Did you know there is a second Lent? Similar to the Lenten season that leads up to Easter, St. Michael’s Lent is a time of fasting, penance and prayer. St. Michael’s Lent begins on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Aug. 15 and continues for 40 days (excluding Sundays) until Michaelmas, or the feast of Holy Archangels (St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael) on Sept. 29. While this season is not part of the Church’s official liturgical calendar, it has been kept by saints and the faithful for centuries and has lately seen a resurgence.
St. Michael the Archangel has been depicted as chief among the angels dating back to ancient Jewish texts. In our Catholic tradition, he is depicted as the leader of God’s armies during spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness. He is also portrayed as the guardian of the Church and God’s people. St. Michael is traditionally thought to be the angel of death who fights for and accompanies souls as they leave this world, and the one who weighs souls during the Last Judgment.