John 16:33 - “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
Abbot Ladislaus Parker, who founded our abbey in Southern California together with the first Hungarian refugee confreres, began already in the earliest years to welcome American men into the fledgling seminary in the hills of Silverado. In those early years of the 1960’s and 70’s, Abbot Parker used to tell those potential vocations that there might be a place for them at St. Michael’s Abbey if they were more interested in reforming themselves than they were in reforming the institution.
The Restlessness of Our Age
We live in unsettling days. From recent threats against our beloved abbey to shocking acts of political violence, the air is thick with unrest and fear. It can make us wonder whether lasting peace is even possible in society. Yet into this very darkness, Christ speaks with unshakable clarity: “Take courage; I have conquered the world.” His words remind us that persecution is not an anomaly but a continuous feature of the Christian condition—and still, in Him, peace is always within reach.
Most of us live in the relatively circumscribed environment of a family, a place of work, a parish, a neighborhood community. This means that our sphere of influence isn’t so vast that we can conquer evil on the societal or global scale. We cannot tip the entire culture back toward the truth and goodness of the Gospel; we cannot conquer evil or snuff out the persecution that threatens the once-Christian free world. We can, however, defeat evil through our own daily conversion and through our persevering, hopeful, joyful striving for holiness with a spirit of conviction born of our holy faith.
Where the Battle Is Truly Fought
And although this may appear small in the world’s eyes, from a theological standpoint it is immense. Every act of faith, every choice for virtue, every hidden “yes” to God participates in the victory of Christ over sin and death, drawing down graces that ripple far beyond what we can see. The saints remind us that the conversion of a single soul is of greater worth than the rise or fall of empires, for it touches eternity. In this light, our seemingly limited efforts take on cosmic significance, becoming part of the great spiritual battle in which Christ and His angels triumph.
What might this daily battle against evil on the personal level of my own ongoing conversion and growth in holiness look like? In truth, it is nothing less than the drama of grace at work in the soul—the ongoing cooperation of human freedom with the redeeming power of Christ’s Cross. And this struggle, far from being expressed chiefly in extraordinary feats or mystical experiences, ordinarily unfolds in the quiet fidelity to practices so simple that they are easily overlooked, yet by which God sanctifies the soul and conforms it ever more to the image of His Son.
Most fundamentally, it means frequenting the sacraments - attending Holy Mass every Sunday and holy day without fail, or even better, attending Mass every day. It means going to Confession often - at least every 4-6 weeks, or whenever one finds himself in the state of grave sin, heaven forfend. It means carving out time daily for prayer - mental prayer, prayer with the Holy Scriptures, vocal prayer, and most especially the daily recitation of Our Lady’s Rosary.
The Strength of Retreat
In times when encounters with real evil in the world leave us overwhelmed, the surest path forward is not to seek something new, but to return with renewed fervor to the simple remedies the Church has always placed in our hands. To withdraw from the business of daily life—to step back on retreat, as it were—whether for a day of silence and prayer or by entering more deeply into the quiet refuge of the soul, restores clarity and strength, refocusing everything once again in the light of Christ.
It is precisely to make such renewal possible that an abbey exists: a place set apart, where the faithful are drawn back into God’s presence and from which prayer and devotion radiate outward into the world. In these troubled times, St. Michael’s Abbey carries forward this role by fostering devotion to our great champion and defender, and by guiding souls in serious preparation for his feast.
Michaelmas as a Season of Renewal
This year, we urge you to enter Michaelmas not casually but intentionally—as a season of renewal focused on the reform of your own soul. That preparation should mean praying the Michaelmas Novena with fervor, frequenting the sacraments, and perhaps even making time for a day of recollection, whether in the silence of a church or through the Abbot’s Circle online. To join the confreres of the abbey in these devotions is to be part of a greater movement of prayer under St. Michael’s banner, drawing strength from his protection and sharing in the peace and victory of Christ which his feast proclaims.
Abbot Parker’s wisdom, spoken to young men in the earliest years of our abbey, still lights the way for us today. The surest way to restore our society and to rediscover interior peace is to reform our souls first, or better yet, to allow the victory of Christ, who has conquered the world, to reform and to renew and to strengthen our souls within us. May Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels, St. Michael, and all the Holy Archangels assist us in our struggle and strengthen us in our spiritual renewal, and may Christ Our Lord grant us his peace. Amen!
