When my eldest daughter was four, we found a gorgeous children’s book at our local library that retold the story of St. George of Merry England from Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. Every day, she would pour over the pictures of the brave knight, wearing a white robe emblazoned with a red cross, locked in battle against the evil dragon. We read the words so many times that she almost had it memorized.
One Sunday, we were visiting a basilica for Mass. We were sitting near the back, along the side. Suddenly, I felt a tug on my hand. My daughter was pointing up at the stained-glass window above our pew: the resurrected Christ, holding a white banner with a red cross. “He has the same flag!” she whispered excitedly. “Is he a red cross knight too?”
Of course, Jesus is the red cross knight, the kingly leader of the band of Christian heroes of history and legend who have fought and triumphed against the dragon. Every story of a warrior battling a dragon in the Western canon is an echo of Christ’s victory: “You will tread upon the asp and the viper; you will trample the lion and the dragon” (Psalm 91). My daughter had caught a glimpse of the Great Story that runs throughout history—the True Myth of Christianity—by means of a beautifully illustrated children’s book.
I have tried to collect books of these sorts for my children over the years. Children need many books at their fingertips: beautiful books that allow them early access to the great treasures of Western Civilization and the history and symbolism of their Christian faith. Against the beige-grey tones of modern cultural iconoclasm, beautiful children’s books can unlock the riches of our children’s ancient patrimony.
Unfortunately, books like these are often incredibly difficult to find. The sheer number of well-meant but dreadfully executed children’s books is staggering. And even when you find excellent books, many of them tend to dwell upon the same familiar topics. But there are so many exciting, inspiring, and moving stories locked up in old books for adults, which used to be stories older generations would hand down verbally to their children and grandchildren. Now, with the old books increasingly not being read even by adults, the stories lie forgotten.
I recently stumbled across one such forgotten story in G.K. Chesterton’s poem “Lepanto.” The poem follows Don John of Austria preparing the Holy League for war against the Ottoman Turks. One stanza of the poem begins, “St. Michael’s on his mountain in the sea-roads of the north.” This allusion sent me to the internet in quest of enlightenment, and I soon discovered I knew almost nothing at all about St. Michael the Archangel. Sure, I love Pope Leo XIII’s prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. We all know how Michael cast Satan from Heaven while crying, “Who is like God?” I even pride myself in the arcane knowledge that you should eat blackberries on Michaelmas Day!
But there is so much more to St. Michael the Archangel. As I searched for St. Michael’s northern mountain, I felt like someone digging through the attic of a relative’s home, finding treasures stuffed in unlabeled cardboard boxes. How had I never heard about the Sword of St. Michael: the seven shrines to the archangel laid out straight from Ireland—in the sea-roads of the north—to the Holy Land?
So imagine my delight when, fortuitously, I discovered that someone has decided to tell again the old stories about St. Michael the Archangel. Two Norbertine Canons from St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, California, have just published a magnificently illustrated children’s book, Saint Michael the Archangel Through the Ages (TAN 2026).
The book is divided into three parts: “Defender of Heaven and Protector of Earth,” “Patron of the Church Helper of the Saints,” and “Our Guardian Now Until the End.” The first part walks the reader through the creation of the angels, their organization into the nine choirs, and the rebellion of Lucifer, who refused to sing in harmony. (In the illustrations for this section, I detect that the good Canons have studied well The Silmarilion and give the tiniest nod to Tolkien’s rendition of creation.)
The book is divided into three parts: “Defender of Heaven and Protector of Earth,” “Patron of the Church Helper of the Saints,” and “Our Guardian Now Until the End.”Tweet ThisEach section of the book recounts how St. Michael, after he cast Lucifer from Heaven, was sent to guard God’s people throughout the Old and New Testaments. Many of these inspiring stories were completely new to me. It is comforting to see the hand of God working through his warrior angel to defend the faithful against the dragon time and again throughout history. Who knew so many saints from so many places and times saw visions of St. Michael? Who knew so many saints were devoted to him?
The last part of the book turns to the end times, when St. Michael will once more face Satan, again in the form of a dragon, as John the Evangelist writes in the Book of Revelation. After defeating the dragon this final time, St. Michael will blow his trumpet, summoning all of the faithful to Heaven.
My copy of the book arrived after my kids were already in bed, but I read the whole book myself that night. It is a rare children’s book that teaches me things, but I turned every page with anticipation. The book has already become a treasure of our collection. I do hope that the good Norbertine Canons keep up the important work of bringing back the treasured stories that all Christian children—and adults—should know.
I never understood the reasoning behind eliminating the post-Mass prayers “at the foot of the altar” which (if I recall correctly) included the Prayer to Saint Michael (along with “Hail Holy Queen” and one other that I forget). Somebody drop a hint to Pope Leo that now would be a great time to restore them! =
An inspiring article. Thanks for sharing your experience with your children and their books. This is indeed an important theme. More so now than perhaps ever before.
Do you have any insights on readings of Samuel and his life? What of other key figures in our salvation history??