In synaxim archangelorum

For the Synaxis of the Archangels. It is fitting to praise the angels. For they themselves, hymning the Creator, render him propitious and benevolent toward men. By angels I mean our allies, those who campaign against the opposing powers, among whom is the archangel Michael, who opposed the devil on behalf of the body of Moses and resisted the ruler of the Persians for the freedom of the people; he is the one who overturned the ass and restrained Balaam from his absurd madness, and since the seer did not perceive what was happening, the voice of a beast brought the rational man to his senses; he is the one who drew his sword and urged Joshua son of Nun to engage the enemy; he is the one who struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians in a single night, joining death to the sleep of the barbarians; he is the one who transported the prophet Habakkuk through the air with a leap, so that he might give food to the prophet Daniel among the lions who had not tasted. These, then, and those like them, are against enemies, and they also excel against the passions. Such was the marvelous and divine Raphael, who through the dissection of a single fish healed a demon-possessed maiden and crafted light for a blind old man. Nor are those who served the New Covenant unworthy of silence, among whom a great part is the archangel Gabriel, who gave an oracle to Zechariah and exacted silence for his disbelief, because he did not believe that the barren woman would conceive on account of the coming economy; who announced to the holy Mary the unwedded birth pangs.

the one who led the shepherds to the cave, and announced the uncontainable in a manger, the uncircumscribed in swaddling clothes, sending up to them a hymn of doxology in harmony: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. Another prevented the magi from setting out against the tyrants; and they ministered on earth to the Creator. Another admonished the betrothed of the Virgin not to dismiss her as corrupted, though she was undefiled. Another suggested to him a return from flight because of Herod’s slaughter of the infants. And though they beheld the uncreated in the flesh, they ministered in a servile manner. For they marveled at his power, through which the tempter fell, and according to the voice of David, they lifted him up on their hands and carried him outside the range of the stones. For, it says, the Jews took up stones to throw at him. Others attended the Passion; others, after the Resurrection, sitting by the empty tomb, said to the faithful women, Why do you seek the living among the dead? After the Ascension, they served as bodyguards to the disciples, loosening Peter’s bonds, lightening Paul’s dangers on land and sea, mediating for the faith of Cornelius, striking down the boastful Herod, the slayer of the just. Are they not, then, worthy of the greatest honor, who guide our life? For not only were angels appointed to guard nations, as the saying proclaims: When the Most High divided the nations, it says, as he scattered the sons of Adam, he set boundaries of nations according to the number of angels of God; but also to each of men an angel was allotted.

The word is not mine, but that of divine Scripture. For when the servant girl Rhoda announced to the apostles that Peter, having escaped Herod's prison, stood at the door, they, disbelieving, said, "It is his angel." And the Saviour also bears witness to these things, speaking about the small things in life: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you, that their angels in the heavens continually behold the face of my Father in the heavens." And Christ appointed guardian angels over each Church, as he says, revealing to John: "Tell the angel of the Church of Smyrna: I know your poverty and your affliction; but you are rich." What do you say, O Master? I am rich, though I am poor? Why do you enrich me with an empty name? For if I am rich, I am not poor; but if I am poor, how am I rich? For the distance between wealth and poverty is great, as you yourself testify, a great chasm being fixed between the rich man and the poor man. The rich man turns away from the beggar, the beggar is looked askance at by the rich man. The circumstances are opposite, life is uneven. For one groans over his sufferings, the other exults in his pleasures; this one prays to obtain bread, that one gorges himself to excess; this one cannot afford a cup of wine, that one, drunk and drenched, vomits up his intoxication; this one is wrapped in rags, that one is adorned with variegated garments; this one lies sleepless on the ground, that one, on a bed, snores, dreaming of luxury; this one begs for a small coin, that one is buried in gold. For he who hoards and does not distribute resembles a poor man awaiting a wealthy burial.

But perhaps they do not even rejoice in the seasons. For winter is harsh for the poor man who has no warmth, and summer is troublesome for the rich man who cannot bear the heat due to surfeit. How then is the same man both poor and rich? The saying is true, and so is the speaker. They are poor because of lack of money, but rich because of the treasures of faith. It is better to be poor in worldly things and rich in spiritual things; for the end of the former is corruption, while the gain of the latter is inalienable. For this reason the Son says, "Do not store up treasures on the earth," calling us to store up heavenly treasures, to feed the poor, to visit the sick, to shelter the unsheltered, to release insolvent debtors, and to demand the loan from God. For he who pities the poor lends to God. For the angels, seeing these things, report them to the judge of all; and he commands them, saying to the one who does good, "Your prayers and your alms have gone up as a memorial for you before God." To him be the glory and the power, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.