Leon Bloy, French Catholic Novelist

Hi, my name is Sean Breeden, and I have a deep and unshakeable conviction that St. Michael the Archangel wants to train us for spiritual battle and turn our hearts, homes, and parishes into places where Jesus is on the throne. It all started when I was working out in my basement in January 2022. My daughter, Emma, who was seven years old at the time, said, "Daddy, can I work out with you, too?" I agreed, and as I glanced over at the statue of St. Michael in my workout area, I said to her, "Emma, what if we called this the St. Michael Workout Chapel?" She said, "No, the WARRIORS of St. Michael Workout Chapel!!!" We could both see by the look in each other’s eyes that her suggestion was far better than mine! 

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Gradually, we started adding more spiritual elements to the workout. We would begin by lighting a candle and saying the St. Michael prayer. Then, we added prayer intentions to the workout. Then, we brainstormed virtues we wanted to cultivate in our family. Then I wrote the 'Warrior's Creed' that we say at the beginning of our meetings, and devoured everything I could get my hands on about St. Michael. This momentum kept growing to the point that something began to stir in my spirit that this endeavor was not just for us. St. Michael was inviting me to partner with him to recruit more warriors for his spiritual army, and that's exactly what I've been doing ever since. That's not to say it's been clear sailing since that moment!

However, I was so confident that God was behind this stirring in my spirit that I ended up purchasing the domain 'warriorsofstmichael.com' for $420 at the end of February 2022 having no external evidence as to when or if my vision would develop into a concrete reality. There were several months of waiting for God to reveal his plan, & some very real spiritual warfare with temptations to scrap the whole idea thinking it was all in my head, and who am I to lead this with all my faults? But, I kept pressing forward, taking time to share the idea with men's group & anyone else who would listen. Then, at the beginning of May 2022, in prayer I felt that God was leading me to buy twelve 51" long Braveheart-style broadswords to give away to men in my parish who I thought may catch the vision. When the swords started arriving on my doorstep, you should have seen the look on my wife Lexie's face when I said, "The Holy Spirit told me to"! Then, at the end of July 2022 just before my parish's annual men's retreat I was emceeing, we got the official green light from Christ the King Parish to launch 'Warriors of St. Michael' as a men's initiative at the parish. Shortly thereafter, I had four men join my leadership team, and eleven men join my extended core team. God has truly provided the band of brothers I was crying out for, and I couldn't be more excited about what God has in store for us moving forward!

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Frankly, I have no desire to start a 'program'. There are so many wonderful opportunities out there for growth in our Catholic faith that we can and should take advantage of, but I see the Warriors of St. Michael as something completely different. I merely want to provide an outline of recommendations that have been fruitful for me, while also allowing each person to customize it and add elements based on their own discernment. There is a basic structure to our gatherings. However, instead of following a set formulaic order of content-based teachings at meetings, I want each Warriors of St. Michael chapter to learn to hear the voice of the Lord, & follow his promptings regarding the theme or focus of the monthly large group ‘Armory’ meetings. In so doing, the Holy Spirit can work in a unique way in each WSM chapter based on the needs of their particular members, & also provide a variety of discipleship experiences such as teaching, worship & Adoration, service, & fellowship.

I see the Warriors of St. Michael simply as a community of disciples of Jesus who want to support each other in concrete ways on the journey to heaven. More than a set of disciplines, I see it as a lifestyle of radical trust in God, total surrender to his love, and a simple way of tapping into the immense riches of our Catholic faith. Through small daily commitments that are attainable for the normal Catholic, this lifestyle is able to be seamlessly integrated into our marriages and families, our work commitments, and all the God-given responsibilities with which we have been blessed. It is a way to be intentional about growing closer to Jesus surrounded by brothers in Christ who cheer us on and pick us up when we fall, as we do the same for them. In short, I long for it to be nothing more than the Christian life faithfully lived out each and every day with no excuses. As Mother Teresa says, together we can do 'small things with great love', and become the saints that God has called us to be.

If this story is resonating with you & causing a stirring in your spirit that you are called to join this band of brothers in pushing back the kingdom of darkness, I invite you to prayerfully discern becoming a Warrior of St. Michael. The time for half-measures & coasting on 'cruise control' in our spiritual lives is over. It's time to go all in for Jesus, & to start dreaming again about how much the Lord can do with a small group of men completely sold out for him who are willing to follow the Divine Lamb wherever he leads!