| I. Choir | 23 January |
|---|---|
| “Our God” | Marriage of Mary |
All angels that have Mary as their Queen, are also angels of Mary, just as they, as spiritual beings, are angels of the Spirit. There are many differences here, however, some more obvious and noticeable, others more subtle. These differences are most evident in the second ring of God’s Order and Omnipotence, because here also the individual choirs together with their subdivisions are sharply marked and, taken by number, represent the strongest choirs.
The higher we look, the more the light dazzles us and the closer all of the streams of grace come to each other in power and light in their origin. Around this origin stand first the Seraphim, then the Cherubim and then the Thrones. The Seraphim are the highest in the stream of grace of love, in the flood of light of the Holy Ghost, even if within their choir they are divided into three parts, each assigned to the Father, the Son and once again to the Spirit. For the love of the Father flows into creation through the Spirit, as does the love of the Son, as does the love of the Spirit Himself.
Today, on this silent Feast of Mary, when the Holy Church celebrates the Marriage of the Virgin to Saint Joseph, a Seraph stands above before the Face of God on the steps of the Throne in the name of the Holy Church:
Saint Jai,
whose name means Good God. The Seraphim are difficult to describe in a few words. They are so close to the inconceivable Ring of Light of the Triune God that it is only through God Himself and the holy angels that knowledge of them can reach us. They are threefold and yet simple, reflecting the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Thus three Seraphim form one Seraph, as three Divine Persons are one God. They have names quite incomprehensible to us, which refer only to God Himself and are the first, supreme created mirror of one of the Beings of God.
Thus Saint Jai, as Good God, represents the supreme God-man connection. He is the supreme angelic bridge between God and man. How wonderful that the Good God bends first towards man, rather than the Victor or the Strong. The Good God comes to us and chooses Mary as the first human child of His great love—He places Himself in Her.
The Marriage of Mary is the festive reminder of God’s goodness in giving Mary external, legal protection for Her Child within Her Life. Saint Joseph, however, through his divinely willed union with Mary, has become the patron of the Holy Church and of all the angels of the Church; he is, in his rightful place next to Mary before all the angels, the man of God to whom the whole defence against tremendous infernal vice is incumbent.
But to Saint Jai, the Seraph, Good God, belongs the Seraph of the Father, Saint Eloha, the All-Knowing, and the Seraph of the Spirit, Saint Ananai, “He will teach you all things.” In the latter Seraph we find the reference to the humility of Saint Joseph, who steps back completely and of whom we have no personal word.
Prayer: Lord, let the ardour of Thy Seraphim also enkindle our hearts. Let a throne be prepared in them for Mary and Joseph… a throne of love. Amen.