December 1, 2012

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 508

Reading 1 from St. John's book of Revelations
Rv 22:1-7

John said:
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water,

The river of life-giving water is the Holy Spirit.  The river of Grace.

sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God

It flows from the throne of God wherein sits the Father.

and of the Lamb down the middle of the street,

I think this means, "and FROM the Lamb".  The river of grace which is the Holy Spirit flows from the Father and the Son down the middle of the street called "Straight".  That is a reference to Acts 9:11, which contains the address of the Church.

On either side of the river grew the tree of life
that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month;
the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.

The tree of life grows on both sides of the river.  The tree of life is Christ.  But in this case, Christ is the source of the river.  But the tree of life grows on either side, that is, on both sides of the river.  So, this must be the Church.  Because, the Church is the Body of Christ.  And we, who are members of that Body, the Church,  are made in the image of Christ when we bathe in the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is Baptism, (aka "the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit"..

Nothing accursed will be found anymore.

When we are baptized, our sins are washed away calling on the name of the Lord.  But this is also a reference to the Heavenly Jerusalem, which is the Church in heaven.  Wherein, no sinful thing may enter.

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him.

God the Father and God the Son will be there, abiding with them who have have kept His Commandments and partaken of the Holy Eucharist, because the true worship of Christ consists of loving neighbor and uniting ourselves to Him in the Mass.

They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun,
for the Lord God shall give them light,
and they shall reign forever and ever.

And God Himself will be our Light.  And we will be united to Him forever.

And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true,
and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits,
sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon."
"Behold, I am coming soon."
Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.

And the angels said to St. John that this message is true and he is now being sent to the Church to prepare us for the events which will happen soon.

This is a veiled reference to the Mass.  All the preceding, everything in the book of Revelations, takes place in the Mass.  The Mass is the union of heaven and earth.

In order to understand the relationship of the book of Revelations to the Mass, I wholeheartedly recommend Scott Hahn's, The Lamb's Supper. 

 Type "Lamb's Supper in the search field at LHCM, upper right hand corner of the screen.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7ab

R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Marana tha, is Aramaic which means, "come Lord".  Our Lord is Jesus, therefore we simply add His name.  It is found in Scripture:

1 Corinthians 16:22If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

When we say this word, we are celebrating our Lord's coming in the Eucharist and looking forward to our Lord's coming in the clouds in the End Time.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man."

Strange.  I don't remember reading this verse before.  But, it is a frequently repeated lesson of Christ's.  We must be prepared for His coming.  We don't want to be caught with our spiritual pants down.

Sincerely,

De Maria