Alleged Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel
Situated on either side of the English Channel and precariously perched upon coastal rock outcroppings are the famous medieval pilgrimage shrines of St. Michael's Mount and Mont Saint Michel. At both sites, visions of the archangel were seen during the fifth century and the histories of the two shrines are intimately connected with one another.
St Michael's Mount (Cornish name: Carrack Looz en Cooz) is a lofty pyramidal tidal island, exhibiting a curious combination of slate and granite, rising 400 yards (400 m) from the shore of Mount's Bay, situated in Penwith in west Cornwall, England, in the extreme south western peninsula of the island of Britain. It is united with Marazion by a natural causeway cast up by the sea, and passable only at low tide. Its Cornish language name - literally, "the grey rock in the wood" - may represent a folk memory of a time before Mount's Bay was flooded.
Certainly, the Cornish name would be an accurate description of the Mount set in woodland. Recollections of a forest sunk at the same time as the flooding of Lyonesse are strong in local legend. Historically St Michael's Mount was a Cornish counterpart of Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, France. St Michael's Mount is known colloquially by locals as simply the Mount.
The Legend
On 8 May 492 AD a man named Gargan was pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the mountain, where at first it could not be found. When its refuge in a cave was discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound the one who had sent it. Faced with so mysterious an occurrence, the persons concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of fasting and prayers. After three days, the Archangel Saint Michael appeared to the bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under his protection and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name in honor of all the Holy Angels.
Accompanied by his clergy and people, the pontiff went to that cavern, which he found already disposed in the form of a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great miracles. To thank God's adorable goodness for the protection of the holy Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted by the Church in his honor. It is said of this special guardian and protector of the Church that, during the final persecution of Antichrist, he will powerfully defend it and at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince who protects the children of thy people. (Daniel 12:1)
Sources: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950).
http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/05-08.htm
The Legend
On 8 May 492 AD a man named Gargan was pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the mountain, where at first it could not be found. When its refuge in a cave was discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound the one who had sent it. Faced with so mysterious an occurrence, the persons concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of fasting and prayers. After three days, the Archangel Saint Michael appeared to the bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under his protection and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name in honor of all the Holy Angels.
Accompanied by his clergy and people, the pontiff went to that cavern, which he found already disposed in the form of a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great miracles. To thank God's adorable goodness for the protection of the holy Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted by the Church in his honor. It is said of this special guardian and protector of the Church that, during the final persecution of Antichrist, he will powerfully defend it and at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince who protects the children of thy people. (Daniel 12:1)
Sources: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950).
http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/05-08.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.