| VI. Choir | 11 April |
|---|---|
| Prince of the oil of healing | Leo the Great, Gemma |
The sealed angels, who carry the seven-fold power of their choir bound within them, make man tremble. He senses in the Sealed Dominions what it would be like if the love of God were unchained; He senses in the Sealed Powers how the will of God could come upon him in all its power; and he senses in the Sealed Princes the whole horror of the Last Days if the justice of God unchained—that is, without the mercy and goodness and long suffering of God—was unleashed upon earth.
Saint Iriel
is one of the Sealed Princes. He stands before God’s Throne as an oversized, motherly angel with the Oil Jug of Healing and the Lamp of Readiness in his hands. He holds the oil jug upside down with one hand—it is already almost empty. The lamp of readiness recalls the five wise virgins who were ready to believe, trust, wait, love and suffer unto death. The colour of his robe changes to all the colours of the rainbow… from dull alabaster white to the darkest green.
The motherliness of this mighty angel points to Holy Mother Church, who has sanctified the oil and gives it to her children as healing and sanctification. The jug of oil that is already almost empty tells us that the Lord has already healed and sanctified more than enough over and over again. He has poured out the oil of His love, healing and sanctification as if on a field festering from within… and still the Earth has not been healed, the earthiness in man has not become pure and whole. The lamp of readiness calls us to watch like the wise virgins, to watch as a mother watches at the bedside of a terminally ill child and banishes the danger with her gentle, ever-ready hands. The soft folds of his multi-coloured robe tell us that the Divine Oil of Healing is here for every suffering and every illness and that it softens our hearts.
Saint Iriel, as Prince, administers the oil in creation, all kinds of oil, all sources of oil, all that heals, alleviates, softens, and sanctifies the soul. When his seal is loosed, the oil will act as a building material against men and will participate in the destruction of creation. But the oil of healing will remain in the churches of God and nowhere will there be healing but in the House of God: in the Holy Church.
Prayer: Holy, meek angel, Saint Iriel, let us experience your power and gentleness that we may be healed and purified for the return home before the flames of judgement signal the end of God’s long suffering. Amen.