In Hebrew, Mi-ka-El means “Who is like God?”. It is not a boast but a challenge, the cry with which, as tradition holds, the archangel cast down the angel who wanted to be God's equal. Michael is the spiritual warrior in the battle of good against evil.
The Church honours him in four ways: as the champion of justice, as a healer of the sick, as the guardian of the Church, and as the one who accompanies souls at the hour of death. Painters and carvers show him with a sword, a banner or a pair of scales, very often standing over Satan in the form of a dragon.
For a house in Bethlehem he has another meaning. Michael is a protector of pilgrims and a guardian of truth and honesty. Every pilgrim who comes to the Holy Land has travelled far, and each carries a blessing to see the land where the Christian faith was born. Michael is also held to be the guardian of Bethlehem itself.
That is why the house carries his name. May he guard you on your journey to the Holy Land, and on the way back to your own home.
Next in the journal
Bethlehem, the house of bread