Revelation 7:13-17

“And one of the ancients answered, and said to me: ‘These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? And whence came they?’ And I said to him: ‘My Lord, thou knowest.’ And he said to me: ‘These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them. They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.’”

An elder then comes and gives a leading question to St. John, inviting him deeper into the mystery, for God desires to give His whole Heart and knowledge of Himself to you, Theophila, and always invites you to more: “’Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?’ He saith to them: ‘Come and see’” (John 1:38-39). After letting his hand be held along the way, it is told to St. John that it is those that come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Now, this does not necessarily refer to martyrdom, but rather, deep union with God is attained by carrying the cross with love: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24), but by letting themselves be loved and carried by grace through these times, they have put aside the scourges of sin and imperfection, instead being animated totally by love: “Let all your things be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). To the one called to a deep love, it is said, “Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as fire” (Daniel 12:10), but the white robes of perfection will be handed to the one that truly loves, that let Jesus in His grace take away their stains and mold them into something truly beautiful: “I am doing a great work” (2 Esdras 6:3). It is the New Covenant look at ritual cleansing: “And the priest taking of the blood of the victim that was immolated for trespass, shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot” (Leviticus 14:14), with the love of Jesus, expressed in the shedding of His blood, cleansing the mind by hearing His words of love, actions by always doing what is loving, and one’s entire walk of life by orienting it to love of Him rather than anything that came before: “As Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). You wash your robes, Theophila, by perpetually turning to Jesus, letting your will be guided by the Holy Spirit by doing the greatest act of love you see in front of you, persevering through all that the enemy may send at you: “Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just one hath upheld thee” (Isaias 41:10). To stand before His throne is to contemplate His divinity, wrapped in the inexplicable magnificence of the source of all good, the essence of love: “When he passed before him, he said: ‘O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true” (Exodus 34:6), singing His praises from an outpouring of love: “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion” (Psalm 147:12), never ceasing from the delightful exchange of love in a mutual gift of self to one another, instead loving and being loved in the eternal present, which is what is represented by “day and night.” This will come with an utter security, the knowledge that nothing good will be taken away, and there is nothing to attain, thus He will dwell over them. Or, this can mean that it is the deep knowledge that you are loved covering you at all times: “He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust” (Psalm 90:4). This love will not come with any kind of suffering, free to savor the beauty of perfect love, not feeling any kind of physical, mental, or spiritual need, but with a perfectly contented and loved body, free to love and be loved. The Lamb, who is said to be in the midst of the throne, because the throne is the Church of saints, among whom He walks while still being God, will lead them to the waters of life, which is the refreshment of love, ruling His people with love, that they may be drawn by the greatest of motivators: “Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (Canticle 1:3). Then is the beautiful consolation that He will wipe away every tear, for He sees all that you have suffered, are suffering, and will suffering, and with deep compassion will give you your reward for your faithfulness, even through the wars against your soul, with all sorrow and hurt forgotten, that you may give yourself fully to His love.

Revelation 7:9-12

“After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands: and they cried with a loud voice, saying: ‘Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb.’ And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, saying: ‘Amen. Benediction and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’”

There is a universal nature to God’s people, for all are loved and called to the heights of this love, but few are willing to do what it takes to attain it in its fulness: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee” (Psalm 90:7). Even still, throughout Church history, there are many that at least did the minimum, welcoming the truth and loving God to the point of dying in the state of grace, as little as this may be: “Take heed you go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount dying he shall die” (Exodus 19:12), and this can fill the Christian with wonder, that from a marginalized community in the first century expanded into a Church of billions that wrap the world in love: “Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world” (Psalm 18:5). This great multitude stands before the throne and the Lamb wearing white robes, as mentioned before a color of victory, for they retained their state of grace, their divine indwelling, their light of love, through temptation and affliction. They also hold palm branches, which are symbols taken from the Feast of Tabernacles: “And you shall take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God” (Leviticus 23:40). The Feast of Tabernacles was a remembrance of the desert exile after being freed from Egypt, and was primarily to remember God’s provision through a grueling, seemingly impossible sojourn through the wilderness: “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people? …[He] rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven” (Psalm 77:20-24). This palm branch then shows how God provided for His little ones in their sojourn on earth, giving them the grace they needed to overcome all the afflictions of life to enter into their rest: “Let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest; lest any man fall into the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:11). Even during the greatest trials, Theophila, God is providing for you, giving you His love and His grace that you may be His, never drawing back His help, but is the hand that upholds you in times when you could not uphold yourself: “Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever” (Psalm 54:23). This great multitude then sings praises to God, which is an invitation to you, Theophila, to begin the life of a seraph on earth, singing praises to God in your heart perpetually: “Praise ye the Lord in his holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power” (Psalm 150:1), for the little song of love draws the heart into rejoicing, seasoning it with affection, that will only draw further praises and joy out. Their song is one of gratitude for salvation and victory and the graces necessary to attain such things, for a little and humble heart that is truly grateful for the gifts it receives is a beautiful thing, and where ingratitude is repulsive, sincere gratitude is beautiful: “In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When this is given to God for all His graces and mercies, giving you the gift of His love when you were writhing in sin: “I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy ignominy. And I swore to thee, and I entered a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God: and thou becamest mine” (Ezechiel 16:8), it is of a particular importance, and it is becoming, Theophila, to give thanks always, for the trials that sharpen you, which is represented by the south wind, and the graces that draw you forward in love, which is the north wind: “Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow” (Canticle 4:16). Thus, the multitude recognizes that salvation is of the Lord, His gift of love being the only thing that drew them out of the pit: “Therefore he hath mercy on whom he will; and whom he will, he hardeneth” (Romans 9:18), with the saint called to pray for this crown to be placed on as many heads as possible: “I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1). The angels, with the elders and four living creatures fall before the throne join with the love song of the multitude to form one harmonic choir, saying “Amen” to what the multitude said before adding their own doxology that all that is God comes from God, and it is His love that gives what is good to all people.

Revelation 7:1-8

“After these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: ‘Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda, were twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Aswer, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Zabulon, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand signed.”

The angels, who defend the lovers of God, stand on the four corners of the earth, representing the whole earth, holding back the four winds, which in Daniel are linked with the beasts that would oppress God’s people: “I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the heavens strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea” (Daniel 7:2); “And the he goat became exceeding great: and when he was grown, the great horn was broken, and there came up four horns under it towards the four winds of heaven” (Daniel 8:8). These winds are the afflictions that will disperse the things of earth down to the very foundations: “And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven: and I will scatter them into all these winds: and there shall be no nation, to which the fugitives of Elam shall not come” (Jeremias 49:36). As the sun rises, so too does the beauty of the angel rise that bears the seal of the living God, which is the sign of the cross, by which the Christian is sealed. To refuse to make the sign of the cross before others is to show shame for one’s Christianity: “He that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:22), whereas to make it often and joyfully is a mark of love. Or, the winds of adversity, trial, and confusion from the devil putting forth goods that are not meant for you are all held back until you have sufficiently drunk of first love, that you may be able to bear the heavy burden with love in your heart: “And she began the song to them, saying: ‘Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and his rider he hath thrown into the sea.’ And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days through the wilderness, and found no water” (Exodus 15:21-22). The land is what is familiar, the sea being the means of travel and connection with others, and the trees, so necessary for ancient life, being the means of living, and going without these things without love to carry the weight is torture, therefore, the mind and heart must be strengthened by much meditation on the Scriptures and love of God before God would ask these things of His beloved: “Trust not thyself to a rugged way, lest thou set a stumblingblock to thy soul” (Ecclesiasticus 32:25). As for the seal itself, it calls from the book of Ezekiel: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusaelm: and mark Thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh, and mourn for all the abominations that are committed in the midst thereof” (Ezechiel 9:4), and is representative of the signing of the Holy Spirit: “In whom you also, after you had heard the word of truth, (the gospel of your salvation;) in whom also believing, you were signed with the holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), indicative of spiritual maturity and to walk in love and truth: “My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth” (1 John 3:18). The number 144,000 is symbolic, as twelve multiplied by twelve multiplied by a thousand has multiple indications. The first is the number twelve represents the entirety of God’s people, represented by the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles, and the two multiplied by each other shows the gathering of those who walked in virtue and justice in the old covenant, and those who loved in the new. The number of a thousand then shows a great multitude, a great sign of completion, the army of those who truly loved in their lives, for 1,000 was also the largest military unit in Israel. The great multitude of Israel in the desert were gathered in formation around the ark of the covenant as a massive force, and the twelve thousand from each tribe brings this forward in a particular way, such as when the men of fighting age were counted in the book of numbers: “These are they who were numbered by Moses and Aaron, and the twelve princes of Israel, every one by the houses of their kindreds. And the whole number of the children of Israel by their houses and families, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go to war, were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men” (Numbers 1:44-45). This numbering then, is a call to warfare, to be a great soldier of love. In Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, the love-driven Lancelot hesitates to enter a dishonorable form of travel to rescue his beloved, for which she later spurns him, not being zealous for love, but letting his own dignity as a knight hinder him. As a soldier for Love Itself, then, you are called to be all the more eager and legendary, letting nothing trip you up or hold you back in your zeal for your Beloved: “If thou go out to war against thy enemies, and see horsemen and chariots, and the numbers of the enemy’s army greater than thine, thou shalt not fear them: because the Lord thy God is with thee, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 20:1). The seal itself is to rid you of all fear, for the ease of sin is terrifying, and the thought of offending the Beloved can lead to crippling scruples, but trust, Theophila, that Jesus is keeping you safe in His arms, even when you cannot feel it: “For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 90:11). As for the laying out of the tribes, St. John begins with Juda, for this is the tribe from which Christ came: “The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations” (Genesis 49:10). Juda also means “confession,” for to begin on the spiritual life is to confess Christ and confess one’s sins, orienting oneself instead to love. In falling in love, there is a desire for spiritual children in the salvation of souls, and so Reuben, who means “seeing the son,” is a desire to see the manifestations of one’s love of God in spiritual children: “Thy children as olive plants, round about thy table” (Psalm 127:3). This comes through prayer and action, which are taken up by the one that desires to ascend the mountain to perfection in love: “The Lord came down upon mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof” (Exodus 19:20). Then follows the tribe of Gad, which means “temptation,” for what is natural in the life of grace is a time of incredible interior trial, that after purification from sin: “I will clean purge away thy dross, and I will take away all thy tin” (Isaias 1:25) comes a reforming of your very nature from a lump of gold into a masterpiece. It is a time of learning to let yourself be loved and docilly transformed, which itself fights the human tendency to grasp and do things oneself: “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 80:11). All this is while the lower desires and the enemy come forward to attempt to hinder you and deceive you, but to remain faithful and emerge from this grueling trial will render one blessed, thus Asher follows, which means “blessed,” and to emerge from these trials to the mountain of God is to receive the crown of life: “Thou shalt be crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards” (Canticle 4:8). This period of trial then builds compassion, and love for God does not blot out love for others, but rather opens the heart to them, even in the contemplative life, and so Nephtali then follows, which means “enlargement,” for the heart is enlarged to carry the affection of God and the whole world, rather than living for oneself: “The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing” (Psalm 86:7), but simultaneously there is a forgetting of all things behind as you are drawn entirely to your Beloved: “One thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those things that are before” (Philippians 3:13), and thus Manasseh, or “forgetting” follows. When you are entirely wrapped in love, the only thing present being the Lord, the object of your love, who walks freely in your garden without tension, agitation, request, or care, but rather like a Bridegroom walking with His bride in silent love: “Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees” (Canticle 5:1), then you are truly His dwelling place, thus “Simeon,” or “the name of his habitation.” Thus your soul becomes the vineyard of God: “I will sing to my beloved the canticle of my cousin concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a hill in a fruitful place. And he fenced it in” with the commandments of God “and picked the stones out of it,” love being a greater good than sin and therefore happily chosen, “and built a tower in the midst thereof” with heavenly teaching being a mighty tower that sees all things in their order, “and set up a winepress therein” (Isaias 5:1-2), the writings and prayers of the saints yielding a sweet wine of devotion. Next, then, is “Levi,” which means “added,” for grace upon grace is added to the soul in love, love growing more fervent the more it grows, in turn becoming more fervent exponentially. For, after having lived a time in trial and desolation: “[Now when Mardochai hade heard these things, he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, strewing ashes on his head: and he cried with a loud voice in the street in the midst of the city, shewing the anguish of his mind” (Esther 3:1), there is a glorious, heavenly reward of love that descends, the fruits of one labors being far greater than the service rendered, for God will not be outdone in generosity: “The man whom the king desireth to honour, ought to be clothed with the king’s apparel, and to be set upon the horse that the king rideth upon, and to have the royal crown upon his head, and let the first of the king’s princes and nobles hold his horse, and going through the street of the city, proclaim before him and say: ‘Thus shall he be honoured, whom the king hath a mind to honour’” (Esther 6:7-9). This reward is the unhindered gift of the Holy Spirit, and the graces drawn by the soul animated entirely by the Holy Spirit draw all the more graces, and therefore is the name Levi applied to them. This leads to Issachar, which means “reward,” for redeemed life on earth is called to be even greater than life before the fall, with the heart aware that it is loved as if there was no one else on earth: “I to my beloved, and his turning is towards me” (Canticle 7:10), which is the sweetest of rewards. This is given to the little soul, to the one who on their own is nothing, but their heart is full of love, and by their glorious spirit, the primary player in their life being the Holy Spirit, it is shown that their weakness has been made strength, thus Zabulon, which means, “strength is made perfect in weakness,” for in being brought exceedingly low, the humble soul may know that none of the good that they do comes from them, but entirely from God: “Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration” (James 1:17). For the person has been brought to nothing, yet Jesus is fully alive in them, thus: “I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20), and just as the Son brings down graces unfathomable to the human race, the soul united to Him and entirely transformed by love into Christ does the same: “And he prayed again: and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit” (James 5:18), thus it is called “Joseph,” which means “gifts and graces.” This is the seal of love on the one that truly loves Jesus, the one that looks at Him and calls Him “Beloved:” Behold thou art fair, my beloved, and comely” (Canticle 1:15) from the depths of her heart.

