| IX. Choir | 2 January |
|---|---|
| Angel of strangers | |
At the beginning of the year, when no one knows how many blessings or calamities it holds in its bosom, Saint Jesim, the angel of saying Yes to the will of God, sends us one of his helpers:
Saint Jebusiel,
the angel of strangers. This word will perhaps hit some people hard: they will be frightened and fear that this year could make them itinerant and homeless, refugees, displaced persons and outcasts. This angel is not cruel, though; he is good. He is great in fact, much greater than those of his kind. He can guard an entire army, reaching from beginning to end, so that nothing escapes him and nothing is without his protection.
Strangers do not always have to be fugitives. In fact we should even be strangers and feel as such in this world, for as soon as we have settled down somewhere and made ourselves comfortable, the evil one has long since itched and suddenly spits into it quite effectively. Then we stand there wailing and broken… if we have not remembered our true home in time… which we come closer to day-by-day and which no one, not death nor the devil, can rob from us against our will.
The angels of the ninth choir, to which Saint Jebusiel belongs, are legions upon super legions. They are not only divided into seven, but through their allocation to higher choirs they are powerful in very different ways, just as a servant on an estate can, through his strength and faithfulness, ultimately be the steward of the whole estate and the right hand of the lord himself, through whom everything then passes. These angels also carry correspondingly great tasks which are not bound to space and time but, like the tasks of the higher choirs, encompass spiritual realms. We often find such angels as angels of the day, because their tasks are close to man and man should call upon them for help. Let us also call Saint Jebusiel to help us when our homeland is in danger, that he may cover all access to us with the Veil of Mary, and that his strong arm may clear the way for us through all afflictions and obstacles to peace and the eternal home.
Prayer: Lord, do not let us suffer the hard fate of exiles, but leave us in our homeland and in the security of the Holy Church until you bring us to our eternal home through your angels. Amen.