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They found him sitting on the floor beside her, in a cold room that had the smell of death. His body was marred with ugly…
Ariel straightened his halo, smoothed his left wing (which had a tendency to curl up on the end) and checked his lamp for the twelfth…
Ariel straightened his halo, smoothed his left wing (which had a tendency to curl up on the end) and checked his lamp for the twelfth time. The Prince of Heaven himself would be passing by soon, and Ariel was determined this time to be noticed. He had served in St. Michael's court for as long as he could remember. It seemed as long as Eternity, although he couldn't be sure, and the time had long passed for the Lamp Bearer, as he was known by rank and occupation, to move up in the world. All of his friends said so. "You have to push yourself forward, Ariel," they would say. "No one will promote you unless you do your part." So, he performed all of his flying lessons as prescribed by the Angelic Court and received very high marks, and studied all the manuals on "Keeping Your Lamp Lit," and "The Most Important Things to Know About Heaven," hoping to be noticed by someone. Most especially Ariel longed to be noticed by the Prince of Heaven himself, the great warrior and Archangel, St. Michael. Ariel had visited the courts of the other Archangels, Raphael and Gabriel, but only St. Michael's court filled Ariel's heart with awe.
Oh, he thought, to be a warrior like Michael! What a wonderful way to serve the Almighty that was!
Ariel longed to be a warrior and to serve at the side of the great Archangel as did Larian and Oriel, but they only laughed at him if he dared to mention it, and said, "Why you're only a lamp bearer, Ariel, you've set your sights much too high," and they would laugh at him as they passed by on their way to perform some important, and probably secret, mission for the Almighty Himself.
Ariel sighed. Someday, he thought, someday, I’ll be a warrior angel, too.
Suddenly a trumpet sounded and Ariel's heart thudded in his chest. St. Michael was coming! Ariel straightened himself and stood as tall as his four feet would allow, as the giant Archangel passed by, towering overhead. At a full twelve feet, magnificent in form and grace, Michael wore his brilliant golden armor and carried his flaming sword with which he defended the royal throne of God Himself.
"Prince Michael! Prince Michael!" Ariel called, but his small voice was drowned out by the trumpets and the swishing of capes and the noise of footsteps and of swords clanging, as St. Michael's entourage and guards passed by. Soon the golden moment was gone, and the great doors that opened onto the Prince's court closed again, leaving Ariel and a few other minor angels standing at their posts. The hallway grew silent. The Doorkeeper angels glanced over at Ariel and smiled as he hung his head while his halo slipped a little to the left.
That night, in the silence of his little room, Ariel ate his supper of tea and manna, and dreamed of serving at Michaels's right hand. As he climbed into bed he heard a bell sound, the one that called the scribe to Michael’s court. Ariel crept to his door and peeked out from behind it. The court scribe hurried by. Ariel slowly closed his door. Curious, he thought, in the middle of the night? And then he followed quickly and quietly, hoping to find out where the scribe was going.
The scribe hurried down the long hallway. Ariel followed silently, sure that something special was about to happen. The scribe entered the Prince’s council chamber. As the great door closely slowly behind him, Ariel looked in to see the renowned of Heaven, the Archangels Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael. They were standing with several Cherubim and other lesser angels, gathered around Michael’s huge golden desk. Ariel dashed through the door just as it closed and hid in the corner behind a tall lamp stand. No one saw him, for they were intent on what Oriel had to say.
"Tell us what you heard, Oriel," said Michael.
"Lucifer and several of the Seraphim are plotting to take over Heaven." The other angels in the room gasped. "He plans to make his move when the Lord God calls the next Assembly of the Hosts of Heaven. He believes he has the majority of the angels on his side."
Gabriel spoke softly to Michael. "I have heard him say how much he wants to be like God. I never thought he would go this far. He is very ambitious and very dangerous."
"He is very powerful," said Michael. "But we are more powerful because we have the goodness and love of God on our side."
Ariel listened, as quietly as he could, as the great angels before him formed their battle plans to stop Lucifer.
Later that night Ariel lay awake in his bed, thinking of what he should do. Should he talk to other angels about what he had learned? Should he dare to speak to God Himself? No matter how he thought about it, Ariel could not decide. He tossed and turned the rest of the night, until the lovely azure dawn filled the sky of Heaven.
Throughout the day Ariel held his lamp, and thought about what he should do. Before he knew it, the trumpets sounded for the Great Assembly to begin. The Hosts of Heaven assembled around the Throne of God. Ariel took his place among the other lamp bearers and tried to keep his wings from shaking. He saw St. Michael arrive with his flaming sword, flanked by his guardians, Oriel and Larian. The trumpets of Heaven sounded, and all knelt as the brilliant Essence of God filled the Throne Room.