Revelation 6:12-17

“And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair: and the whole moon became as blood: and the stars fell upon the earth, as the fig tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind: and the heaven departed as a book folded up: and every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tributes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains: and they say to the mountains and the rocks: ‘Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?’”

The Lord, hearing the prayers of His faithful ones, opens the sixth seal, which points to the crucifixion on the sixth day of the week. It is a response to His martyrs, his little ones, whom He loathes to see so treated: “For it is the day of the vengeance of the Lord, the year of recompenses of the judgment of Sion” (Isaias 34:8), and in this it is shown that even when your prayer is you screaming and crying to God, it is heard: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him: and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 33:7). Now, when you are harmoniously in love with God, all created things seem to be made specifically for you and your happiness: “For all things are yours… all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23), but when this harmony is broken by sin, nature shows its revulsion: “For the creature serving thee the Creator, is made fierce against the unjust for their punishment; and abateth its strength for the benefit of them that trust in thee” (Wisdom 16:24); “And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened” (Luke 23:44-45). From this, the earth opens in disgust at the treatment of God’s people, with the sun then darkening: “And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days” (Exodus 10:22). This is an indication of the seeming lack of God’s intervention on earth, with the ugliness of fallen man being put on full display. In Homer’s Iliad, the first half of the poem shows a war between gentlemen, with many displays of civility, but after the gods pull back their intercession, the warfare becomes more grisly and darker, and this is what is indicated here; the seeming absence of God’s hand due to the prevalence of the misuse of free will allows for the depths of human fallenness, spurred on by the devil, to truly show its ugliness: “And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth” (Ezechiel 16:22); “Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaias 58:1). The moon, which draws its light from the sun, is then a type of man, specifically the Church, which will incur much violence at the hands of those who do not love. This terrifying picture then links into the next image of the stars falling out of the sky, which is indicative of those who abandon their Catholic practices when it becomes difficult, not holding to the love story within, but having stayed at the base of the mountain rather than ascending it for safety: “The children of Israel trust not in their spears, nor in their arrows, but the mountains are their defence, and the steep hills and precipices guard them” (Judith 7:8), are picked off by the trials that overwhelm a faith that does not have the roots of love: “And he that received the seed upon stony ground, is he that heareth the word, and immediately receiveth it with joy. Yet hath he not root in himself, but is only for a time: and when there ariseth tribulation and persecution because of the word, he is presently scandalized” (Matthew 13:20-21). Thus, a mighty wind strikes the fig tree of the Church, and those who have not gone deep into the love of Jesus are shaken off the tree: “I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23). When the heavens are like a book folded up, this shows that the persecution will be so rabid and normalized that prudence will carry her children deeper into their own communities, folding up the mysteries of God to the undesiring outside world and instead drawing her own into a deeper love: “Do good to the humble, and give not to the ungodly: hold back thy bread, and give it not to him, lest thereby he overmaster thee. For thou shalt receive twice as much evil for all the good thou shalt have done to him” (Ecclesiasticus 12:6-7). When all hearts are stone, water will find its way into the open vessels with greater vigor, having no other outlet, and so you are invited, Theophila, to make yourself into a vessel to receive this love: “If any man therefore shall cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and profitable to the Lord, prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). By the mountains he means lofty souls that live in the heights of wisdom and contemplation, with the island being those that enjoy being filled with the good things of God and surrounded by His consolations, even these will retire from their places further from the public eye, knowing that any public labors will be in vain: “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him” (John 7:1). From this, however, there is a glimmer of hope, which is hidden in some difficult language. Judgment is declared on all those who sin: “Judge thy neighbour according to justice” (Leviticus 19:15), but there is an emphasis, besides the bondmen, on the powerful of this world, who are more often than not very weak in virtue and love: “To him that is little, mercy is granted: but the mighty shall be mightily tormented” (Wisdom 6:7). When they ask for the mountains and rocks to fall upon them, on the surface this is because this death is greater than the wrath of God for their iniquities, but the deeper meaning is that, in seeing all things crumble in human hands, many will realize their error and cry out to go into the shadow of the mountains, which are the aforementioned lofty souls, and be guided by their counsel, protected by their prayers, and have them fall upon them in compassion, that they may be led from the scorching sun into the shade of peace: “The sun shall not burn thee by day” (Psalm 120:6). Finally, because the Lord exhorts you: “Watch ye therefore, because you know not what hour your lord will come” (Matthew 24:42), and persecutions, resistance, and evil are always present, it is a call to make yourself into a mountain, to be a great saint in which other souls can nest: “When it is sown, it growth up, and beccometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof” (Mark 4:32).

Revelation 6:9-11

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: ‘How long, O Lord (holy and true) dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’ And white robes were given to every one of them one; and it was said to them, that they should rest for a little time, till their fellow servants, and their brethren, who are to be slain, even as they, should be filled up.”

Upon opening the fifth seal, St. John sees those that, for love and truth, went willingly to death: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). These bear the image of the slain Lamb, being one with Him in His passion, in a particular way fulfilling the words of St. Paul: “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:5), for there is no deeper union with Christ than in being united with Him crucified: “With Christ I am nailed to the cross” (Galatians 2:19). In addition, the martyrs being under the altar is the fulfillment of the old covenant sacrifice, that being poured out as an oblation of love, their lives are a sweet sacrifice to God: “And he shall put of the same blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord, in the tabernacle of the testimony: and the rest of the blood he shall pour at the foot of the altar of holocaust, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony” (Leviticus 4:18), thus making them a sacred offering. Now, in the tabernacle of the desert as well as in the temple there were two altars, one of gold: “Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense, of setim wood… And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold” (Exodus 30:1-2), one of brass: “Thou shalt make also an altar of setim wood, which shall be five cubits long and as many broad, that is, foursquare, and three cubits high. And there shall be horns at the four corners of the same: and thou shalt cover it with brass” (Exodus 27:1-2). The gold represents the heavenly Jerusalem after the resurrection, while the brass represents earth and the time in which souls are separated from their bodies, enjoying the bliss of the beatific vision, but wanting to be rejoined to their bodies in order to complete themselves and share with their body the delights of heaven: “And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). Thus, it is under the altar of brass that the martyrs cry out with a loud voice, which need not be the voice of the mouth, but a deep desire of the heart. While beautiful, it is not necessary for you to sing mightily to connect to God: “Let them praise his name in choir: let them sing to him with the timbrel and the psaltery” (Psalm 149:3), but rather a deep fervor of the heart, reaching out with love’s urgent longings: “Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard at all” (1 Kings 1:13). The martyr’s cry is not the desire of the damnation of their enemies: “Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you” (Matthew 5:44), but out of love for justice, which comes from God: “The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments: God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right” (Deuteronomy 32:4), they pray for an end to the reign of sin and the resurrection of their bodies: “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). In addition, it is a crying out for the actions done against justice, that the actions done against the Church and her people should not be left unpunished, for this is an affront to the very concept of justice, and to keep anyone from taking arms themselves and acting in a way that is not loving, God reserves His action to balance the scales of justice for Himself: “Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: ‘Revenge is mine, I will repay,’ saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Like a Father that loves his children dearly, it is an act of love to show that they will not be idly scourged, but that He will act on their behalf. The martyrs then cry out their love of God in calling Him a Lord that is holy, true, and faithful to His promises, with those that dwell on the earth being a phrase St. John uses to describe those that do not love according to the Spirit, but are wrapped in the things of earth: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16). They are, for their valiance, given white robes, which are indicative of persons of rank: “Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes” (Mark 12:38) with the white showing their victorious holiness, and this is a rejoicing in their immortality, with an even greater reward to come when their souls are reunited with their bodies: “Therefore shall they receive double in their land, everlasting joy shall be unto them” (Isaias 61:7). Then they are told to rest, to enjoy their portion of heavenly joy: “The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds” (Psalm 149:5) as more are added to their ranks, which is a delight to the one that loves: “And the Lord increased daily together such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47), as history nears its conclusion.

