| VII. Choir | 12 July |
|---|---|
| Angel of the Pentecostal effect | St John Gualbert |
The Virtues form the seventh of the nine choirs of angels. They are fewer in number than the Dominions, Powers and Princes, but are no longer distributed over the whole of creation. They are now only focused on the redemption of people on earth. The threefold division within the choir has also given way to a fourfold division. In the two lowest choirs there is no longer any such division at all; they are brothers of men… servants… servants like their Lord Jesus Christ. They stand in the ranks of men, indeed, among them, in order to lift them up.
The Virtues are thirty-three: seven virtues of faith, seven virtues of hope, seven virtues of love and twelve virtues of the Church.
Saint Chattatim
is an angel of the Church, the third of the twelve. He is the angel of the Pentecostal effect. He stands on the earth, on the floor of the church carrying a bowl similar in shape to the luminous spinning discs of the Seraphim, the wheels of fire. This bowl receives the flames of the Holy Ghost from from the seven large bowl angels above, who carry the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. The angel himself pours out its contents over the whole Church.
The angel who carries this bowl with its luminous fullness, is himself richly adorned like the bride who awaits her Lord; he is adorned with the beauty of Holy Mother Church, who spreads out her arms to receive the Holy Ghost into herself. He is adorned with the splendour of the saints, who adorn the Holy Church like shining gems of all colours.
In the twelve-part Credo, which rises from these twelve angels of the virtue of the Holy Church to the Throne of the Most High, Saint Chattatim carries the wonderful melody “who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of Mary the Virgin… made man.”
In the same way, the Holy Church is always the mirror of Mary, the Virgin, receiving the Holy Ghost. And the Light, the Word, which descends, becomes the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ on the Altar. It becomes Our Lord, who became man and was crucified and buried for us, who rose from the dead and returned home to the Father in Heaven.
The twelve angels carry the Credo in this way:
Saint Sebastim, the angel of Christmas, carries the beginning;
Saint Chasim, the Easter angel: “and in Jesus Christ…”
Saint Chattatim, the angel of Pentecost: “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost…”
Saint Ariochim, the priestly angel: “suffered under Pontius Pilate…”
Saint Haleochim, the angel of the Corpus Christi Mysticum: “ascended into heaven…”
Saint Machaanajim, the angel of the structure of the Holy Church: “from thence he…”
Saint Hajim, the angel of the inner life of the Church: “I believe in the Holy Ghost…”
Saint Arathim, the angel of the outer life of the Church: “the Holy Catholic Church…”
Saint Selamim, the angel of consecration: “the communion of saints…”
Saint Chud, the angel of the holy places: “the forgiveness of sins…”
Saint Jehod, the angel of the estates: “the resurrection of the body…”
Saint Chochod, the angel of the ages: “and life everlasting.”
Prayer: O Angel of God’s Love in the Church, Saint Chattatim, let the Holy Ghost work in us that we may grow and blossom and ripen in the field of God and so become the Bread of God. Amen.