| Choir V | 4 June |
|---|---|
| Angel of the Purity of the Church | St Francis Caracciolo |
The corner pillars in the Second Ring of God’s Order and Omnipotence are not a choir of their own. They are formed from the three middle choirs: the Dominions, the Powers and the Princes. Since each of these choirs is itself divided into three, so that there are three times three choir groups in this ring, standing one above another, four of the strongest angels from each of these choir groups also stand as corner pillars in the flowing life of the whole of creation. Symbolically, they form the corner pillars between Heaven and earth: they join the Third Ring of Redemption around the earth to the First Ring of Worship of God above all bliss. They are like ladders to Heaven; on them the Holy God, the Wise God, the Almighty God, the Just God descends to earth with His angelic hosts. Each of these four corner pillars bears a whole concept from top to bottom; each of these pillars thrusts upwards through the darkness of the clouds into the Ring of Worship, from where the Heavenly Jerusalem will one day descend. Each of these pillars has in its depths, as its foundation stone, a signum, a word, by which mankind will one day be judged on the Day of Judgement.
Saint Josaphim belongs to that corner pillar whose uppermost crown is called Chajoth—Holy God—and which is the pillar of holiness and eternity, of purity and measure, of the Holy Church and its indestructibility. In its depths lies the signum Deus Judex: the Divine Judge will judge the Church and all purity and integrity, all churches and monasteries and consecrated communities. It is indeed a grave thing to see that in this very corner pillar the foundation stone is not called Agnus Dei, as in the corner pillar of hope and wisdom, or Rex Gloriae, as in the corner pillar of love, or Filius Patris, as in the corner pillar of faith. Here one can surely see that those who bear the greatest gifts of grace also bear the greatest responsibility.
Saint Josaphim,
from the fifth Choir, the Choir of Powers, carries the Will of God for the purity and holiness of the Church. He carries it as a Sealed Power, standing beside Saint Sederim, the Angel of Contradiction. The Will of God is here like a glowing forge, in which the heart and the tongue of the living Corpus Christi Mysticum are melted and formed and purified. That is why Saint Josaphim carries a great, glowing pair of tongs with a scraping knife attached; over his arm he has a white linen cloth, probably as a sign that purity and holiness do not lie open for all the world to handle, but, refined like gold, appear best when covered and hidden.
Prayer: Lord and God! Burn and cut now in this time of trial; melt us into the right form, so that we may one day stand before Thine Eyes and be delivered from eternal fire. Amen.