Revelation 6:1-8

“And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of thunder, saying: ‘Come, and see.’ And I saw: and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature, saying: ‘Come, and see.’ And there went out another horse that was red: and to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and a great sword was given to him. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: ‘Come, and see.’ And behold a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying: ‘Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the wine and the oil.’ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: ‘Come, and see.’ And behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

The Lamb then goes to open the scroll, with what it contains only being able to be truly seen after opening the seals, unraveling the scroll, and taking in what lies within, so too in mental prayer does it take the aid of Jesus to open the meaning of the text: “’Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest?’ Who said: ‘And how can I, unless some man shew me?’” (Acts 8:30-31), take it into oneself: “[Wisdom] will meet him as an honourable mother, and will receive him as a wife married of a virgin” (Ecclesiasticus 15:2), and thereby enjoy it: “And I took the book from the hand of the angel, and ate it up: and it was in my mouth, sweet as honey” (Apocalypse 10:10), for love is hidden in every passage, if you have the mind and heart to encounter it: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it” (Isaias 55:10-11). At the breaking of the seals, riders come forward that represent different scourges on earthly comfort, showing that all tribulation is in the hand of God, but He hands crosses to His people with a sorrowful heart, knowing that though receiving the bitter medicine is beneficial to them, no one that loves enjoys seeing their beloved struggling: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). The first seal is then opened, and there are seen two interpretations for the rider on the white horse: The first is that the white horse indicates conquest, adorned with regality, authority, and might, the second is that this is representative of Christ’s preachers, who go before great trials of war, famine, and pestilence with arrows of love to be shot from the bow of the Scriptures, that the Holy Spirit may pierce the hearts of their hearers: “For thy arrows are fastened in me” (Psalm 37:3), crowned with the dignity of their holy anointing: “And he poured [oil] upon Aaron’s head, and he anointed and consecrated him” (Leviticus 8:12). Thus, in this context, the hearing of the exposition of the Scriptures is an invitation to come and see the merciful love of God by being pierced by the love that fills His words: “And Jesus turning, and seeing them following him, saith to them: ‘What seek you?’ Who said to him, ‘Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?’ He saith to them: ‘Come and see’” (John 1:38-39). Those that hear are then conquered by love, becoming love’s sweet captive, enthralled with their Beloved: “As the hart panteth after the fountains of water; so my soul panteth after thee, O God. My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God” (Psalm 41:2-3). With this, when trials fall, some flail and curse, which are those that do not know God and expect comfort in the earth, whereas those that receive the words of Christ in docility and in love unite their sufferings to Him: “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church” (Colossians 1:24). In either regard, the second seal is opened, calling forth bloodshed, a horse of war that sheds the blood of martyrs and nations in anything from wars between nations to civil strife, but, from Tertullian’s perspective, this can also represent the war on the passions that ensues after being pierced with the fires of love: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11), that the Word may find His repose in your heart, rather than living in a space cramped with many other desires: “Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels” (Psalm 50:12). While war may carry a great sword, you carry a greater sword, which is the truth and prayer: “For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword: neither did their own arm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with them” (Psalm 43:4). The third horseman represents famine, with the declaration that food costs a day’s wages, with the poor being able to afford nothing but food, and the scale in the hand of the horseman is the weight of one’s merits during times of deprivation, for the true Christian can say: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content therewith. I know both how to be brought low, and I know how to abound: (every where, and in all things I am instructed) both to be full, and to be hungry; both to abound, and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:11-12), whereas human nature, at the very least, murmurs at being without: “Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free cost: the cucumbers come into our mind, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic” (Numbers 11:4-5), though some resort to greater evils than this: “This woman said to me: ‘Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and will eat my son to morrow.’ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day: ‘Give thy son that we may eat him.’ And she hath hid her son” (4 Kings 6:28-29). To love is to give away even what is necessary in times of straits, “If a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him” (Matthew 5:40), knowing that your Abba will take care of you: “Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26). “Not hurting the oil and the wine” is to make sure that one’s spiritual needs are still seen to even when times of physical deprivation or crisis are taking place; that even here, the wine of truth and the oil of love continue to flow through your soul: “But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine” (Luke 10:33-34). Finally, the fourth seal is broken and a pale horse with Death upon it comes forward, and this can represent pestilence or death itself in one regard, satanic forces that still, in the grand scheme of things, kneel to Christ in another, but in a third sense it can be Christians that are outside of the Catholic Church or Catholics that have hard hearts or are not sacramentally healthy, these bear the appearance of the white horse, but are pale and emaciated from the lack of grace and love they receive from a deep relationship with Jesus, bringing death rather than love: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Now, if the four horsemen are taken in the most literal sense: conquest, war, famine, and death with an emphasis on pestilence, it is to be noted that most of these result from human action rather than being a divinely appointed calamity, with many evils coming from a misuse of free will: “But my people heard not my voice: and Israel hearkened not to me. So I let them go according to the desires of their heart: they shall walk in their own inventions” (Psalm 80:12-13), for the will was made to love, not the pursuit of pleasure, self-excellence, or vanity: “Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7). These are permitted that the people on earth may realize that the world is a transport to heaven, not a permanent home, for man was not made to live in a mire of a lack of love: “Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters” (Psalm 68:15), but where there is no inhibition to love, which is heaven.

Revelation 5:11-14

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the ancients; and the number of them was thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction.’ And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them: I heard all saying: ‘To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever.’ And the four living creatures said: ‘Amen.’ And the four and twenty ancients fell down on their faces, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever.”

St. John then hears the voice of many angels beyond the living creatures and the ancients: “Thousand of thousands ministered to him, and then thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him: the judgment sat, and books were opened” (Daniel 7:10). Of important note here is that the liturgy on earth is a mystical participation in the heavenly liturgy, with man truly finding himself in liturgical celebration: “I will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and contention” (1 Timothy 2:8). The angels cry out in a loud voice, just as one in love does not quietly keep their love to themselves, but speaks on the beloved often and boldly: “For Sion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not rest till her just one come forth as brightness, and her saviour be lighted as a lamp” (Isaias 62:1). Because love sees its zenith in the Passion: “It is consummated” (John 19:30), for Jesus went into the fires of the greatest torment one has ever known that He may grasp your soul to be His: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), and therefore He is worthy to receive the love of your soul, heart, mind, and actions, represented by power, riches, wisdom, and strength: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength” (Mark 12:30), which comes by honoring, glorifying, and blessing the Lord in all that you do: “Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). In this translation, however, there is mentioned divinity rather than riches, denoting that the power, divinity, wisdom, and strength are all aspects of God, aspects of love that are seen in the life of Jesus Christ: “Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” (John 14:10). When one is in love, everything that reminds the lover of the beloved fills their hearts with singing, and since all things were created by God, in every created thing can the lover of God find a reminder of their Beloved: “Bless the Lord, all his works: in every place of his dominion, O my soul, bless thou the Lord” (Psalm 102:22), and thus does every creature sing a song of praise to God and the Lamb, who is coequal to the Father: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2), to which all Sacred Scripture points, thus do the elders fall down and declare “amen,” showing that the Word is the Divine Bridegroom who became man and died on the cross, purely from an abundance of love.

Revelation 5:6-10

“And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints: and they sung a new canticle, saying: ‘Thou art worthy O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.’”

