Day 5: The choir of the Virtues

The fifth day of the Saint Michael Novena petitions through the choir of the Virtues and asks for the grace of courage in trial.

The Virtues

The Virtues (in Greek dynameis, "powers" or "mighty ones") are the fifth choir of angels. They are mentioned in Saint Paul's hierarchy of heavenly powers (Ephesians 1:21) and in the Catholic patristic tradition are identified as the angels who execute the great works of grace in the lives of the faithful and in the natural world.

The Virtues are characterized by the bestowal of strength to endure. They are the angels who carry grace into the moments of trial, sustaining the soul that would otherwise falter.

The grace of Day 5

Today we ask through the intercession of Saint Michael and the Virtues for the grace of courage in trial: that when we face the difficulties of the Catholic life, when persecution comes for the faith, when the cross is heavy, we may be strengthened by the same grace that sustained the martyrs, the saints, and the angels in their warfare.

Prayer

Saint Michael the Archangel, by your intercession and that of the choir of the Virtues, obtain for us courage in our trials. Be present in the moments when our faith is tested. Strengthen what is weak, and lift up what is fallen, that we may persevere in the Catholic faith to the end.

O Lord God, You who give strength to the weary and increase the strength of the powerless, sustain us. Amen.

Conclude with one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.