Welcome Father Sebastian
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The Eucharist Is Our Greatest Prayer
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Over the past several weeks, I have come to appreciate one of the beautiful devotions that has become part of the life of our parish: the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. It is a prayer with a rich history and one that has brought comfort, strength, and confidence to generations of Catholics. In a world that is increasingly conscious of spiritual warfare, devotion to St. Michael is not only appropriate but deeply needed.
We live in a time when many people, especially young people, are exposed to New Age practices, occult spirituality, witchcraft disguised as self-empowerment or entertainment, and even explicit acts of satanic worship. These realities are not simply fictional or harmless. They can open the heart to genuine spiritual danger. The Church has never denied the reality of the devil or the existence of spiritual warfare. On the contrary, she reminds us to "put on the armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11) and to remain vigilant in prayer. For all these reasons, I wholeheartedly encourage devotion to St. Michael. At the same time, I would like us to reflect together on something even more fundamental: no prayer in the Church surpasses the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Every Mass is the saving work of Christ made present. Here, Christ Himself speaks to us in the Scriptures. Here, He offers Himself to the Father for our salvation. Here, we receive His very Body and Blood. At every Eucharist, heaven and earth are united, sin is conquered, death is defeated, and Christ's victory over Satan is proclaimed anew. The Eucharist is not one prayer among many. It is the source and summit of the Christian life. Every other devotion in the Church draws its strength from the Eucharist and ultimately leads us back to it. For this reason, I have been reflecting on the place of the St. Michael Prayer immediately after Mass. While the prayer itself is beautiful, saying it immediately after the dismissal can unintentionally send the message that the Eucharist was somehow incomplete, or that we need another prayer to accomplish what the Mass has not already accomplished. |
The final words of the Mass--"Go forth, the Mass is ended"—are not simply an announcement that the service is over. They are a commissioning. Having encountered the risen Lord and received Him in Holy Communion, we are sent into the world to live what we have celebrated. The liturgy reaches its natural conclusion in that sending forth.
To insert another communal prayer at that moment risks obscuring the profound truth that the Eucharist itself is the Church's greatest act of worship, our greatest source of protection, and our deepest participation in Christ's victory over the powers of evil. This does not mean we no longer need St. Michael's intercession. Quite the opposite. Christians do not deny the reality of evil, but neither do we exaggerate its power. We believe that Christ has already conquered sin, death, and Satan through His Cross and Resurrection. The devil is active, but he is not victorious. The Lord reigns. Every celebration of the Eucharist is a proclamation that Christ's victory continues to transform the world. We are, above all, a people of hope. Therefore, beginning in the coming weeks, we will conclude Mass as the Church intends, allowing the dismissal to remain the final liturgical act that sends us forth as missionary disciples. Our devotion to St. Michael will continue, but in a setting outside the celebration of Mass. Those who wish to remain after Mass to pray together, or to gather at another appropriate time, will be warmly encouraged to do so. In this way, we preserve both the beauty of this beloved devotion and the unique place of the Eucharist at the very heart of our Catholic faith. My hope is that this change will not diminish our love for St. Michael but deepen our appreciation of the immeasurable gift we have already received every time we gather around the altar. May St. Michael the Archangel continue to defend us in battle. And may our hearts always recognize that our greatest strength, our greatest protection, and our greatest hope is Jesus Christ, truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Fr. Sebastian Bukenya |
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