The Book of Revelation #42

The epilogue hearkens back to the prologue. St. John is presented as the recipient of a prophecy to the Church and the Lord reminds us all that he is to come and he is coming. In fact, the Greek variation on these two words "ecromai" is repeated seven times in chapter 22.

But what does "the coming of the Lord" means? Does it mean the final and glorious coming of Jesus when He will judge the living and the dead? Yes, it does, but does it mean only that?

In Catholic theology, the "coming" of the Lord is a daily happening. It is not merely symbolic or equivalent to God's omnipresence; rather it is substantial, real, material, and tangible: the Eucharistic meal that recapitulates and proclaims the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

This does not mean however that Catholicism merely "reduces" the Book of Revelation to the Mass; it means instead that the Book of Revelation reveals to us the unfathomable riches hidden in the Liturgy and teaches us the proper way in which God ought to be worshiped.

In the final analysis, the Mass is this song of Love reminiscent of the Song of Songs where the Heavenly court of the Divine King is open and where his children come to glorify God, make their petitions known, and partake at the Heavenly banquet. In return, God makes his decree known and Christ continues to rule over the world (the intent behind his coming) for the greater good of His Church.

The Book of Revelation is as much the Revelation of Jesus Christ as it is His Church.

The Book of Revelation #41

This last major vision reveals the bride as seen from Heaven. Because the Catholic understanding of Scripture is rooted in the Church and because the Mystical Body of Christ is already glorious, we understand this vision to be a heavenly perspective on the one-and-only Church of Jesus Christ: the Catholic Church.

The Mystical Body of Christ is one, holy, catholic and apostolic on Earth as it is in Heaven. Thus, this bond of unity and love extends throughout the ages and what St. John saw some 2,000 years ago is as relevant and true today as it will be at the end of time.

The uniting bond of love that joins the first vision, that of Christ walking within the particular churches of Chapter 2 and 3 and the heavenly Jerusalem is the Eucharist through which one is transformed into the other -- earthly into heavenly, human into the divine and this process is guided by Providence, the hidden rule of Christ. Thus the book of Revelation witnesses this act of transformation that is on-going throughout history and that can be only comprehended when one realizes the centrality of the Church in the plan of salvation that Christ inaugurated in his incarnation, life, death, and resurrection.

The Book of Revelation #40

Few ideas inflame the imagination as that of the Millennium -- the tantalizing possibility of a 1,000 year of peace on Earth under the visible and perfect Kingship of Jesus Christ.

While Catholics for the most part have been blissfully ignorant of the passionate debate the Millennium engenders in Protestant circles, they are also for the most part unaware of its profound impact on the practice of their faith and the importance of the Mass they participate in.

Highlight

1. What do the words "pit", "chain" and "key" have in common?
2. How did the Jewish and early Christians, contemporaries of St John understand these words?
3. How are we to understand the numeral "1000"?