The Lamb that faced death like a lion is the Lord: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and the Greek term for “slain” is a person violently killed: “He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth” (Isaias 53:7), or an animal sacrificed for religious purposes: “And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year: according to which rite also you shall take a kid. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month: and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening” (Exodus 12:5-6). He is in the midst of the four living creatures because even a studious or cursory reading of the Gospels is not the central point of them, but to come to know the person of Jesus Christ, encounter Him often, and love Him as a Spouse, this is the purpose of the Gospels: “Meditate upon these things, be wholly in these things: that thy profiting may be manifest to all” (1 Timothy 4:15). Though He is slain, He is standing, “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption” (Psalm 15:10). He has seven horns and seven eyes, indicating perfect, complete power and knowledge, respectively, both of which He allowed to remain hidden: “How came this man by this wisdom and miracles? Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:54-55), that He may not be terrifying to you: “Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts” (Isaias 6:5). Thus it is that: “He riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments,” of His divinity, that He may be to you a friend and a lover, but in reality He possesses the fullness of power, glory, and knowledge, which are all terrifying to the one that does not know Him: “For the Lord is high, terrible: a great king over all the earth” (Psalm 46:3), but a deep consolation to His beloved, whose King and Bridegroom knows you perfectly and intimately, taking compassion on your weaknesses and seeing your every little act of love, and is mighty to keep you safe in His loving arms: “The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand” (Psalm 120:5). The Lamb then takes the book, and opens it, to the triumphant celebration of heaven, and there are here two insights: The first is that, in opening the depths of the Scriptures, your mind is called to rejoice and your heart to sing, because you come to know your Beloved all the more: “My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee: and my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right” (Proverbs 23:15-16), in addition to wisdom being a good towards which all men are inclined: “Wisdom inspireth life into her children, and protecteth them that seek after her, and will go before them in the way of justice. And he that loveth her, loveth life, and they that watch for her, shall embrace her sweetness” (Ecclesiasticus 4:12-13). How many are the saints, Theophila, that lived joyful, sweet lives of contemplating the Scriptures and enjoying the treasures thereof, all because the Lamb unsealed them, giving true wisdom to men: “All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with him, and is before all time” (Ecclesiasticus 1:1). The second meaning is that, if the book represents the love story of your life, shall it be bland, entailing no more than being polite and attending Mass on Sunday, or shall it be something glorious, a cause for celebration in the eyes of the saints? “The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds” (Psalm 149:5). A third meaning is that in receiving the book from the one on the throne, God’s mysteries and plan for mankind are put into the hands of the Lamb, Him being established as the wise King over all creation: “Give to the king thy judgment, O God, and to the king’s son thy justice: to judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment” (Psalm 71:2). In any respect, when the Lamb receives the book and opens it, the elders and living creatures fall down with harps and golden vials of prayer, for great philosophers sought with joy and eagerness the deep things of God, but they could have never fathomed that God would become man, forgive the sins of His people, ascend to heaven, and then give a participation in His nature to His people, and so you are called to savor this extraordinary knowledge more deeply than they: “For wisdom is better than all the most precious things: and whatsoever may be desired cannot be compared to it” (Proverbs 7:11). The harps then represent songs of praise, with which the heart that loves is constantly filled: “I will be glad, and rejoice in thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou most high” (Psalm 9:3), and the vials represent the lives of the saints, a confession of their love of God in their deeds, and are filled with the sweet odor of prayer: “Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer?” (Canticle 3:6). By this act of worship on the part of the elders and living creatures, they acknowledge the Lamb to be God, giving Him the adoration and praise due to God alone: “That all men may honour the Son, as they honour the Father. He who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, who hath sent him” (John 5:23). Your praise and petitions, Theophila, are a sweet savor to God, especially when you use God’s own love poetry back to Him, His words as sheet music for the instrument of your heart, saying to Jesus: “Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever” (Psalm 44:3). They sing a new song, which can first represent the newly converted, singing a new song of love in their hearts and a new life in accord with the love of God: “To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee” (Psalm 143:9). In a second sense it is their response of praise in the beatific vision, singing in ways that those on earth cannot yet know: “He was caught up into paradise, and heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:4). While the canticle itself is excellent for singing praises in your heart, it has beautiful theology within it, that the Lamb was slain for the ransom of His people, redeeming those enslaved to sin and kidnapped by the devil: “To preach deliverance to the captives” (Luke 4:19), and made death into a doorway to life rather than a dreaded end. You have been redeemed to God, Theophila, so that you may walk in the throes of love: “Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved” (Canticle 5:1), to marry your God and please Him with your beauty: “Rejoice with the wife of thy youth: let her be thy dearest hind, and most agreeable fawn: let her breasts inebriate thee at all times; be thou delighted continually with her love” (Proverbs 5:18-19). You have not been redeemed to walk in sin, but in love of Him who made you: “Or know you not, that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God; and you are not your own? For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The worship continues that God’s people has been made a kingdom and priests, and they shall reign, which is seen in Exodus: “Therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). Every Catholic is called to be a priest, one that offers the sacrifice of their own lives, that it may be a sweet offering to God: “The priest shall burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, and a sweet savour to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:9), and each is called to be a king or a queen, as they share in Christ’s regality and authority, ruling over themselves with dignity and the fine garments of virtue, eventually to be called to rule the earth as a united kingdom of love: “And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Apocalypse 22:5).

Revelation 5:1-5

“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book, written within and without, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?’ And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. And one of the ancients said to me: ‘Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.’”

St. John then sees a book in the right hand of God, with writing within and without. The book has many meanings, the first being that it is the full depth of Sacred Scripture, which is impenetrable to the reader that does not know the love of Christ: “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given” (Matthew 13:11). The outside of the book then, is to read it plainly, but to read the words on the inside is to find how each verse relates to love, letting it resonate in your heart: “And he said to me: ‘Son of man, eat all that thou shat find: eat this book…’ And I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth” (Ezechiel 3:1-3). It can also refer to the mind of God, which is only revealed in the person of Jesus Christ: “Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father” (John 6:46), and thus what is written within can refer to the affections of the heart, the outside the works one is commanded to do, all of which are oriented to the love of God and neighbor: “He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is no scandal in him” (1 John 2:10). The third meaning is that the book is your life, the tale of your heart, which is read in one sense by those that see what you do, but only Jesus knows your heart as you go through life: “I am the Lord who search the heart” (Jeremias 17:10). Thus, in all these senses, there are seven seals, indicating mysteries of the greatest importance, because the depths of the Scriptures are hidden from the cursory hearer: “The kingdom is like unto a treasure hidden in a field” (Matthew 13:44) and the seals must be opened by one possessing the Heart of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit; the mind of God is unveiled in the person of Christ through His incarnation, birth, hidden life, public ministry, passion and death, resurrection, and ascension: “No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18); and your heart is sealed away behind what was contrary to love in your life, and can only be truly opened in the presence of beautiful love: “Trust in him, all ye congregation of the people: pour out your hearts before him. God is our helper for ever” (Psalm 61:9). An angel then asks who can open the book, having a true interpretation of the depths of Scripture, unveil the mind of God, and hold your heart with the love you need? Many have sought by natural reason the truth of God, but without the light of faith, their understanding was warped and twisted: “They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness” (Psalm 81:5), many outside the Church attempt to know God through the Scriptures, but without the proper interpretation in the Catholic Church, they go astray: “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall seduce many” (Matthew 24:11), and no one on earth can know your heart with Christ’s depth and give it the perfect love that it requires: “When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth” (Canticle 3:4). Because God Himself unveiled the message to Ezekiel: “And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a book rolled up: and he spread it before me, and it was written within and without” (Ezechiel 2:9), God Himself must unveil these things, and where the Father is hidden, the person of Jesus Christ in His humanity is worthy; He is Wisdom and Love, and can open the seals behind which love and wisdom are hidden. Saints, men, demons, none of these can give you the perfect love that you need or the wisdom the human mind naturally desires, but only the person of Jesus can be the perfect Spouse of your soul: “Being rooted and founded in love, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: to know also the love of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19). St. John then weeps, seeing that no one can access these places, no saint is worthy of the beauty of your heart, no one knows the mind of God, and to be without this love and wisdom is to be truly desolate: “With desolation is all the land made desolate; because there is none that considereth in the heart” (Jeremias 12:11). An ancient, which some consider to be St. Matthew, though it can also mean the Scriptures in general, which can seem overwhelming and difficult, but always point to the victory of Christ; this ancient consoles him, for in the passion of Christ, the Holy of Holies was opened: “And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51), the presence, heart, and mind of God being open to all, rather than just to one once a year: “But into the second, the high priest alone, once a year: not without blood, which he offereth for his own, and the people’s ignorance” (Hebrews 9:7). This is all done in the person of Christ, the Messiah, the King of Love, who was prophesied as a lion of Judah: “Juda is a lion’s welp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast crouched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him? The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations” (Genesis 49:9-10), and the root of David: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower rise up out of his root” (Isaias 11:1). This royal lion captured all those lost to sin for Himself, and so too let Him capture your heart, Theophila, be love’s prey, and let Him open the book of your heart and open the book of His own Heart to you, for He has triumphed over sin and death, and all this that you two may be intertwined in love: “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me” (Canticle 2:6).

Revelation 4:6-11

“And in the sight of the throne was, as it were, a sea of glass like to crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying. And the four living creatures had each of them six wings; and round about and within they are full of eyes. And they rested not day and night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.’ And when those living creatures gave glory, and honour, and benediction to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever; the four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things: and for thy will they were, and have been created.”

The sea is not an ocean, but a great basin used in the temple: “He made also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about” (3 Kings 7:23), used primarily for the ritual ablution of priests, but did have other uses in Jewish worship. It, in the New Testament sense, represents the baptismal font, that is crystal, showing that Jesus is not hiding anything from you, but shows everything you need to know in public revelation: “And you have no need that any man teach you: but as his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27). The sea in heaven with its clarity and serenity could also represent the lack of anxieties and troubles in heaven, where the saints enjoy perpetual rest in the loving bosom of the Father: “For he that is entered into his rest, the same also hath rested from his works, as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:10). What follows are the four living creatures, which are also seen in the prophecy of Ezekiel: “And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north: and a great cloud, and a fire infolding it, and brightness was about it: and out of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it were the resemblance of amber: and in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures” (Ezechiel 1:4-5), and are “full of eyes.” This is because the four Gospels, which are living in the sense that when they are read, they impact different hearts in different ways at different times, as Christ is present through them: “For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12) emit light, through which all reality is seen, trickling down from the Gospels to the rest of the Scriptures, which in turn reign over earthly sciences and philosophy. When anything leaves this light, it walks in darkness: “Beware lest any man cheat you by philosophy, and vain deceit; according to the tradition of men according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossian 2:8). The three representations that walk are the three Gospels that focus primarily on Christ’s humanity, as He walked on the earth, with St. Matthew’s being that of the lion, which represents the regal character of Christ: “Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9), St. Luke’s that of the calf, for it shows His priesthood: “And it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread, and blessed, and brake, and gave to them” (Luke 24:30), while St. Mark focuses on neither, but does focus primarily on His humanity and life on earth, and is thus the figure of the man. St. John, however, begins loftily: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1) and stays in the sky of Christ’s divinity: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am” (John 8:58); “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). The four Gospels then fly on six wings, denoting the Law, historical books, Psalms, wisdom literature, prophets, and New Testament Epistles, for without all of these the Gospel message of love would not fly so high into the mind and ways of God, but without the understanding of the Gospel and the love within it, these books fall flat, not animated from the life that is in the love of Christ: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). They had eyes within and without, because with the Gospels and other books of Sacred Scripture, you come to understand yourself, and the deep things of God, which are the eyes within, and understand others and the world as a whole, which are the eyes without. This is done so thoroughly that one can be called “full” of eyes when they see with the eyes of Christ: “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), loving God, themselves, and others as He loves them: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Both the angels in heaven and the Gospels proclaim the Triune, perfectly holy, magnificent Godhead that lies beyond all understanding, proclaiming Him Lord God Almighty, which is God’s most solemn title. When one loves, one sings in their heart: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19), and the hymn of the living creatures is a simple way to let your heart rejoice: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). This heavenly singing, this perpetual liturgy, never ceases in the life to come, thus they sing that He was, is, and is to come. To think of the sheer number of sins both in your life and in the entire life of the Church that Jesus has forgiven for the sake of love, is indicated in the Gospel: “One was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents… And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:24-27), and is alone extraordinary enough to humble even the grandest saint, who submits their crown of glory to the glory of the King of Love, who is worthy of all praise and honor, and to receive recognition of His unbelievable might, which created and upholds all things with an abundance of love, protects His Church from demons and evil wills, and forgives sins by the millions: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our s ins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity” (1 John 1:9).

