| Choir VII | 1 October |
|---|---|
| The virtue of faith against doubt | St Remigius |
With a very strong light that not only affects our senses from the outside, but perhaps even more so breaks from the inside out, expanding and stretching the soul, this great angel, who is our intercessor today, stands before us. It is
Saint Mirachiel,
the angel of the power of faith. The Choir of Virtues to which he belongs is one of the most difficult for us to comprehend. It lies at the uppermost limit of the Ring of Redemption, and could best be compared to a substation that both redirects the power currents of Heaven into the earthly voltage that is tolerable and necessary for us men, and also equips our response with that heavenly power with which it can reach the Throne of God alive and unweakened through these heavenly zones.
All the upper choirs, from the first to the sixth, are carriers of a great stream of power, either of love or of the Word or of life. The other two streams of power always recede strongly behind this one main stream of power. Here, however, in the Ring of Redemption, all three streams flow together as if into a common broad stream bed.
Within the Choir of Virtues, we have the seven Virtues of Faith, which receive the stream of life through the Thrones and Princes; the seven Virtues of Hope, which receive the stream of the Word through the Cherubim and the Powers; and the stream of love, which comes down through the Seraphim and the Dominions upon the seven Virtues of Love. The twelve Virtues of the Church already receive all streams simultaneously, as do the Archangels and Angels beneath them.
The Choir of Virtues is recognisably distinguished from the other choirs by the silent power of the divine “Become!” that it carries, and by the inner tension, expansion, and transformation of souls.
In their stillness, the Virtues of Faith resemble a many-faceted crystal, which receives the Light of God with great intensity and radiates it just as powerfully in all directions.
The Virtues of Hope could rather be compared to a swelling seed that stretches its shell with great inner strength and strives toward the light, and the Virtues of Love bring to mind an indomitable, heavenly bell tone that expands the heart until it believes it must burst.
As a symbol, Saint Mirachiel bears such a brightly shining crystal, whose light is so powerful that it is impossible to tell whether it holds this light within or without. This signifies the power of faith, which, receiving its light and virtue from God, expands and strengthens souls, illuminates all darkness, overcomes all confusion in the clear vision of God, and gives the strength to break the snare of evil, however subtly it may be concealed.
Prayer: Great Angel of the power of faith, Saint Mirachiel, help us in these times of darkness and confusion, that our strength may not fail, that our confession may grow ever stronger, and that we may rather die for our faith than deny it. Amen.