the ages. His name is a variation of the Hebrew Micah which means "Who is like God?" He was the "leader of the heavenly army of angels who defeated Satan and his followers and hurled them from heaven. He metes out punishment but tempers it with divine justice" (Rejnis 256). St. Michael the Archangel is considered one of the three principal angels along with Gabriel and Raphael and has been the subject of many paintings and even literary works like Milton's Paradise Lost. "In the Eastern church, as well as among many theologians in the West, St. Michael is placed over all the angels, as prince of the Seraphim. He is the special patron of sick people" (Crawley 472). A number of feast days have celebrated Saint Michael throughout the ages, but he is most likely to be found today on a police badge or on a medal worn by a police officer walking the streets in a city anywhere in the world.Saint Michael is specifically mentioned twice in the Old Testament and twi
He was considered an angelic healer much more than a militant police officer and protector. His protection to these early worshippers was more in the form of protecting them from illness and performing miraculous feats of healing. The waters that sprung from his medicinal spring were said to heal the sick who went there to bathe. The most famous story of his association with the healing spring was the story of the event at Colossae which is the present Khonas on the Lycus. In this famous story of his healing feats, "the pagans directed a stream against the sanctuary of St. Michael to destroy it, but the archangel split the rock by lightning to give a new bed to the stream, and sanctified forever the waters which came from the gorge. The Greeks claim that this apparition took place about the middle of the first century and celebrate a feast in commemoration of it on 6 September" (Holweck). Apulia, where Greek influences were dominant, is older than this cannot be easily Because Saint Michael battled Satan at the beginning of time and will fight the dragon again at the end of time, he is revered as a warrior and presented as such in art and literature. He protected the Garden of Eden and defeated the foes of God. He earned the right to be God's commander-in-chief through his heroism and dedication. Saint Michael is also known for assisting God with judgments and is classically represented with the heavenly scales of justice. In addition to protecting people physically from evil and injustice, he also protects their health by having the historical role of the patron saint of the sick and the proprietor of healing streams. His many celebrations and feast days throughout thousands of years pay homage to his importance as one of the primary angels. Because he is a passionate fighter and a compassionate protector, he is the modern-day patron saint of police officers who often find themselves in the complicated role of punisher, protector, and administrator of justice. Further evidence that the shrine at Mount Garganus is associated with the feast day of September 29 comes from an Anglo-Saxon collection of sermons called the Blickling Homilies. These sermons describe the "crypt chapel" at Mount Garganus with details about the structure of the building. These homilies also explain how people would use water from a hanging vessel there to drink after receiving communion. and to thy prayer, and I forgive thee thy sin, and those whom thou thinkest that I the eminence called Mount Garganus. In the search which was made for it
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