CHOIRS OF ANGELS (FATHER’S FAITH NOTES: AUGUST 29, 2021)
If you have begun praying the Chaplet of St. Michael, you will have noticed that the whole prayer is structured around invoking the nine choirs of angels. Though it is language that may be unfamiliar to us, this way of describing the different ranks and roles of the angels is steeped in tradition and rooted in scripture. As far back as Pope St. Gregory the Great, who was Pope from 590-604 AD, the nine choirs were already well-known as a summary of the various mentions of different angels found in scripture. In one of his homilies St. Gregory writes:
“We know on the authority of Scripture that there are nine orders of angels, viz., Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. That there are Angels and Archangels nearly every page of the Bible tells us, and the books of the Prophets talk of Cherubim and Seraphim. St. Paul, too, writing to the Ephesians enumerates four orders when he says: ‘above all Principality, and Power, and Virtue, and Domination’; and again, writing to the Colossians he says: ‘whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers’. If we now join these two lists together, we have five Orders, and adding Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, we find nine Orders of Angels.”
This description is in no way definitive, but it does help bring home for us the reality that there is a whole society of spiritual beings that surround us who we are invited to befriend. Just as we find a beautiful diversity of different talents, abilities, and personalities among ourselves, we would expect to find the same among the angels. That is why, in the Chaplet, each choir is invoked distinctly, so that we engage spiritually with the whole heavenly realm in asking for their help. God delights in creating and also delights when His creatures share with one another in the spiritual life. His creation of the angels in all of their different ranks and roles is another sign to us of His goodness and generosity as He invites us to be a part of this great spiritual family.
Have a blessed week, Fr. Michael