“Worthy are you to receive the scroll and break open its seals, for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth.” (Rv 5: 9-10)
We are so important to our God, the Father. We are purchased for God with the Blood of Our Lord. No one is excluded: “from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.” And Our Lord gives us a new identity: “a kingdom and priests for our God.”
“The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place.” ( Entrance Antiphon)
“Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.” (Rev 4: 11)
With the Book of Revelation, we have the access to the Liturgy in Heaven. All the celestial liturgy is based on adoration of God, who is a Communion of Persons. Our God exists in Three Persons and invited us to be together with Him.
One of my favourite ways in which this is expressed is in the Vatican II Constitution Dei Verbum (No. 2) on the 18th of November 1965: “the invisible God out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends and lives among them, so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself.” We were created by God’s love to be with Him Who is Creator and our Father; Who is the Son and our Redeemer, and Who is the Holy Spirit – the Giver of life.
“The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place.” (Entrance Antiphon)
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3: 20)
He comes to our houses; He does not wait on His throne and in His majesty but stands at the door and knocks. And His knock is very delicate; it is possible to drown out the knocking when our TV is too loud or our computer is working on top speed. He waits for our invitation, but when invited He will enter our house and dine with us and will be with us as a very special guest.
“God loved us, and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Let us love one another. For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk.”
Sometimes we forget that the commandments are not to forbid us or to take something from us, but are for love. “Love one another” is the shortest summary of The Old and New Testament.
St. John Paul II reminds us that in Jesus Christ, God the Father loves us humanly. We prayed in the Collect: “clothe us, Lord God, with the virtues of the Heart of your Son and set us aflame with his love.” This is the only reason Our Lord was sent to us, to assure us that we are loved. Whoever experiences rejection, violence, lack of tenderness and loneliness should come to His Heart. And whoever has done anything wrong, has hurt anybody or has done something that they still feel ashamed of should come to His Heart. Bl. Pope Paul VI again reminds us: “for when He came, not to judge, but to save the world, was He not bitterly severe toward sin, but patient and abounding in mercy toward sinners? Husbands and wives, therefore, when deeply distressed by reason of the difficulties of their life, must find stamped in the heart and voice of their priest the likeness of the voice and the love of our Redeemer.” (HV, 29) Our Lord will never leave us alone in our need: He will send us consolation; maybe we will receive a phone call from a friend, or the daily reading will bring us comfort.
“Thus says the Lord: Let whoever is thirsty come to me and drink. Streams of living water will flow from within the one who believes in me.” (Communion Antiphon)
“I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother. Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I rather urge you out of love…” (Phlm 1: 7-9)
Whatever we do out of love touches Our Lord’s heart. We can do things properly; we can do things joyfully, or we can do things heartily. The same thing was done, but our attitude is different, and we can change the way in which we respond to each other. Our Lord urges us today to be with Him and with our brothers and sisters in a very new way.
“Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends.” (Communion Antiphon)
“But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” (Tt 3: 4-7)
We are created by God’s love, not by God’s reason, or His Divine will. Created by “the kindness and generous love of God,” consequentially, when we have sinned, He saves us ‘through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” not “because of any righteous deeds” we do but because of his mercy. Created by “generous love” and redeemed by merciful love, we spread the Good News about our identity: we are His beloved children. Blessed Pope Paul VI reminds us, “Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realize that it takes its origin from God, who ‘is love,’ the Father ‘from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.’” (HV, 8) We are His children, beloved and always protected.
“In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” (Lk 17: 10)
It is about reward and it is about gratitude: reward, because humility is more profitable in the end than pride, and gratitude, because whatever we have, we receive from God: our nature, talents, gifts and abilities. When we do things because of our love for God, we see the smallness of our words and deeds; pure gift is always unconditional. Like in marriage: “Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.” (HV 9)
“Amen, I say to you: Whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did it for me, says the Lord.” (Communion Antiphon)
“And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” (Lk 17: 4)
Our Lord brings us in the New Testament a new civilization of love and life. The Old Testament says: “If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” (Gen, 4: 15), the New Testament—“you should forgive him” even if “he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry.’” The important part of this new rule is: “and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry’”. We have to learn how to say, “I am sorry,” and we should learn how to forgive. There is no forgiveness without repentance, and there is no mercy without magnanimity.
“Shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the world of life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3: 10-11.16)
Like every building depends on the foundation, we also “must be careful how we build upon it.” If the foundation is only for a shack, how can we expect that someone will be able to build a skyscraper upon it, and vice versa—if our foundation is for a skyscraper, why did we just build upon it a garage? We are temples of God, built upon a unique foundation—Our Lord himself, “namely, Jesus Christ” and
“the Spirit of God dwells in” us. The higher we go, the better we are.
“Be built like living stones, into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.” (Communion Antiphon)
“I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.
I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” (Phil 4, 12-14)
We know how often our lives change. Losing job or health, moving to different places, being dependent on others, and so many other circumstances are a real challenge. There is a secret we can learn: “of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need”—trust Our Lord who takes care of us. “Through him who empowers me,” I have strength for everything.
“Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his power you might become rich.” (Gospel Acclamation)
