| VI. Choir | 8 August |
|---|---|
| Prince of summer | John Vianney |
Broad and sun-drenched, he stands here like a ripe field of corn. His deep, blue eyes are as calm as a sheet of water untouched by the breeze… and yet, with his outstretched hand, he wards off a cloud, black-blue in the centre and sulphur-yellow at the edges. Rhaaboon Sirac, the fallen angel, Hrabanael, crouches (symbolically) in this storm cloud, now turning against God in nature and afflicting our fields, houses and forests in the summer with hailstorms, cloudbursts and lightning, floods, storms, rockfalls and conflagrations.
Is it not an injustice on God’s part to oppose such a powerful demonic force with only one prince, and a sealed and bound one at that? For this angel who stands before us today at God’s Throne has chains around his feet. He wouldn’t even be able to give the demon a good kick in battle. Why does God do this? The angel is
Saint Nahimphar,
the prince of summer, the prince of fullness. He will only be released in the fullness of time (in the end times)… and that is good, for when angel and demon will clash in all unbound violence, the ripening ear of corn will no longer be spared. Then it will only be about the ultimate prey: the soul of man. Saint Nahimphar still has so much power that, unless God wills otherwise through special permissions, he may provide for the daily bread of mankind.
In addition to this task (of looking after the summer of the earth and the fullness of the ripening fruit) he has a second one: he is also known as the Receiver, and this reception concerns the soul. The soul also matures in the sun of God’s love, but it shouldn’t just stand still, allowing itself to be illuminated… it should also receive and increase its fullness. It has never done enough; it can and should still seize every opportunity to accept sacrifices of love, atonement and renunciation wherever they present themselves. It should not leave any suffering that its angel leads it past by the wayside, as the Levite did with the man who had fallen among thieves. It should also receive the suffering immediately and with all love and allow it to mature within it, regardless of whether it looks like a sheaf or a cross of failure and disappointment. God already sees and decides what it will be! You, O soul, receive it, and do not let the hail of the evil enemy pass over you in discouragement, lack of love or despair. The Lord gives food and drink at the right time. He will also give you sunshine and rain and dew from Heaven in due season, so that you may ripen and bear fruit for eternity.
Prayer: Holy Angel, Saint Nahimphar, let the sun of God’s love shine upon me and ward off satanic hail so that I may become what God wants me to be. Amen.