Crosspost: A New Series for Saint Michael's Lent
On my personal Substack I will be posting translated meditations for every day of Saint Michael's Lent. Below is a copy of today's announcement and more details about the series. All future posts will appear on Pie Pelicane and will be available to anyone regardless of subscription status (though if you were inclined to click on the "Subscribe" or "Share" buttons, I wouldn't stop you).
In a conversation among pen pals (i.e., in a text thread with friends who’ve moved) a brainstorming session arose for a collective observance of Saint Michael’s Lent. In searching for a book we could read, I recalled having previously stumbled upon The Grandeurs of Saint Michael the Archangel (1958) by Fr. Marcel Bouzon. As the story goes:
[The original] was "rediscovered" and revised and reprinted on the advise of Padre Pio to his spiritual daughter, Lina Fiorellinni. A priest friend of hers took on this project Fr. Cosimo Petino and then another priest reprinted it in 1958 , Fr Marcel Bouzon.
The bookstore Saint Mikael Art & Gifts sells translations of Bouzon’s adaption in English, Spanish, French and German. Conspicuously missing, though, is a copy in Italian. In a fruitless search for the source of these translations, I ended up finding the “original” original, Le Grandezze di S. Michele Arcangelo (1869) by Don Nicola Ricci.
This gem of a find, a legible PDF scan with 40 lengthy meditations as opposed to 31 short ones, definitely put a smile on my face. However, I was a bit dismayed that an English treatment didn’t already exist. Not being entirely daunted and having suddenly experienced a “If not me, then who?” moment, I decided to tackle a translation project of the work.
Having no personal experience with Italian but plenty with Google Translate, I will be using the latter to present “quick-and-dirty” English renditions of the daily meditations for the duration of Saint Michael’s Lent, which according to the Preface (to be released tomorrow):
This Lent begins on the Vigil of the Feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Mary and concludes on the Vigil of St. Michael—celebrated by the Church with solemn offices on September 29th. It spans forty days (excluding Sundays) during which the devout Christian seeks, through ecclesiastical fasting, to mortify the flesh and strengthen the spirit in virtue, combining fasting with both mental and vocal prayer.
A caveat for 2026 is that it is one of the years that experiences seven Sundays during these dates, as opposed to six, so accordingly the first Sunday will not be excluded. Following the format of the prestigious Roman Catholic Truth Substack, these posts will be released early each day so that readers can best fit them into their busy schedules. All posts will be collected in this publication section for posterity.
The hope I have for this series as it pertains to present-day readers and those of future years is the same as that of Don Ricci. Again from his Preface:
It is my hope that these humble efforts—strengthened by the blessing of the Chief Minister of the Heavenly Throne—may redound to the glory of God, the honor of the Saint, and the benefit of the faithful.
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