Revelation 4:1-5

“After these things I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, said: ‘Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must be done hereafter.’ And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. And he that sat, was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold. And from the throne proceed lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.”

Jesus opens the door of heaven, that all that mankind needs to know about God and His ways is unveiled in public revelation, primarily through the Gospel: “Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:51). You need not forage, Theophila, for what Jesus wants to show you about His Heart outside of what has been revealed in the Scriptures, as interpreted through the teachings of the Catholic Church, for what is sufficient for you is wide open by nature of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven: “And it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up to heaven” (Luke 24:51) and the proceeding gift of the Holy Spirit: “And you have no need that any man teach you; but as his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27). What was hidden in the Law and the Prophets is then unveiled in the Gospel, that the mysteries of God may be handed to you in simplicity: “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10), which is the love story of God and His people, consummated in the crucifixion: “It is consummated” (John 19:30), and Jesus’ instruction on how to love being all you need: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). St. John then hears a mighty voice, that of Jesus, inviting Him with love’s sweet beckoning: “His throat most sweet” (Canticle 5:16) into the second portion of the revelation. While living in the Spirit is to make one’s life a long act of love, there are particular moments when this love and its mysteries become more striking: “And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun” (Matthew 17:2), with the latter being what is happening here. St. John then sees the Father on His throne, an oft-used symbol of divine sovereignty in the book, and the resting place of the King: “While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof” (Canticle 1:11). His appearance is magnificent like jasper, which can be found in many colors, but St. Bede equates it with water, and sardine stone, which is a fiery red gem. This shows the entirety of the life of love, where the water of baptism is a deluge that destroys all that is sinful and brings you to new life: “Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), the spiritual life reaches its zenith when one’s sole guide is the living flame of love, with the lover always seeking to do the greatest act of love in front of them: “Love is strong as death… the lamps thereof are fire and flames” (Canticle 8:6). Or, this can show that Jesus is the supreme King, majestic as gems, with His first judgment being merciful and gentle as water, the second as ferocious as flame. He is surrounded by a rainbow, that is, the great and beautiful variety of the Saints in heaven who intercede for His people, each taking their own particular shape and beauty, which all together, in the sun’s rays, shine forth in a unified beauty: “I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me, and between the earth” (Genesis 9:13), with the appearance of emerald representing the springtime of blooming green, a look into a life of shining beauty: “For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land” (Canticle 2:11-12), which is the gift of eternal life. The twenty-four thrones which are then seen represent all of the holy people of God, the twelve patriarchs of Israel indicating those that lived in righteousness under the natural law of reason: “For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these having not the law are a law to themselves” (Romans 2:14) and the imparted Law given by Moses: “And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi” (Deuteronomy 31:9), the twelve Apostles representing those that lived lives of love: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). There can also be a spiritual meaning, that each of the thrones represents an hour of the day, the elders representing angelic praise, and so you are called to orient yourself at every hour to the love and praise of God: “All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). The elders themselves are clothed in white garments, a common theme in the book, which indicate holiness of life and purity of heart: “Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8), while the crowns show that they share in kingly rule, the mind anointed with the odor of love: “Thy name is as oil poured out” (Canticle 1:2), and thereby reigning over the reason, desires, thoughts, words, and actions, making the lover of God into one with kingly dignity: “Thou shalt be crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards” (Canticle 4:8). The lightning and thunder show God’s majesty and glory, which only grows over the course of the book, and when coupled with voices indicate that the more one preaches the Gospel of Christ by word and deed, the more they will come to know His glory and wonderfulness: “We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple, wonderful in justice” (Psalm 64:5-6). The sevenfold spirit of love is then mentioned, for before the throne of glory lies the fire of love in its utter perfection, which is what is indicated by the number seven, showing that the Father is King, the Word is the voice that speaks the Father’s love into the ears of those that hear, with the Holy Spirit being the animating force of love that drives forward the faithful.

Revelation 3:14-22

“And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing:’ and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance. Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”

Laodicea was an incredibly wealthy city with banking establishments, a medical academy, and many exported products. Jesus introduces Himself to the church there by calling Himself “The Amen,” which means “so be it,” or an affirmation of truth: “In which he that is blessed upon the earth, shall be blessed in God, amen: and he that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by God, amen” (Isaias 65:16), because His words are all true, and He is always faithful and reliable, and is thus the faithful and true witness, and having overseen all of human history and loving them all throughout: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). Thus He properly describes Himself as the beginning of creation, which can mean origin, or First Principle to use a philosophical term, meaning that all creation comes forth from His abundance of love, and thus He is the proper authority on how it should be seen and treated: “I was with him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men” (Proverbs 8:30-31). The Laodiceans had become so tepid and complacent, so flavorless in their love, like a couple at dinner that speak only about the food they are eating, that they are nauseating. Jesus threatens to vomit them out of His mouth, like food that is not enriching the body but is merely occupying space and even sickening it, for their stale love. They are stale because they are self-satisfied, thinking themselves to be grand and thereby sitting still, rather than acting with love’s spriteliness: “My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart” (Canticle 2:9), and this could come from material prosperity, which can easily cool devotion: “Take heed, and beware lest at any time thou forget the Lord thy God, and neglect his commandments and judgments and ceremonies, which I command thee this day: Lest after thou hast eaten and art filled, hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them, and shalt have herds of oxen and flocks of sheep, and plenty of sheep, and plenty of gold and of silver, and of all things, thy heart be lifted up, and thou remember not the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14), a faith community that, though strong, made no waves but kept to themselves: “Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel” (Matthew 5:15); was growing in number but not in affection: “Follow after love” (1 Corinthians 14:1); or thought themselves to be perfected in love and therefore needed not to labor anymore: “Cease not, O my son, to hear instruction, and be not ignorant of the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 19:27). In any of these, they are sorely mistaken, for the Lord calls them wretched, poor, blind, miserable, and naked, for their love and spirituality is stale white bread, and not glimmering, spiced, and fragrant as it should be: “Cypress with spikenard. Spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes with all the chief perfumes” (Canticle 4:14). The call to divine eros should be more grand, enjoyable, romantic, and lovely than any human relationship: “As the tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons” (Canticle 2:3), but in the words of Jesus, this community was lacking this entirely, but thought they were doing well. Christ then invites them to renew their love, reinvigorate their affection, and buy from Him by prayer spiritual things which Laodicea had in abundance materially: Gold refined by fire, which indicates faith, refined by adversity: “That the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7); white garments of beautiful, pure conduct: “And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: ‘Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed’” (Genesis 27:27); and the eye salve of the Holy Spirit, to attain discernment and prudence: “The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession purchase prudence” (Proverbs 4:7), to know what is true love and what is not: “As his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27). Now, Jesus’ words have been hard, but this comes from an abundance of love, for “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and He would protect those He loves from the hatred and ugliness of the world, the flesh, and the devil, instead calling His people into the most beautiful of love stories: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights” (Canticle 5:2), and as a parent reproves their child that they may be more well-off and presentable, Jesus corrects His beloved that you may walk in greater elegance and grace: “For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth: and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself” (Proverbs 3:12). He then calls His people to be inflamed with love, leaving behind the worthless cloak of ugly deeds, and exchanging them for a life of freedom and love: “And they call the blind man, saying to him: ‘Be of better comfort: arise, he calleth thee.’ Who casting off his garment leaped up, and came to him” (Mak 10:50). What follows is something wondrous, that Jesus perpetually knocks at the door of all those in the world, desiring to invite them to a covenantal relationship; a divine wedding: “And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord” (Ezechiel 16:62), but the door of your heart has no handle or latch on the outside, it is you that must open it: “I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved” (Canticle 5:6), but He promises to enter when someone gives Him the chance. He will then share in the most familiar of settings, a meal, which takes its own significance when shared between friends, family, or lovers: “And they saw God, and they did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:11). It is a call to familiarity and intimacy, that you may entertain God Himself in your heart with what you have at hand: “And he said: ‘Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant: but I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant” (Genesis 18:3-5). While this is reward enough, Jesus also promises the gift to sit with Him on His throne, which is a place of incredible glory: “And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne, was a likeness of the appearance of a man above upon it” (Ezechiel 1:26); “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple” (Isaias 6:1). It is a promise to reign, to shine in glory as a radiant star, and in hearing what He exhorts through the first couple of chapters, one is armed with the weapons to face what is to come, which He unveils in the coming chapters.

Revelation 3:7-13

“And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth: I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”