"I have assembled you here today that you may witness My will for the universe."
Suddenly before them the image of a young maiden appeared. She was no more than fourteen, holding an infant sleeping in her arms. She was beautiful and her serene face was at peace. She wore the traditional Hebrew robes of her station, and her babe was wrapped in swaddling clothes.
"What is this?" Lucifer rose from his throne and pointed at the human girl. "Why have you shown us this vision?"
"This is My Beloved Son," the Almighty answered, "and she who is His mother. It is My will that all of the Heavenly Hosts serve My Son and His mother."
Lucifer shivered with rage. "This is outrageous! She is human and made of matter. This babe you say is Your son is also made of matter. How can you ask for an angel, especially an angel like me, to serve matter? I am Lucifer. My name means Light Bearer. I am the most beautiful, the most perfect, the most powerful angel in Heaven. I should be chosen to be Your Son and Heir, not that human baby. I should be the one chosen!"
God answered Lucifer calmly. "If you will not serve My Son, then you will be cast out of Heaven."
Lucifer pulled himself up to his full height of twelve feet, and the angels around him stood and loosened their swords. He screamed, red-faced, and shook his fist at God. "I WILL NEVER SERVE HER OR HER SON! I will sit on my own throne above Your stars." Then he turned to the other angels. "I will be above the clouds. Join me and you will be exalted above all! Join me and you will be above creation!" Then he turned to God and said the words that condemned him to Hell, “I will be like the Most High! I WILL BE GOD!"
The good angels trembled with fear at this blasphemy. St. Michael stood before the throne of God and shouted, "See his treachery? See how he exalts himself above the Most High? You know me! You know I serve the Almighty! Join with me now and aid me to clean Heaven of this sinful pride-filled angel! Join with me to serve the Most High, for WHO IS LIKE UNTO GOD?"
With this, the armies of angels who were secretly serving Lucifer drew their swords and charged into the good angels that rallied behind St. Michael. The Prince of the Angels drew his flaming sword and with great swipes vanquished many of the bad angels. A great fissure opened in space and time and Lucifer was plunged into the Pit of Hell with all of the angels serving him who were now demons.
As St. Michael turned toward the Throne of God to declare the demons gone from Heaven, a small demon, holding onto the edge of the Pit, climbed up and crept toward the foot of the great Prince as he stood upon the first step of God’s Throne. Ariel, who had crept away in fear when the fighting started, saw from his hiding place that the great Prince did not see the demon moving toward him. Enflamed with love for Michael and forgetting the danger to himself, Ariel crept forward.
"No! I will not let you do this to Michael! NO!" And he grabbed a small sword from the floor of Heaven and thrust it into the side of the demon as the demon raised himself up to stab the back of the great Prince.
"What?" Prince Michael turned at the commotion and saw that Ariel had killed the dreadful demon. "Ariel! What did you do?" Michael helped him to his feet.
"He was going to hurt you, Michael. I didn't know what else to do!" Ariel hung his head, certain he was to be punished for presuming to take part in the battle between the good and bad angels.
"Ariel, come forward." The Voice of God filled Heaven. Ariel smoothed his left wing that was curling up at the end and stepped forward slowly, his halo slipping a little to the left.
"What you did was very dangerous, Ariel," God said.
"I know, Lord, and I'm sorry." Ariel swallowed, fighting back his tears.
"What you did was for the love of St. Michael. Therefore, because you have risked yourself to help another, you will be rewarded for your courage and love. Come here, little angel."
Ariel climbed the huge steps that led to the Throne of God. He was almost overcome by the bright light that shone from the face of the Almighty Himself. When he reached the throne he knelt down, a tiny sparkle in an ocean of light.
God reached down and touched his cheek. Ariel looked up and saw, not blinding light, but the kindly face of the Father. "Here is your new halo, Ariel. Now you will be the Guardian of St. Michael the Archangel." And the Father placed the halo on Ariel's head with His own hands, one that fit just right.
The good angels who now filled Heaven erupted into joyous praise and sang canticles to the goodness of God. Ariel raised himself up to his full height, all four feet, and ran down the steps to take his place at Michael's side. St. Michael smiled down at him and with his own hand, drew a small piece of flame from his great sword.
"Here is your sword, Ariel," said Michael, and he handed the flaming blade to the little angel. "Now you have what you wanted most, to be a soldier of Heaven."
The End
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