| 1st Sunday after Epiphany | |
|---|---|
| Feast of the Holy Family | |
Three angels from the choir of Thrones, which is still above the cloudy darkness that supports the heaven of all the heavens, form the Throne of God in the midst of His creation. It is a mystery that the three angels, Saint Schemajim, Saint Malachim and Saint Ophajim carry God into creation and yet still stand above in the first ring of adoration. While the Throne of God above all the heavens, borne by the three Binas, represents the oneness of God with creation, this Throne, borne by the three supreme angels of contrariety, shows forth the duality: God and creation.
Saint Schemajim
| III. Choir | |
|---|---|
| “Throne of the Father” | |
Saint Schemajim reaches down to the root of all God-ordained Thrones upon earth, namely the family, and represents God the Father as the Protector of Jesus’ Foster-Father, Saint Joseph. Thinking of him, we pray today in the Introit:
“In joy the father of the righteous rejoices, your father rejoices and your mother…”
The father manages the life of the family. Every father should learn from Saint Joseph to become a Throne of God the Father in the static of fidelity and in the dynamics of taming and harnessing creation in its contrasts of fire and water, light and darkness, warm and cold. Saint Schemajim helps him to use his hand to work and his eye to recognise, discern and judge in the Name of God.
Saint Malachim
| III. Choir | |
|---|---|
| “Throne of the Son” | |
Saint Malachim stands here as the Angel of the Son, carrying the concentrated power of the Word in the contrast between vastness and narrowness, fullness and emptiness, in the radiance of call and response. Thinking of him, we pray in the Epistle:
“May Christ’s word dwell in you in rich abundance, brothers! Teach one another and admonish one another in wisdom…”
Saint Malachim watches over the young man in the family, impelling him to go out and proclaim God and live for Him; he gives him the vigour of idealism, the spirit of fire and the courage to fight. He hands him the cross of life consecration, the sword of the champion of God and the staff of mission.
Saint Ophajim
| III. Choir | |
|---|---|
| “Throne of the Spirit” | |
Saint Ophajim guards the Mother as the Throne of God. Mary is the Lord’s favourite Throne: She is love, overshadowed by the Holy Ghost. She is “the bond of perfection.” To Her, God says: “Behold, I come!” The angel carries the Heart of God into creation for Her, the Snow-White One, surrounded by angels; and Mary holds out to God the Heart of Jesus, the Blood-Red One, glowing with love and embracing Her own Heart. The pulse of love passes between these Two Hearts and allows all the opposites of love: attachment and detachment, union and separation, earthly and heavenly – to dissolve and merge into one: into God. This should also be our goal: the sanctification of every family, placing it under the protection of all the holy angels and utilising all the fruits of this divinely-blessed family for God.