| IX. Choir | 30 January |
|---|---|
| He who guards the mountains | Martina |
Even though he has his face fixed on the Face of God, his task is recognisable by his symbols: it is the battle. He has mountain crags and snow beneath him and holds an overhanging boulder above him. The angel is
Saint Abarim,
from the ninth choir of angels, but assigned to serve the Sealed Princes. He guards the mountains.
What a great, mighty task! Man might imagine that such a great task would belong to an angel from a higher choir.
The angels of the ninth choir are closest to man. They also best understand everything earthly: the processes of life on earth and the peculiarities of men and their needs. Thus Saint Abarim is also assigned to that prince who is set by God over all the rocks and powers of the earth. In addition to this earthly task, Saint Ophel, the Prince, also guards the unconscious longing of all natural creatures for God, the longing of the hearts of all men for Him, the force of attraction between the creature and God. In an organising and guiding way, he has to separate good from bad attraction and to direct the radiant power of rocks.
Saint Abarim also has a spiritual task in addition to the earthly one: for both he stands as an angel of life today before God’s Throne as our intercessor. The earthly task has already been mentioned: He has to guard life on all mountains. Hardly any other angels are placed in the midst of such destructive attacks as this angel. The demon of catastrophes is always trying to cause sudden disaster through avalanches and mudslides, hailstorms and cloudbursts, falling rocks and flashes of lightning, earthquakes and thunderstorms. Often enough, man lends the demon a helping hand by thoughtlessly throwing away glowing ashes or unthinkingly cutting down the forest for the sake of money. We read in the newspapers about the fatal falls of reckless tourists, but only God knows who the good angel saves from mortal danger, what he protects in houses and livestock, in people who have lost their way, or children who have gone astray. How often he extinguishes smouldering fires and makes a path for rushing waters.
The spiritual task is based on the earthly one: The angel also guards the purity of the mountains; he gives the mountain air the powers of clarity and purity to affect the soul of man. In the hearts of men he kindles love for the mountain home, for the mountains and for the stillness of nature. He also conveys the knowledge of God through the wisdom of God, and the beauty and harmony and the wonderful order that man finds in nature. In this way, he guards the mountains for God and for mankind.
Prayer: Lord, it is beautiful to find You in the light of the mountains, but to find You in the home of the Church is a thousand times more beautiful. It is most beautiful when You Yourself enter into our repentant and longing hearts in Holy Communion. Come, O Lord, come! Amen.