God has not made all the angels alike. We know from the Scriptures that there are distinctions which we do not exactly understand. Some are angels, others archangels, others dominations, virtues, etc. St. Jerome writes, “Among the invisible creatures there is a manifold and an indefinite diversity.” It is natural to suppose that not only did God exert His omnipotence in the production of myriads of beautiful spirits, not only did He make them the most perfect of their kind for the purpose for which they were intended, but that He also diversified them. God almighty not only gave these intellectual beings existence, but He also gave them a knowledge by which, with their own intelligence, [pg 408] they could rise to a most exalted contemplation of His infinity. What glory do not these intelligent beings bring to God's throne! What beautiful homage do they not pour forth in His presence! What exultation there must be in their study of God, constantly discovering something new and unnoticed, going deeper and deeper into the depths of the wonders of God! Let us also rejoice with the angels, and love to study the adorable perfections of God: let us be fond of reading of and hearing about God.
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.
Fifth Day.
The angels speak to one another, and their conversation is concerning holy things. The Scriptures tell us that the seraphim cry “one to another, Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts.”—Isa. vi. 3. The angels also speak to God in prayer and adoration; they praise His power, they extol His majesty, they beseech His clemency, they consult His wisdom. And they can also speak to men, as the archangel Gabriel did to Mary. Faber tells us, in wonderful words, what he thought of the power of the angels: “Cast your eye over that outspread ocean, whose shores lie so faintly and far off in the almost infinite distance. It gleams like restless silver, quivering with life, and yet such multitudinous life! It flashes the light with intolerable magnificence. Its unity is numberless, its life is purest light. Into the bosom of its vastness the glory of God shines down, and the universe is illuminated with its refulgence. [pg 409] It is an ocean of life. Who can count the sum of being that is there? Who but God can fathom its unsearchable caverns? What created eye but is dazzled with the blazing splendor of its capacious surface? Grand storms of voiceless praise hang over it forever, whose very silence thrills the soul of the human saints.”
Prayer.
O angel of God, etc., etc.