ARCHANGEL MICHAEL

I met Archangel Michael when I was dealing with a rather pesky dead mother-in-law (someone else’s, not mine) who Would. Not. Ascend.  I had done a Reading for the daughter-in-law, who was troubled by the circumstances of the woman’s death, and other family matters.  The Reading went well, all the daughter-in-law’s questions were answered and her mind was put at ease, and I felt good about all the loose ends I was able to help her tie up.  But that was not enough for the mother-in-law.  Her spirit was at peace, but she was bound and determined to continue to haunt their house and be a meddlesome pest.  I, on the other hand, was determined to see her ascend and spoke a quiet “God help me” prayer under my breath.

Next thing I knew, there was Archangel Michael.  Scared the crap out of me.  For one thing, he is HUGE.  And for another, he is INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.  And for a third thing, I HAD NO IDEA THAT ARCHANGELS COULD APPEAR BEFORE YOU WHILE YOU WERE STILL ALIVE.

A little context here…. I am not an “angel” person.  I don’t talk about “the angels that watch over me,” I don’t have a single angel knick-knack in my house, I don’t put an angel on top of my tree at Christmastime, and I really cannot remember the last time I even thought about an angel.  I grew up United Methodist, and while I am aware that Archangels are mentioned in the Bible, I do not recall ever hearing them mentioned from the pulpit or in Sunday School.  I knew anecdotally that the four Archangels “sat at the right hand of God,” so I filed them under “Can’t See Them Now, Be Sure To Check Them Out Once I’m Dead” — a file that also includes “The Moon” and “The Inside of a Volcano.”

So, Archangel Michael appearing before me was unexpected, unprecedented, and unnerving, to say the least.  Oh, and overwhelming.  My entire body of knowledge about Archangel Michael comes from the movie “Michael,” in which the Archangel is portrayed as a hedonistic slob, played by John Travolta.  In reality, Archangel Michael is big and winged and holy.  He is so big, in fact, that I don’t know how he fit in my house.  At the time, I thought, “This is just like Harry Potter.”  In the Harry Potter books and movies, magical objects — like tents, rooms, and handbags — appear one size from the outside, but from the inside, they expand to accommodate impossibly larger things.  For instance, a tent that appears to be of the standard four-person variety from the outside is, on the inside, a fully furnished two-story house.  Archangel Michael’s appearance turned my house into that sort of magical space.  The eight foot ceiling easily accommodated his over-12-foot height, and the room’s 15’ width was no hinderance for his over-25’ wingspan.

Back to the dead Catholic mother-in-law…..  I did not know who Archangel Michael was at first, but she recognized him right away.  Archangel Michael is a significant figure in the Catholic religion, and Catholics believe that Archangel Michael ferries the spirits of the dead to heaven (among other things).  To her, his arrival meant that she was some sort of super-Catholic, and she started acting like the Queen of France with the fancy underpants.  Archangel Michael grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and the next thing I knew she was ascended and happy to be so.

Go Michael.

But my relief at seeing her safely ascended was quickly followed by the thought, “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” because, oh wait, Archangel Michael just came to my house.  I found out much later that encounters with Michael are fairly common (cops call on his protection all the time), but not for me.  I felt like God himself had dropped by and I hadn’t prepared snacks.

Lack of preparation aside, Archangel Michael stayed long enough to answer my most pressing questions and to educate me about some things.  I learned from him about dirty souls vs. clean (if you have unfinished business or unresolved issues when you die, your spirit energy is dirty, and you can only ascend if you deal with your issues, make peace with your life and death, and get your energy clean).  I had experienced this energy shift in my work with troubled souls, but did not have the proper language to really talk about it.  So, thank you, Michael.  He also graciously told me that I could call upon him for help anytime I had a spirit that was reluctant to ascend, so long as they were “clean.”

Well, alrighty then.

He went on to talk about what he does, how he works, and generally made me think, “Why wasn’t I told all this in second grade?”  As he spoke, I gained awareness of what a formidable force he is in the universe, and he confirmed his role as a warrior against the forces of evil.  But at the same time, he made me feel like he had my back.  Incredible as this sounds, I felt like I was face-to-face with a being straight from heaven who was telling me that he’s always right here, looking out for us.  And telling me that we can call upon his help in times of great need.  Which is goosebumpy awesome.