“Philadelphia,” meaning “brotherly love,” has a door opened before it, which is the kingdom of God, which is itself unlocked with the key of love: “And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ: and love one another, as he hath given commandment unto us” (1 John 3:23). To the church of Philadelphia, the “Holy One” and the “true one” gives encouragement; “Holy One” being a frequent title for God in the Old Testament: “I am God, and not man: the holy one in the midst of thee, and I will not enter into the city” (Osee 11:9), and the Greek term for “true” meaning “genuine” or “faithful,” showing that the love of Jesus does not deceive, and He is faithful even when His people fail: “If we believe not, he continueth faithful, he can not deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13), steadfast in His merciful love at all times: “O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true” (Exodus 34:6). When He says that He holds the key of David, it means that it is He that opens the way to true love of God: “No man cometh to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), and so while the Christian community was shut out from the synagogue in Philadelphia, Jesus has moved the true knowledge and worship of God to His Church: “And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father” (Isaias 22:22-23), who opens the secrets of the nature of God and His law to those that come to Him, but these mysteries are closed to those who are without. The nature of God and His commandments show forth the true nature of love, as the community of the Trinity is an interpersonal relationship of self-giving love, and in imitating the Trinity by following Christ’s commandments, one brings Trinitarian love into the world: “King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus: the pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple: the midst he covered with love for the daughters of Jerusalem” (Canticle 3:9-10). This mystery and its depth are open to the one that pursues Christ, but to the one that does not seek Him in His Church, these mysteries cannot be fully explored. The King of Kings then gives a blessing to the people of Philadelphia, knowing their works of love, which are done with limited power, which is indicative of their low social status and abilities in the city, but they trust wonderfully in the grace of God: “For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me” (Psalm 43:7). They have not denied the name of Jesus by word or deed, and have been a faithful, beautiful community wrapped in the bond of love: “Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: bearing with one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14), even through the external pressures they faced. The “synagogue of Satan” refers to the Jewish community that did not walk in love, as was discussed before, and who were not intentionally deceiving others, but falsely claimed to be God’s faithful people while treating His followers with contempt: “Remove from me reproach and contempt: because I have sought after thy testimonies” (Psalm 118:22). By saying that the Jewish community would fall down before the Christians, it could be an indication that the members of the Jewish community would soon turn to Christ, realizing the love that sustained them in Christ and coming to this same love: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee” (Jeremias 31:3). Holding to their faith, Jesus promises to keep their souls safe in the time of grave trial, for suffering and trials fall upon all men, but to keep one’s soul untattered by sin and error even through this is to be kept safe from the hour of temptation: “Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world” (James 1:27). Jesus encourages His people, as a love letter tells the beloved that the lover is soon to come, and exhorts that they hold fast to their kingly dignity as Christians: “[Thou] hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth” (Apocalypse 5:10). While Philadelphia was renowned for its athletic competitions, these are done for a reward that is soon supplanted by a new champion. Therefore, “every one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one” (1 Corinthians 9:25). It is a call to walk the narrow road that they may fully embrace the dignity of Christian living, which in turn comes with being crowned with glory, beauty, and love: “O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will” (Psalm 5:13). To be made a pillar in the temple of God is to support it in the manner appropriate to them, while being adorned with the beauty that is imprinted by God: “And thou shalt hang it up before four pillars of setim wood, which themselves also shall be overlaid with gold, and shall have heads of gold, but sockets of silver” (Exodus 26:32), not wavering from one’s post or losing the relationship with God by sin, but being held fast in love: “Thy neck,” which is the bond of love between the body and the Head, “is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men” (Canticle 4:4). With this will be an inscription on the people that they are entirely God’s: “I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies” (Canticle 6:2), and where in ancient Israel the high priest alone bore visibly the name of God: “They made also the plate of sacred veneration of the purest gold, and they wrote on it with the engraving of a lapidary, The Holy of the Lord: and they fastened it to the mitre with a violet fillet” (Exodus 39:29-30), Christians instead bear this by their love: “By this shall all men know that you are my dsiciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:35), with the glory of His divinity unveiled to those who fought the good fight, and this divinity shared with His people, that they may in full embrace their lives as children of God.

Revelation 3:1-6

“And to the angel of the church of Sardis, write: These things saith he, that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive: and thou art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which are ready to die. For I find not thy works full before my God. Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe, and do penance. If then thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I will come to thee. But thou hast a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy. He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”

Sardis, unlike many of the Christian communities at the time, was not undergoing persecution, but was enduring internal rot: “And from the daughter of Sion all her beauty is departed” (Lamentations 1:6). Though the surrounding community, other Christian communities, and they themselves had a high opinion of the work in Sardis, Jesus condemns it as dead. While the problem is not indicated, it can be thought to be carelessness, that while there may be much beauty taking place in the church of Sardis on a sensual level, beautiful actions are lacking: “A diligent woman” which can mean the Church “is a crown to her husband: and she that doth things worthy of confusion, is a rottenness in his bones” (Proverbs 12:4). Or, this can mean that there is an absence of love, and while there is much good taking place, it is done without the animation of love: “Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Thimothy 3:2-5). Aside from blasphemy, none of these are grave matters that break the Decalogue, but each is contrary to a life of love, and could point to the deep rot that was in Sardis. However, Jesus provides hope: “Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it. And if it happily bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down” (Luke 13:8-9), encouraging His people to strengthen what is left, for “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all” (James 2:10), and if the tree is destitute of the true fruit of love: “I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate” (Canticle 2:3), instead being supplanted with some great flaw, then the true beauty of the church, which is the bond of love, was in desperate need of reinvigoration. Thus, Jesus prescribes a similar remedy to the church in Ephesus, which is a return to the fiery passion of newlyweds: “Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast wounded my heart with one of thy eyes, and with one hair of thy neck” (Canticle 4:9), and then to obey what they hear, for they originally heard with deep devotion and were inspired by what they heard, either being drawn into acts of love or repenting from what was not perfect love: “But he that received the seed upon good ground, is he that heareth the word, and understandeth, and beareth fruit, and yieldeth the one an hundred-fold, and another sixty, and another thirty” (Matthew 13:22), yet this flame had dissipated: “Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee the finest and clearest oil of olives, to furnish the lamps continually… They shall be set upon the most pure candlestick before the Lord continually” (Leviticus 24:2-4). Now, St. Augustine defines “prayer without ceasing” as the continual desire for God alone, to love Him while taking great care not to do what is displeasing to Him, and this is to watch: “Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The consequence would be a disintegration of love, with tragedy taking away what those in Sardis were holding onto that wasn’t Him and His love, which is what He means by coming like a thief. Most in Sardis were wearing dirty garments, which could be indicative that they were clothed with the state of grace: “I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy ignominy” (Ezechiel 16:8), but these were filthy with venial sin and a lack of love: “And Jesus was closed with filthy garments” (Zacharias 3:3), which is literal when one’s expression of Christ is soiled by what isn’t beautiful spiritually. However, there were a few that had not, and these have the beautiful honor to walk with Jesus in white, to cling to their Beloved with magnificent purity and beauty: “When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him: and I will not let him go, till I bring him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that bore me” (Canticle 3:4). This beauty He then offers to all, that they may rejoice in the beauty of the fullness of humanity: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with a robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels” (Isaias 61:10); “Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet” (Luke 15:22), including those that had dirtied the image of His love that was present in them: “Touch no unclean thing: go out of the midst of her, be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord” (Isaias 52:11). The one that overcomes, then, being brought to the fullness of their love, will be confidently etched in the Heart of Jesus, not answering the God of love with a loveless life, with Him then showing His bride to the Father as His joy and someone He is proud of: “Let my tongue cleave to my jaws… if I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy” (Psalm 136:6), for as a bridegroom wishes for his bride to be welcomed with love by his parents, and to be showcased before all of his friends and family, so too does Jesus want to bring you as His prize to heaven, to be seen in your soul’s loveliness by all: “The bridegroom shall rejoice over the bride, and thy God shall rejoice over thee” (Isaias 62:5)

Revelation 2:18-29

“And to the angel of the church of Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like to a flame of fire, and his feet like to fine brass. I know thy works, and thy faith, and thy charity, and thy ministry, and thy patience, and thy last works which are more than the former. But I have against thee a few things: because thou sufferest the woman Jezabel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat of things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her a time that she might do penance, and she will not repent of her fornication. Behold, I will cast her into a bed: and they that commit adultery with her shall be in very great tribulation, except they do penance from their deeds. And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works. But to you I say, and to the rest who are at Thyatira: Whosoever have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will not put upon you any other burthen. Yet that, which you have, hold fast till I come. And he that shall overcome, and keep my works unto the end, I will give him power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken, as I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”

Thyatira was smaller than the other cities mentioned, but was a commercial town that was under the patronage of Apollo, and the festive gatherings in the town for the pagan deities often involved idolatry and sexual immorality: “And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play” (Exodus 32:6). Apollo himself was the son of Zeus, so Jesus introduces Himself as the Son of God to the Christians at Thyatira, showing to whom proper worship is owed: “Destroy their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven things. Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 7:5). Jesus comes with the previously discussed eyes of fire and feet of brass, burning with love for His people and insight into all that is occurring, and power and might down to His feet. The people receive an excellent commendation, that their love is expressed through beautiful faith, patience, and service: “But above all these things have love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14). Now, love grows all the more fervent the more it grows, like a falling object speeding up the more it falls, and so Jesus notes that the works of love that the people are doing are greater than the first: “And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel” (3 Kings 18:46). However, they do tolerate a false teacher, probably someone of acclaim and influence leading people into the error of the Nicolaites. Now, gentleness without justice is not a virtue, and to fail to protect the members of the Church from error is to leave it without a fence: “Where there is no hedge, the possession shall be spoiled” (Ecclesiasticus 36:27), therefore, standing against what love is not and how it shouldn’t be expressed is a necessary duty of the Church: “Embracing that faithful word which is according to doctrine, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine, and to convince the gainsayers” (Titus 1:9). The error of this alleged prophetess could be figured to be leading people to participate in the festive gatherings of Thyatira, and to lead others astray draws them away from the love of Christ, which draws a sharp condemnation from the one that loves them: “But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). Now, God is beautifully patient, not wanting a single one of His children to be far from His merciful love: “Knowest thou not, that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance?” (Romans 2:4), but despite the warnings of others, potentially even St. John himself, she has not repented of her error and come to love in truth: “The ancient to the lady Elect, and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth” (2 John 1:1). When Jesus then mentions He is casting her into a bed, this is a sickbed, such as when one is bedridden with an ailment. Whatever sickness or distress that awaits her is meant to startle the others to remaining on the true way of love, that those that may be growing faint or lukewarm may be spurred back: “Let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24). The death then threatened is the death of the soul, for this is the true death, the extinguishing of love that leads to eternal condemnation: “Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Or, this can mean that the distress to descend upon the woman would descend on her spiritual “children” as well, and that the people would see that Jesus sees the heart, mind, and actions, and spurs those astray to repentance, sometimes gently, sometimes harshly, as is seen here. To those who were walking in truth, however, he lays no heavy burden: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not heavy” (1 John 5:3), but to hold steadfastly to the truth: “I was exceeding glad, that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father” (2 John 1:4). Those that have known the depths of Satan can refer to this teaching of the Nicolaites, or it can mean those that hate, for this is the natural end of sin, and there is a painful untwisting of a hateful heart to become one that loves that requires much internal and external work in love. To hold to truth and love in truth, then, is the call of the Christian: “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments. For this is the commandment, that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in the same. For many seducers are gone out into the world” (2 John 1:6-7), and this is to keep the works of Jesus to the end, that is, to put love and truth in all of one’s actions throughout one’s life. To persevere is to share in the reign of Jesus, who will “rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalm 2:9), which means that He will be strong against what is contrary to love and break what is earthly and passing. Or, to break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel is to take what is brittle and dry and shatter it, but to take that which is watered with love to sculpt it into something beautiful. Finally, to be given the morning star is to be given a share in the light of Jesus: “He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is no scandal in him” (1 John 2:10); “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), for the morning star, the planet Venus, is the last and brightest star in the morning, so the one that loves much shines brightly, being a vessel of joy and life to those that need love.

