14. The Third Hierarchy

The spirits of the third hierarchy are considered as entrusted by God with what we may call executive powers. They act upon the external world more directly than the other orders, and, as we gather from Holy Scripture, act as guides, directors, messengers, in carrying out the divine decrees regarding this world. The first of these three choirs is that of the Principalities. We assign to this class such spirits as the one whom the Prophet Daniel calls the “Prince of the Kingdom of the Persians.” These are the angels who have the guardianship of kingdoms and peoples; and they are endowed accordingly with wisdom, force, and authority for that purpose. When men are entrusted with preeminence under God, they too frequently employ it for their own private advantage; they forget that they are the servants of God and the people, and place their interests above the claims of morality and religion; they exalt themselves as if there were no God above them, and enforce their will as if there were no hereafter. On the other hand the characteristic of the celestial Principalities is the purity of intention with which they use their powers, seeking not themselves, but the glory of God and the utility of His creatures. Take care to employ with similar conscientiousness and unselfishness whatever preeminence you have received from God over others.

The Archangels are described by one of them, Raphael, as “the seven who stand before the Lord” (Job xii. 18). They appear to be the immediate chiefs of the last order of heavenly spirits, to be entrusted with the more important missions to men, and to be possessed of a more abundant grace, and splendour, and power. We learn from Holy Writ that the Archangel Michael was the leader of the hosts of heaven in the primeval contest between good and evil, when Satan and his followers revolted against their Maker and were cast out from His presence (Apoc. xii. 7). Daniel calls him “the great Prince who standeth for the children of the people” (Dan. xii. 1). He was the protector of the Church of the Old Testament, and now of its successor the Church Catholic. The Archangel Raphael was sent to Tobias in order to exemplify the great doctrine of the angels being the instruments of God’s Providence towards men. The Archangel Gabriel was entrusted with the messages from God to those concerned with the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. Pay due homage to those great spirits. Glorify God on account of them. Implore their powerful assistance.

The Angels, in the specialized sense of the word, are the lowest of the nine choirs of blessed spirits; to all of whom, however, the name is applied in a general sense. These are the ordinary messengers of God, so often mentioned in the Old and New Testaments; and to them is committed the guardianship of individual men. They are “all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation” (Heb. i. 14). Although they are the lowest of the celestial spirits and inferior to many others in their endowments, yet they far surpass in intelligence, and holiness, and power, and beauty, all that we can conceive; so that those to whom they appeared sometimes thought they had seen the Divinity Itself (Judg. xiii. 22). The virtues that most strike us in them are their humility in undertaking lowly tasks, such as the guardianship of vile beings so inferior to themselves; their contentment with such duties; their devotion towards their Master, which makes them feel that nothing done for His sake can be ignoble; and the perfection and exactness with which they carry out His smallest commands. How pleasing to God is such service, and how glorious. Endeavour to serve Him in the same spirit.