Our second reading is from probably the most controversial book of the Bible. It is so controversial that it almost did not get put into the bible in the first place. You may remember that the original title of this as the Apocalypse and it contains a form of literature called Apocalyptic literature. This is intense writing that basically focuses on the end times and the battle between good and evil. By definition, it makes great entertainment. However, what does it mean and indeed, what does today’s second reading mean?

First we need to understand that it is not to be taken literally. Here in the United States there is a phenomenon which is not common in other countries and that is TV preachers who take the newspaper and the book of Revelation and explain how certain news stories are predicted in the book of Revelation. This is not the Catholic position. However, to be fair in a sense, if you look at the imagery and imagine that John of Patmos had a view of our modern weapons of warfare, would he not describe them in similar fashion as we see in the book of Revelation?

That point aside, let us look at today’s reading. We see this group of people described as those who survived the period of great triumph and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. Further, notice that they survived the period of great tribulations. These words give us a hint as to what is the point of this book.

The Commentary on the New American Bible describes this as a form of resistance literature. Which means that when this book was written, there was a tremendous persecution against Christians, which at this time are all Catholics, by default. This literature is directed to them at a time that, seemingly, evil is winning. The book is instructing them in a special kind of language directed to these suffering Christians to persevere for their Redeemer is coming. This would explain why much of the dark images are so strong.

The question is what does this say to us?

I was giving some thought to what the Church has been undergoing over the past several years and as you know this is a difficult time. However, when we look at it in light of who we are as Catholics and in light of the book of Revelation we can see it from a different perspective.

I told you that at the origin of this action against the Catholic Church is a team at a local University that put together an attempt to take down the Church using the tactics of Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky. I also told you that the book praises the devil. What I may not have told you is that this is something that you can find in the Book of Revelation. Indeed, the Apocalypse refers to the devil as the one who accuses our brothers. This means that as much as these people have attempted to take down the Church using the tactics of the devil, they are actually doing what God said they would do. There is a principle in the bible that teaches that God is sovereign even evil must ultimately do His will and so evil in an attempt to destroy Christianity is cleaning it up. But God is still is in charge.

But let us go to another step. These people are trying to destroy the Catholic Church by embracing the tactics of the devil and, thereby, are giving themselves over to the devil. They are trying to build a just society using the tactics of the most vicious tyrant in all creation. That is like trying to build a brick house with ice cream. If you use ice cream to build a house, you build an ice cream house. It will never become bricks. If you embrace a tyrant’s tactics to build a just society, you will only build a horrible tyranny. I am reminded of the woman who told me that those who were trying to destroy our Church would end up and these are her words: “eating themselves”. Of course that is true, tyranny breeds tyranny and when people use the methods of a tyrant to get their way, they fall victim to their own methods.

Meanwhile, those who choose not to follow the ways of the tyrant, but of Christ may suffer for a time, but when the time is over they find the greatest of joys. This is the message of the second reading. That although the people are suffering from the actions of tyrants, the tyranny will pass and they will live in the Justice of the living God.

Yet, we need to carry this another step. Our role is to follow Christ for exactly what I mention above. Once we have survived the tyranny when we follow Christ, we then become lighthouses to those seeking a way out of the darkness that envelopes them.

Lighthouses are built on rock and Christ is our rock, so when we build our lives on the rock who is Christ, then the we become lighthouses to those who are shipwrecked on the darkness of tyranny in the storm of confusion.

During this time, when we are being attacked by organizations as diverse as some politicians and some news agencies, we need to focus on our goal and this to be those who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. Only then do we understand our situation in our world, especially in this time. We know that we must be focused on serving Christ especially now and know that those who are using the tactics of the devil to destroy our church are doing the opposite. All along God is in charge. God is using them to purify our Church.

Do not be discouraged by those seeking to destroy our church. They will fail meanwhile through them, despite their opposite intentions, God is cleaning his church and calling you to greater holiness. Wash your clothes in the blood of the lamb and live the gospel.

Fr. Robert J Carr

Fr. Carr is an alliance member of the New Song Community (Canção Nova), the pastor of St. Benedict Parish in Somerville, MA and the editor of this blog

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