Bishop urges entire diocese to cast out evil by praying to St. Michael

MADISON, Wisconsin, December 18, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – In a letter addressed to the diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, Bishop Robert C. Morlino asks Catholics to combat the evil encroaching upon our world by enlisting the aid of St. Michael the Archangel.

“I hope that I do not need to make the case for the reality of the presence of evil in our world. My sense, from talking to people, from watching and reading the news, and from seeing the interaction of people -- particularly on social media -- is that almost everyone is aware that there is something very wrong in the world,” said the Madison Bishop in his letter.  

“What seems not to be clear to people is exactly what it is that is wrong with our world,” he continued.  “I know that it’s very much out of fashion, but I am proposing that what is wrong, is the very same thing that has been wrong for millennia: sin.”

Bishop Morlino has asked for particular petitions “to be added into the General Intercessions at all Sunday and Solemnity Masses, and for the petitions to be offered always to the Father and through the Son, but also with a particular prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, who in Scripture is called ‘the great prince,’ and ‘guardian of [God’s] people (Daniel 12:1). And who, through Scripture, we see as the great warrior angel who defeats Satan himself and drives him into hell.”

“It is our duty to pray and to work for the triumph of good in our world, for the triumph of Christ the King,” said Bishop Morlino. “It is our duty to pray and to work for the casting out of evil, and for the binding and casting of the one who is called the enemy of our human nature and the father of lies, so that all that is not of God might be defeated.”

Personal Devotion to the Great Warrior, St. Michael

Madison’s Bishop has asked not only for the inclusion of the prayer to St. Michael at Sunday Masses, but in the daily prayer lives of all the faithful.

“I would encourage that through your own prayer, too, you make certain to include the intentions for the casting out of evil in our own lives, and rely more frequently upon the heavenly intercession of St. Michael the Archangel.”

More Reverence: Bishop Morlino Implored Diocese to Receive Communion on the tongue, While Kneeling  

Earlier this year, Bishop Morlino asked his entire diocese to begin receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, while kneeling so as to increase “reverence” for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

“I’m going to ask that we move together towards greater reverence when receiving Holy Communion. I’m going to ask that people be encouraged to receive Communion on the tongue and kneeling,” he said during his April 11 Chrism Mass homily.

“There is no question that Communion on the tongue is more reverent. And it doesn’t lend itself to a casual kind of behavior. I’m going to ask, beginning in the Fall, that our students are taught to receive Communion on the tongue,” he added.