The Feast of All Saints 2018: The Angels

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Since the fall of the holy Angels was to be made good by their dealings with men, and for this reason they rejoice in the conversion of sinners, longing for the salvation of men, and willingly submit themselves to the will (of men), we must likewise raise our prayers up to them. Oh! if someone had his eyes open, as the prophet by praying opened up those of his servant (4 Kings 6, 17-20), he would see how princes go forth joined with singers (Psalm 67, 26), he would see with what care and solemnity they dance among them, are present to their prayers, are in the midst of their meditations, surround them as they rest, guide those that rule and serve. Therefore, since we know that they so graciously visit those who lie in dung and mud, and joyfully gather them into the heavenly fatherland, it is worthy that we strive to invite them to the joy of our solemnity.

The Cantoria, or Cantors’ Gallery of Florence Cathedral, by Donatello, 1433-38, now kept in the Cathedral Museum. (Public domain image from Wikimedia)

This somewhat opaque passage seems to require a brief translator’s note, since the very clever rhetoric of the Latin original does not translate well into English. The words of Psalm 67, “Praevenerunt principes conjuncti psallentibus – Princes went before joined with singers ” are understood to mean Angels joined to the choirs of men as the latter sing God’s praises. In Latin, each of the verbs that follows, describing the actions of the Angels (“they dance… guide them”) is a compound of the verb “esse – to be”: “intersint cantantibus, adsint orationibus, insint meditantibus, supersint quiescentibus, ordinantibus et procurantibus praesint.” This beautifully expresses the idea that in every aspect of our religious life, we accompanied by the presence of the Holy Angels.