“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass: and signified, sending by his angel to his servant John, who hath given testimony to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, what things soever he hath seen. Blessed is he, that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy; and keepeth those things which are written in it; for the time is at hand.”
The book of Revelation, or Apocalypse, contains more mysteries than words, but for your sake, dearest Theophila, it will be considered in light of love. In Plato’s Republic, he analyzes what justice is for a man by regarding what is just for a city, and while the Catholic Church is seen throughout this book, it also has personal connotations for you. Therefore, the “revelation,” or “unveiling,” is a look at what is to come for both the Church and for yourself, a look at love’s demands and triumphs. This is not to make you afraid, for the Lord is keeping you very safe: “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). This message of love is unveiled to you by Jesus through an angel to St. John, that the Eternal Word, I Love You, may be spoken to you through these words. Love hides nothing from the beloved, and Jesus receives all knowledge of God from the Father and gives it to you: “All things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15), that you might know the Heart of God in Jesus: “Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). He refers to His people as “servants,” for though you are His spouse: "Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Canticle 4:9) and His friend: “I have called you friends” (John 15:15), by the glory of His divinity: “And we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14), he is your King, and you serve Him. Because Sacred Scripture is always relevant to you when you read it: “The word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), when you read it, God is speaking to you. Therefore, the things which “must shortly come to pass” are events within your short life: “The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years” (Psalm 89:10), and Jesus is here preparing you for what you shall encounter, that you won’t be surprised. This was given by an angel to St. John, for God gives all gifts that they may be shared, including to angels, for this is the way of love: “Do not forget to do good, and to impart; for by such sacrifices God’s favour is obtained” (Hebrews 13:16). “John” also means “grace,” or “God is gracious,” because you will only come to understand God’s love for you expressed through this book as a gift of grace. It is understood that the same John that wrote this “gave testimony” of Jesus as His Apostle, knowing His Heart in an intense, intimate way: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life” (1 John 1:1); “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23), indicating that the book of the Apocalypse is best read after there is an understanding of God’s ways and Jesus’ Sacred Heart, having read and meditated upon other books of Sacred Scripture first and having a similar intimacy with your Beloved: “I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies” (Canticle 6:2). However, with this understanding in hand, blessed is the one who reads this book and through it understands the love of God, for it is a book of astonishing depth and magnificence, and then goes and loves in accordance with the words contained therein, for a short time of labor is followed by an eternity of love: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). There is a sense of urgency contained in these opening verses, for the one that enters into them with an intimate understanding of the Sacred Heart can expect the trials described, but in a hopeful manner as the reader is armed with the beatitudes: “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12), and hopes for the victories that are also expressed in this book: “It is done. I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely” (Apocalypse 21:6). Therefore, arm yourself, Theophila: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: in all things taking the shield of faith… And take unto you helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:14-17), while opening your heart to your Beloved: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled” (Canticle 5:2) as you consider the mysteries contained in this text.