Michaelmas in Reflection: Facing Dragons, Leaning on Faith and Finding Courage.

The changing landscape of our families over the years gives rise for festivals to be embraced in
a living way. How we prepare for and celebrate a festival with the young child requires a
different approach than with the adolescent, or again with the emerging young adult. Content
and structures may be the same, but the atmosphere and trials we face naturally metamorphose.

It is always heartwarming to share in Parent Office Hour with a class community, meeting with
conscious and engaged parents. Recently a parent shared a beautiful observation of how, this
year, making dragon bread in her home looked different to last year. She observed with joy how
her growing children’s relationship to the activity and thereby the festival itself had shifted,
moved and changed.

Michaelmas unfolds over a four-week festival season and is celebrated on September 29, it falls
near the autumn equinox, marking the transition from the light and warmth of summer into the
dark, cold months of winter. Around Michaelmas this year, my immediate family found
themselves spread across two continents, and further divided across three provinces within our
country. With my children now ranging from 17 to 23 years old, Michaelmas understandably
brought trials and gifts in very different forms.

On reflection, I was more conscious of how this season presses us to new heights. It causes us
to look at the dragons we need to tame, of fears we must face, and the challenges calling to be met.
None of these can be navigated alone in our limited human capacity. They require our own
courage in its different forms, the grounding of being in community, and most importantly, our
faith in the ever-present help of Christ. In our world full of daily moral and ethical twists, the
Archangel Michael’s fierce, unwavering devotion to what is right serves as inspiration. He
reminds us that we can face life's biggest challenges with faith, courage, and a purposeful heart.

Ultimately, Michaelmas is a time for reflection, prayer, and real-world action. Echoing the victory
described in the book of Revelation, where truth triumphs over deception. It challenges us to
step up and bring that same fierce loyalty of Michael to our own lives. Whether you’re sharing a
feast with friends or family, picking a bouquet of Michaelmas daisies, navigating literal or
figurative mountains or pausing for a quiet moment of prayer: it remains a beautiful reminder of
the ongoing journey between good and evil, and a personal call to stand tall as faithful warriors
of God’s Kingdom.

Revelation 12: 7-9

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and
his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So
the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the
whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Grades Teacher: Mrs. Mandy 
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