November 29, 2012

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 506

Reading 1 from St. John's book of Revelations
Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

I, John, saw another angel coming down from heaven,
having great authority,
and the earth became illumined by his splendor.

John continues recounting his vision of the end times.  He sees a mighty angel come down from heaven in great light and glory.

He cried out in a mighty voice:
"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
a cage for every unclean and disgusting beast."

The angel narrates the description of Babylon, which is the veiled name for Jerusalem.  Read more.

A mighty angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone
and threw it into the sea and said:
"With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down,
and will never be found again.
No melodies of harpists and musicians,
flutists and trumpeters,
will ever be heard in you again.
No craftsmen in any trade
will ever be found in you again.
No sound of the millstone
will ever be heard in you again.
No light from a lamp
will ever be seen in you again.
No voices of bride and groom
will ever be heard in you again.
Because your merchants were the great ones of the world,
all nations were led astray by your magic potion."

This song describes the devastation which Jerusalem suffered at the hands of the Romans in the year 70ad. Read more.

Jesus prophesied about this:

Matthew 24:1-2
King James Version (KJV)
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

After this I heard what sounded like
the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying:
"Alleluia!
Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God,
for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

They said a second time:
"Alleluia! Smoke will rise from her forever and ever."

Then the rest of the angels took up the chorus.  Singing about the destruction of Jerusalem.  The Great City which had killed our Lord:

Revelation 11:8
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Then the angel said to me, "Write this:
Blessed are those who have been called
to the wedding feast of the Lamb."

Then the first angel turned to St. John and proclaimed the blessedness of those who are called to the "wedding feast of the Lamb".

The wedding feast of the Lamb is a veiled description of the Mass, the Eucharistic celebration.  It is here that we, who are Christians, are united to our Lord when we receive His Body in the Eucharist.  Therefore, the book of Revelations also says:

Revelation 22:14
King James Version (KJV)
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Therefore, those who are called to the "wedding feast of the Lamb" are Christians who are called to be united to Christ in the Mass:

John 6:56
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

In a more explicit manner, the wedding feast of the Lamb is our union with Christ in Eternity:

Revelation 21
King James Version (KJV)
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (Rev. 19: 9a) Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.

R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.

R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.

R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.

R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

The Mass is the wedding feast of the Lamb.  All who partake of His body are they who have been washed by water and the word, the Baptized:

Ephesians 5:25-27
King James Version (KJV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
know that its desolation is at hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Let those within the city escape from it,
and let those in the countryside not enter the city,
for these days are the time of punishment
when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.

Jesus prophetically describes the events of 70ad, when Jerusalem was besieged and utterly destroyed.

Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days,
for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth
and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword
and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles;
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Gentiles are the Romans who utterly destroyed Jerusalem.  The time of the Gentiles refers to the fact that the Gentiles will be those whom God has grafted to the root of His Vine:

Romans 11:20-25
King James Version (KJV)
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand."

Here, in my opinion, Jesus effortlessly and seamlessly moves into a description of the events at the end of time.  His words become mysterious like those of Daniel's 70 weeks and St. John's Apocalypse.

This is, I believe, intentional.  In order that mankind will not become complacent and say that the end will never come.  Because the end will come to each one of us, when we meet our Maker on our deathbed.  Therefore, be prepared.

Sincerely,

De Maria