St. Michael’s Lent is devotional Fast from the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin to Michaelmas
In the early thirteenth century, St. Francis of Assisi observed not only the forty-day fast before Easter but also a second season of devotion beginning on August 15 (the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin in the 2019 BCP) and concluding on September 29 (the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels). This “St. Michael’s Lent” was marked by prayer, fasting, and self-discipline in preparation for the great feast of Michaelmas.
One rendering of St. Francis’s famous prayer for peace includes this translation:
“where there is injury, pardon;
where there is division, unity;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope”
While Anglicans do not hold to all the same obligations and observances as our Roman brethren, we share with them the calendar of holy days, the example of the saints, and the call to “discipline ourselves in body and spirit” (1928 BCP, Collect for Lent). St. Michael’s Lent can be adapted as an optional Anglican devotion to deepen our life of prayer, cultivate virtue, and prepare to honor Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness celebrated at Michaelmas.
This year, I’m dedicating these forty days to pray especially for the renewal of the American Church—and in particular, for faithfulness, unity, and courage of the Bishops in the Realignment Anglican (ACNA , REC, FCE, AMIA, GAFCON, etc.) and the Continuing Anglican bodies (ACC, APA, UECNA, APCK, AOC, etc).
In this season, I’ll be:
- Praying the Collect for St. Michael and All Angels daily.
- Fasting or making a daily act of self-denial (Sundays excepted).
- Asking the Lord to strengthen His Bishops as shepherds for the work of guarding the flock and proclaiming the Gospel with boldness.
How to Keep St. Michael’s Lent
- Attend to the Ordinary Means of Grace
- Be faithful in Sunday worship and in the daily offices using the Book of Common Prayer.
- Confess your sins regularly, either privately to God or sacramentally to a priest.
- Receive Holy Communion with preparation and thanksgiving.
- Fast or Make Daily Sacrifices
- From August 15 to September 29 (excluding Sundays and other major feasts), adopt a discipline of fasting or partial abstinence as in Lent, or make a purposeful daily act of self-denial in food, leisure, or comfort.
- Pray for the Protection and Triumph of Christ’s Kingdom
- Each day, light a candle or set aside a moment of quiet considering Christ and the ministry of St. Michael, recalling his role as the defender of the Church. Pray for your parish, diocese, bishop, and province.
- Pray the Collect for St. Michael and All Angels (BCP 1928 p. 251 / ACNA 2019 p. 635), along with the Lord’s Prayer, and other suitable devotions.
- Consider using the Litany (BCP 1928 p. 54 / ACNA 2019 p. 91) at least once a week during this season.
Notes on the Fast
Though the calendar period from August 15 to September 29 spans forty-six days, Sundays and feast days are not counted as days of fasting, just as in Lent before Easter. The devotion thus consists of forty penitential days.
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