| VII. Choir | 8 January |
|---|---|
| Angel of discipline of faith | Severin, Erhard |
He stands before God’s Throne as our intercessor in the robe of a deacon, with a golden tunic and a sealed book in his hands. He has the apparently severe face of a thinker and his thin lips tell of a strong, subdued will. Beside him, on a high candlestick, burns the torch of faith; it burns up straight and steep and does not flicker.
This high angel is Saint Admisiel, the seventh of the seven virtues of faith. He bears the virtue of the discipline of faith.
The virtues are primarily angels of love. Their characteristic is to catch the streams of grace that flow down from the Throne of God through the two great rings of Adoration and of God’s Order and Omnipotence into the ring of the Incarnation, and to distribute them over all mankind. Their task, however, is also to widen the hearts of men in such a way that they are also able to receive these graces and that they hold out a ready heart for them.
Saint Admisiel is a teacher among the virtues of faith, hope and love. Discipline requires education, not forgiveness. The great founders of orders have the power of this angel in their hands. No order could exist without the discipline of faith, the discipline of hope, and the discipline of love. The army of the consecrated would be like a surging sea of reeds without this holy discipline, which steels their will, trains their spirit, and makes them strong and resilient inwardly and outwardly.
A beautiful picture of the differences between the virtues of faith, hope and love is this: that the virtues of faith resemble
a crystal cut seven times, which radiates the virtue of faith in sevenfold splendour and sevenfold power; that the virtues of
hope resemble a sevenfold shoot from a single seed that becomes a tree that gives its shade over the whole earth; and that, finally, the virtues of love resemble a marvellous sevenfold tone—irresistibly powerful and yet quite gentle—that vibrates over all mankind and makes everything resonate. Thus, we must imagine Saint Admisiel’s task in terms of a clear, crystal surface, reflecting the greatness and majesty of God, which also catches and lifts up the image of the disciplined man into the greatness and goodness of God.
Prayer: Holy Angel, Saint Admisiel, let our hearts become strong and brave in the discipline of faith, that we may walk without ever wavering upon the sacrificial paths of God’s dark, demanding love, always equally faithful and humble, equally loving and willing. Amen.