Revelation 2:12-17

“And to the angel of the church of Pergamus write: These things, saith he, that hath the sharp two edged sword: I know where thou dwellest, where the seat of Satan is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith. Even in those days when Antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have against thee a few things: because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat, and to commit fornication: so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites. In like manner do penance: if not, I will come to thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him that overcometh, I will give the hidden manna, and will give him a white counter, and in the counter, a new name written, which no man knoweth, but he that receciveth it.”

Pergamus was a hub of pagan idolatry, with a massive shrine to “Zeus the Savior,” “All the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5), and the community itself was the most ardent center of emperor worship in the region. The sword of truth, judgment, and love comes from Jesus’ mouth for the people of Pergamus, who were living in difficult circumstances: “Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake” (Matthew 5:11). When Jesus addresses that they live “where Satan’s throne is,” this is in reference to the shrine of Zeus, who was considered the king of the gods in Greek culture, and so his “throne,” or the place where he is most worshipped had a looming present in the Christian community. Now, even amidst persecution and under the shadow of this massive altar, the Christian people still loved, holding fast to their Beloved even through societal pressures: “The keepers that go about the city found me: they struck me: and wounded me: the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me” (Canticle 5:7). This they did even through the martyrdom of one Antipas, who could be their bishop, or represent Christ in His people being led to their deaths, their testament to love having no equal: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13); “Love is strong as death” (Canticle 8:6). Now, when Jesus teaches against the doctrine of Balaam, this is in reference to the Old Testament figure that undermined the Israelites by having Moabite prostitutes convince them to fornicate and commit idolatry: “And Israel at that time abode in Settim, and the people committed fornication with the daughters of Moab, who called them to their sacrifices. And they ate of them, and adored their gods. And Israel was initiated to Beelphegor” (Numbers 25:1-3); “Are not these they, that deceived the children of Israel by the counsel of Balaam, and made you transgress against the Lord by the sin of Phogor, for which also the people was punished?” (Numbers 31:16). This is to show that He sees the permission of what the Jerusalem Council had forbidden: “That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication” (Acts 15:29), which were permitted as a poor attempt to be merciful and not leave anyone one encounters feeling unloved. Thus they put a stumblingblock before the other Christians, leading them into sin under the flag of mercy. This is a lesson, Theophila, not to let love of neighbor ever defile your own soul, for you are to love your neighbor as yourself, and to sin is to hate yourself. All of this was done by the Nicolaites, who carried a loose way of living and dangerous attitude to idolatry and sexual immorality, both of which are contrary to true love: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not heavy” (1 John 5:3), for Jesus’ commandments are to teach His people how to love. Jesus hates this doctrine, because from His throne on high He watches His poor children making a mess of their souls because of it, doing what is not worth Christian dignity: “Clothe thyself with beauty, and set thyself up on high, and be glorious, and put on goodly garments” (Job 40:5). While the community in Pergamus was staying faithful by word, by deed some were denying Him by deed: “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far from me, and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men” (Isaias 29:13), loving with a love of passion rather than of truth: “And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth” (John 17:19). Jesus then calls them to repentance, letting His message trickle through those who were loving well to reach those that were not: “If, when I say to the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die:’ thou declare it not to him, nor speak to him, that he may be converted from his wicked way, and live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy hand” (Ezechiel 3:18). To continue to permit this stain would be met with the sword of truth  that would show that what they were doing defiled the image of true love and pierce their conscience, or worse, be their judgment at the end of their lives, just as Balaam met his end by the sword: “Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword” (Numbers 31:8). To have a heart listens to the Spirit, the direction and words of the Beloved: “The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice” (John 3:8), and act in accordance through all the trials and difficulties seen in any relationship, is to emerge victorious: “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24), and this will come with a threefold reward. The first is that of Christ Himself, for the greatest gift a lover can give is themselves: “I to my beloved, and my beloved to me” (Canticle 6:2), and this is seen in the hidden manna of the Eucharist: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48); “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). The “white counter” is in reference to the ancient practice of giving white stones to those admitted to invitation-only feasts or assemblies. The counter, or stone, itself is your purity: “Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8), which, when you are washed in the sacraments and act for love alone, you will attain, and then be welcomed with rejoicing to the banquet: “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage” (Matthew 22:3). The new name is your new identity as a child of the Father: “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11), a spouse, friend, brother, coheir, ah, a beloved! of Jesus: “Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Canticle 4:9), and a temple of the Holy Spirit: “Or know you not, that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God” (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Thus, you receive the gifts of the Beloved Himself, the newness of yourself: “For we are buried together with him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), and the joys of a relationship that is pure love, to love and be loved, and this is all one truly needs.

Revelation 2:8-11

“And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead, and is alive: I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich: and thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death.”

No reprehension is given to the church of Smyrna, which was entirely in need of encouragement from the First and the Last, and the one that loves gives gentle correction where necessary, but encourages the one that is in need to walk bravely: “Do not therefore lose your confidence, which hath a great reward” (Hebrews 10:35). The eyes of Jesus look upon all His people with deep love, and just as a parent looks with joy and wonder upon every action of a little child, so too does Jesus rejoice in seeing what His little ones do with the gift of His love: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save: he will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over thee in praise” (Sophonias 3:17). He then sees, with great compassion, the afflictions being placed upon the church of Smyrna, and tells them that He sees their poverty and tribulation: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3-8). Being poor in possessions and in security, those in Smyrna were rich in love: “Lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20), being a shining light in the world even through the attempted dimming by the pagan community there: “You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14). When, then, He mentions being blasphemed by those who say they are Jews but are not, there is a tie to the book of Romans, when St. Paul declares that “It is not he is a Jew, who is so outwardly; nor is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh: but he is a Jew, that is one inwardly; and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:28-29). Those that loved Jesus and others in Him were driven by the Spirit of love: “And there came a voice from heaven: ‘Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.’ And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the desert” (Mark 1:11-12) and are thus God’s chosen people: “Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7), and those that claimed the Jewish heritage without the love that He commanded, instead slandering the ones that truly loved, did not know the God of Israel: “And think not to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.’ For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:9); “If God were your Father, you would indeed love me” (John 8:42). Because they seek to stifle the community of the God of love: “God is love: and he that abideth in love, abideth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16), Jesus uses strong language in calling them the “synagogue of Satan;” similar language is used in the Gospel of St. John: “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44), that is, of a spirit that harbors hate rather than love. Jesus then exhorts the people of Smyrna not to fear the trials they are to undergo. Now, to feel fear is natural and involuntary, and one is not responsible for what one’s nature does, but to always choose love, even in the face of grave trials, is the Christian walk: “Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, with a brotherly love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly” (1 Peter 1:22). Jesus Himself felt great fear before His passion: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me,” but He went forward with great love: “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39), and encourages His people to pray for the same strength of love to follow Him: “Watch ye, and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). He then says that the devil, enticing others through his lies, would cast some of them into prison for ten days. The number ten here is symbolic of the ten commandments, showing that in life, while one can be tempted, the devil will “imprison” with trials, be it external or internal, but in following the living flame of love and His ways: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), even to death, there will be a magnificent reward: “As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice” (2 Timothy 4:8). To live this life of love, then, comes with the promise to continue in living on love for eternity, and therefore one need not fear the second death, which is punishment for a loveless life.

Revelation 2:1-7

“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith he, who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them that are evil, and thou hast tried them, who say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and thou hast patience, and hast endured for my name, and hast not fainted. But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate. He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God.”

“I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you” (John 14:18) is a helpful verse in considering the greeting of Jesus to the respective churches. Jesus is in control, in your midst by being present in your heart, and holds you in His hand: “And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Though He cannot be seen, His love is very present, and He begins encouraging and correcting His Church by beginning with the mother church in Asia, which is Ephesus. Jesus begins with recognizing the good that is being wrought through His people: “Yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10), for all the good actions of man are given by God, like a child that takes a flower planted by their parents in a garden and presents it to them as a gift of love. However, this encouragement is important, because “Great labour is created for all men, and a heavy yoke is upon the children of Adam, from the day of their coming out of their mother’s womb, until the day of their burial into the mother of all” (Ecclesiasticus 40:1), and love alone can spur someone to work happily through the toils that life and love demand: “This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion” (Ecclesiastes 5:17). It is also a reminder that love and grace save, but what one does with this gift of love is the measure by which they will be judged: “Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only?” (James 2:24). The ministry and patience of the Ephesians are commended, a loving reminder that “your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58), but Jesus makes an interesting point that they cannot tolerate evildoers. While patience and love are necessary, to encourage others in false teaching or sin is akin to congratulating someone on a crippling illness, thus does St. John say: “If any man come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him, ‘God speed you.’ For he that saith unto him, ‘God speed you,’ communicateth with his wicked works” (2 John 1:10-11), and the putridity of the odors of sin are more foul than those of Job’s plight: “And he took a potsherd and scraped the corrupt matter, sitting on a dunghill” (Job 2:8). Furthermore, the Ephesians have weighed what appeared to be loving teachers of God’s ways and found them lacking, for as truth without love is cold, love without truth is water poured onto the ground rather than in a glass: “God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). To reject the weeds of the false and let the fruits of truth grow to their full beauty is the mark of a good gardener: “Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn” (Matthew 13:30). Now, with a flourishing ministry and patience in bitter times comes the risk of losing sight of the true goal: Authentic love, both of the Beloved and of others: “He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is love” (1 John 4:8), and “If you have bitter zeal, and there be contentions in your hearts; glory not” (James 3:14). All the good actions one can do are nothing if the flame of one’s love is weak: “If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). Thus, it is not a small sentence to be losing one’s love, for orthodoxy and tremendous work are not the heart of the Gospel, but love is: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34), thus why He threatens removing the candlestick from Ephesus, despite its sterling reputation, for love alone is forever: “Love never falleth away” (1 Corinthians 13:8). When He then says, “Remember from where you are fallen,” this does not mean a reminder of one’s sins, for love does not bring back up the failures of the past, but remember the joyful heights of love, when all things were roses and warmth, and to return to Love Incarnate to receive His love: “I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), that the love they have may be reinvigorated. It is a reminder for a love unto folly, for just as the young lover does things out of an abundance of love, not considering cost or time, but purely for love’s sake, so too does Jesus here call His people to love as one first in love. This in turn leads to repentance from the failures of an anemic love, which always leads to joy in the heart of God: “And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassions, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Jesus then mentions removing the candlestick, which Victorinus of Petovium calls “dispersing the congregation,” for without the bond of love, the bundle falls apart; the consequences of a lack of love are not to be taken lightly. He then mentions that He, like them, hates the works of the Nicolaites, not hating the people themselves, but seeing their works as something harmful to human dignity and the beauty of soul to which all men are called: “King Solmon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus: the pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple; the midst he covered with love for the daughters of Jerusalem” (Canticle 3:9-10). The one that has an ear, that is, an understanding of the message, the love with which it comes, and the direction to which it is pushing them, hears well: “But he that received the seed upon good ground, is that that heareth the word, and understandeth, and beareth fruit, and yieldeth the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty” (Matthew 13:23), and this applicable to all of Scripture, for the Holy Spirit speaks through it to the entirety of the Church. To the one that overcomes, that is, emerges victorious on the side of Christ in the war over your heart, will be given eternal life, that your love story may never end, but last forever.

