Arch Enemies

To finish up my comparison of the samurai warrior's Bushido (Way of the Warrior) to the effective practices of a Prayer Warrior I am going to look at loyalty (忠 chuu).

loyalty

unswerving in allegiance
faithful in allegiance to one's lawful sovereign or government
faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due
faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product
the state of being loyal; fidelity

A samurai is nothing if he is not loyal. The ancient feudal society was based on loyalty. This is something that our society really needs - but I promise not to turn this into a political blog.

From the beginning of our existence, God has always been loyal to us. He has given us chance after chance to remain in his glory. We keep messing it up and he keeps graciously accepting us back into his fold.

The Archangels are the ultimate loyalists. Archangels are members of the second choir of angels. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. The Hebrew Bible uses the terms מלאך אלהים (melakh Elohim; messenger of God), מלאך יהוה (melakh Adonai; messenger of the Lord), בני אלוהים (b'nai elohim; sons of God) and הקודשים (ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angelic messengers.

Of course there were the two that went bad. Contrary to popular belief, Satan and Lucifer are two separate fallen angels. The name "Lucifer" means "Light Giver" or "Light Bearer". Lucifer is thought to be the prince of the underworld and is who most consider to be the Devil. Being a creation of God, he cannot be considered an equal of God. He is more an equal of Michael the archangel. Satan's name is believed to originate from the term satan which connotes the idea of opposition and adversary. Before his fall, it's believed that he was one of the Ruling Prince's of the Celestial Orders. Satan is thought to be primarily 'stationed' here on earth. Both want nothing more than to turn our loyalties away from God.

Considering Lucifer is a former archangel, we should look to the 'field commander of the Legion of God' for assistance. Instead of pasting the whole thing, here is a link to the NOVENA TO ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL This novena begins on Friday May 1.