| V. Choir | 4 January |
|---|---|
| Praise of God | Angela of Foligno |
This angel who bears the praise of God as the response of creation does not stand alone before God’s Throne. His wide mantle encloses a whole legion of angels, the whole of Holy Mother Church and beyond that, all creatures praising God. The mighty angel has an equally mighty harp. Its size is unfathomable. There are hundreds, even thousands of strings on it: uncountable. And they all sound: Thou hearest, O man, the rustling of the woods in praise of God as well as the praying monks in choir, the twittering of birds as the jubilant songs of a procession, the chime of a soul’s silent communion with God as the heaven-shaking praise of God by one in distress and martyrdom.
Saint Hassirim,
who carries the praise of God as the response of creation, belongs to the Choir of Powers, the fifth of the nine choirs of the holy angels. The Powers stand in the stream of grace of the Power of the Word under the Cherubim and above the Archangels; they are Angels of Power (of the Word), and their name already indicates their essence: power.
The Choir of Powers is divided into three parts, as most choirs are divided into three parts as a reflection of the Triune God. In the first third are the High Powers; they are under the first third of the Cherubim, namely under those who are turned towards the Father. From Him they receive the stream of grace of power. They are also the bearers of static power; they bear the ground and foundation of the Holy Church, the majesty, beauty and goodness of the Word of God and the Power of God.
The second third part are the Sealed Powers. They stand under the Cherubim of the Son; they are also turned towards the Son, towards salvation, in a special way. Their power, however, is throttled, sealed for the harmonious course of creation. When they have their seals loosed, they will cease their activity until God calls them: then they will serve the justice of God, unsealing the mysteries of God in creation.
Saint Hassirim belongs to the third part: to the Lower Powers. These are angels of the Power of the Holy Ghost. They carry the whole tension of the harmonious course of creation, the laws and the power of creation and creature, and are turned towards man. They include the angels of praise, atonement, supplication and thanksgiving, the angels of current, radiation and force field, the angels of the laws of creation and others.
Each third part comprises 24 angels, and each of them has a legion of servants and helpers among them. The angels of lower power include, for example, the bearers of the laws of gravity, centrifugal force, creative power, cause and consequence, and the bearers of power, of devotion, of good will and of supernatural and other powers.
Prayer: Mighty Holy Angel, Saint Hassirim, take our small, poor praise as sound into your harp, that it may also praise God from the depths. Amen.