Revelation 1:17-20

“And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: ‘Fear not, I am the First and the Last, and alive, and was dead, and behold I am living for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and hell. Write therefore the things which thou hast seen, and which are, and which must be done hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.’”

St. Paul mentions that “We see now through a glass in a dark manner” (1 Corinthians 13:12), and Wisdom reinforces this by saying: “He that is a searcher of majesty, shall be overwhelmed by glory” (Proverbs 25:27), for to know the essence of love, to see what the love that is God’s divinity looks like face to face, is greater than human frailty can bear. Thus, St. John collapses as if dead, but Jesus in His gentleness and love reaches down with His right hand to reassure Him, just as He had at the transfiguration: “And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.’ And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, ‘Arise, and fear not’” (Matthew 17:5-7). This reassurance comes with the title “First and the Last,” for though His being first, that than which nothing greater can be imagined, a temple of glory: “Upon the likeness of the throne, was a likeness as of the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber as the appearance of fire within it round about: from his loins and upward, and from his loins downward, I saw as it were the resemblance of fire shining round about” (Ezechiel 1:26-27), He is also the least, the least and simplest of men, that you may never be scared to approach Him. How many times through the Gospels must He reassure His followers: “It is I; be not afraid” (John 6:20)! Though first in majesty, He became the least in humanity, that none may feel He is too great to give them His love and attention: “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such” (Matthew 19:14). That He is alive and was dead points both to His resurrection, that He will never die again, as well as to the fact that while His humanity died, His divinity was always living, that even in death His love for you never faded, “For love is strong as death” (Canticle 8:6). Thus, His love for you will be forever, as He is forever, and He is Love Itself. When He says then that He holds the keys of death and hell, this is to signify that your death will come when you are sanctified in love as is pleasing to Him, to become the greatest expression of “I love you” as possible, and when you have finished the work that He wants you to accomplish. Death will then become something beautiful, “But I am straitened between two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better. But to abide still in the flesh, is needful for you” (Philippians 1:21), a door through which you can walk with serenity and happiness, because your Beloved awaits the other side. It is His judgment of one’s attitude towards Him that He lifts to heaven or sends to hell, thus He has the key to hell, but to you, Theophila, it is granted to hear Him say, “Come, my beloved, greatly did you love me.” Jesus then tells St. John to write what he has seen, which is the vision just read, the present happenings that will be described in the coming chapters, and the things to come, which is the prophetic message that makes up chapters 4-21 of the book. In this is a look into the Scriptures as a whole, that love takes different expressions and has different necessities throughout time. As God commanded animal sacrifice and great military conquests in one time and to be struck on the cheek in another, so too throughout time do His people need different things to be adorned in the true spiritual goods that are pleasing to Him: “We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver” (Canticle 1:10). Jesus then explains that the seven gold lampstands are the seven churches, which was touched on before, but one added point of significance is that these churches represent the churches throughout the world, and their mirroring of the temple lamp show that, through the Holy Spirit, the whole world becomes His temple: “God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The significance of this is that in receiving the grace from the sacraments, you become a living monstrance, and the world becomes your cathedral, all things drawing you into God’s presence as reminders of His love for you, while you radiate the love of Christ to all that encounter you. Though time before the Blessed Sacrament is of extraordinary value, you also need not be afraid when you are drawn from Him in the chapel, for the gift is given to you to see Him everywhere and in all things. Thus, you can proclaim with joy: “Whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25), for “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made them both” (Proverbs 20:12).

Revelation 1:12-16

“And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks: and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars. And from his mouth came out a sharp two edged sword: and his face was as the sun shineth in his power.”

St. John turns to pay attention to the source of the voice, and sees seven golden candlesticks. There was, in the tabernacle that Moses erected, a golden candlestick: “Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work of the finest gold” (Exodus 35:31), a prefiguring of the Holy Spirit’s presence within the temple of the Church. Therefore, by Christ standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks: “And the candlesticks are the seven churches” (Apocalypse 1:20), it shows the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Church, Christ present in the Eucharist and in His people, and the Holy Spirit being the fire of love and bond of doctrine that safeguards the Universal Church. There is an additional mystery here, that they are not called candles, but candlesticks, because “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), for by grace you have been made into a shining light: “That you may be blameless, and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15), upheld by the Church and her ways, illuminating the world with love: “He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is no scandal in him” (2 John 2:10). In the midst of the seven golden candlesticks is “one like the Son of man.” The term “son of man,” being an Aramaic idiom for “human being,” is seemingly Jesus’ favorite title for Himself: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath” (Matthew 12:8); “The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10); “Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many” (Matthew 20:28). It is an invitation to His humanity, that encountering Jesus is not being filled with light, fire, silence, theology, words, etc., but in thinking on His humanity and letting yourself be yourself around Him: “I am a wall:” against anything but Him, “and my breasts,” which are acts of love and God and neighbor that come from the heart, “are as a tower since I am become in his presence as one finding peace” (Canticle 8:10). Though He is fully God, and has been given “power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes and tongues shall serve him: his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14), He emphasizes throughout the Gospels that He is also fully man, and has become Incarnate that you may love Him and be loved by Him, and that by meditating constantly on His humanity, you may realize the sublimity of His divinity, as is seen here. This Son of Man is clothed with the garments of the Levitical high priest: “He shall be vested with a linen tunick” (Leviticus 16:4); “For in the priestly robe which he wore, was the whole world: and in the four rows of the stones the glory of the fathers was graven, and thy majesty was written upon the diadem of his head” (Wisdom 18:24), as well as in a garment of perfect justice: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels” (Isaias 61:10). This shows that the dignity and office of the high priest is perfectly fulfilled by Jesus: “For a blameless man made haste to pray for the people, bringing forth the shield of his ministry, prayer, and by incense making supplication” (Wisdom 18:21), and that His love is always perfect, orienting you in the Church to the best place for both you and her: “The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture… He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name’s sake” (Psalm 22:2-3). The golden sash wrapped around His breast is the choirs of the angels and saints, who abide close to His Heart in love, being represented by the gold of a righteous life, and the “paps” are mentioned to denote the Old and New Testaments, and how all His action in both point towards His love: “Thy breasts are better than wine” (Canticle 1:1). The love cultivated by the saints is His triumphant garment, thus St. Paul says that “You are our epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read by all men” (2 Corinthians 2), while being so near and dear to the Divine Bridegroom. After describing these attributes of His garments, St. John describes Jesus Himself. The whiteness of His head is a look into the transfiguration: “And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun” (Matthew 17:2), in which His divinity, the glory of the words “I Love You,” were manifest: “And we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). The whiteness of the hair shows His eternity and perfect wisdom: “I beheld till the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days sat: his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool” (Daniel 7:9), for love alone is eternal, and the way Jesus loves is that of perfect wisdom: “All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with him, and is before all time” (Ecclesiasticus 1:1). His eyes are as a flaming fire, that is filled with love, because there is little in the world that transcends the wonderfulness of looking into the eyes of one that loves you, and eyes that say, “I love you” brings a peace and comfort that all men crave: “His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the plentiful streams” (Canticle 5:12). Or, this can mean that Jesus, His eyes anointed by the sight of the perfect love of the Father, then comes to bring this light and love to you, that in His humanity you may see the divine love of God: “He that seeth me seeth the Father also” (John 14:9). His feet have two meanings: The first is in His people that take His message of love to others, their love purified by the fire of trials, the second is in His own way of life, the purity, love, and steadfastness of His actions being so perfect that they shone like brass: His legs as pillars of marble, that are set upon bases of gold” (Canticle 5:15). His voice is as the sound of many waters, because He praises God in the mouths of His faithful throughout the world: “Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world” (Psalm 18:5), either by chanting the Psalms: “Praise ye the Lord, because psalm is good: to our God be joyful and comely praise” (Psalm 146:1), extemporaneous prayer: “Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things” (Psalm 97:1); or the rush of the heart towards the Beloved to pour out affection: “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth” (Canticle 1:1), for everyone expresses their love in different ways. The seven stars denote both the order of bishops as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which He gives as He will: “The Father loveth the Son: and he hath given all things into his hand” (John 3:35), therefore, it is only by drawing close to the Son and resting your head on His Heart that gifts may spring from Him in an abundance of love: “Follow after love, be zealous for spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1). As for the sword which proceeds from His mouth, many refer to the harsh condemnation of sinners, which should not be taken lightly, but for the lover of God, it is through the words of Scripture that He may pierce the absolute depths of your soul: “For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12), for it can reprove and lift up, humble and encourage, show you what needs improving as well as how loved you are, if you let your heartstrings be plucked by the Divine Musician as you read it: “Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand are delights even to the end” (Psalm 15:11). In addition, the Lord is one to be imitated, and St. Paul invites you to walk in the footsteps of your Beloved: “Take unto you… the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God)” (Ephesians 6:17), with the Carmelite Rule making the excellent exhortation to let the words of God abound in your heart and mouth: “And his mother kept all these words in her heart” (Luke 2:51), for just as one beloved keeps the thought and words of her lover in her mind and heart at all times, so too does the Lord invite you to keep Him and His love letter to you near you in all things. Finally, His divinity is described as being more glorious than the sun: “Thou shalt no more have the sun for thy light by day, neither shall the brightness of the moon enlighten thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee for an everlasting light, and thy God for thy glory” (Isaias 60:19), for love shines brighter than all the heavenly bodies, more radiantly than the sun, bringing a shine to the lover like a halo, and so the source of all love, the essence of love, will be beyond all fathoming, thus His face shines like the sun, as it shines with love for you.