After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’(Revelation 7:9-17)
RESPONSORY
The redeemed cried out in a loud voice:
-- Salvation comes from our God and from the Lamb.
To our God be blessing, glory and wisdom. –
-- Salvation comes from our God and from the Lamb.
From the treatise"In everything you have been enriched in him" by St. Gaspar del Bufalo (+1837)
Having come so far in the ways of love, the soul will find itself subject to disturbances by the enemy, or by weariness, excessive fears, or inexpressible dejection. But one glance directed at the blood of Jesus Christ flowing from his wounds encourages the soul not to abandon its good resolve. "My daughter, do you not see," says Jesus, "how greatly my own spirit was troubled in the garden even to the point of sweating blood? When you are sad, hope. Who does not know that the disciple must conform himself to the Master, and the bride to the groom? Do you not remember the three hours of terrible agony I endured for you? Is it not precisely here, my daughter, that you must come to imitate such a great example? A new degree of glory results from every act of patience. Do you not see how I am preparing you for the greatest heights of blessed glory? Look at the interior martyrdom which even my own mother had to endure."
Behold, oh listeners, how resigned to suffering we must be in this life. In this way we experience purgatory here, for virtue can only be refined and tested in the crucible of tribulation.
My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh. The soul tried by love sees that, just as Jesus wastested in every way, so it too must be tested. The soul realizes that, just as Jesus was able to say all was consummated, so it too must have reason one day to repeat in like manner,It is finished. From the grotto of Bethlehem to the consummation of the sacrifice, he was always a victim of suffering. Moreover, since the cross is the indispensable ladder to heaven, the soul no longer need fear the wordsufferbut instead sufferswith gladness. Thus it seeks the God of consolations and not the consolations of God, thereby adoring the divine dispositions. The soul knows that God tries it each time more severely in order to see if there is any obstacle impeding its love:As gold in the furnace, he proved [the souls of the just].
At last the soul comes to sufferwith joy, just as we read of the savior whofor the sake of the joy that lay before him. . .endured the cross, despising its shame. Thus derision, calumnies, adversities--whatever the disturbance--do not cause [the soul] to falter. It thinks how, despite Jesus' having given sight to the blind and healing the lame, stillthey crucified him. "How," it asks, "could they have the heart to pierce those hands which dispensed nothing but heavenly favors, those feet which walked the streets of Jerusalem`doing good and healing all'? How is it that even the blood which flowed from those same hands and feet did not move them to pity, their even having the courage to insult him on the cross by saying,`Hail, King of the Jews'! and`If you are the Son of God. . .come down from the cross.'"
Oh wounded love of my Lord! How far we are from conforming our lives to yours and how much we must still be trained to follow this generous path!
Now I understand how love empowered by faith worked such marvels in the world. The saintsby faith conquered kingdoms. . .obtained the promises; [they closed the mouths of lions], put out [raging fires]. . . ." Oh champions of religion, what made you so generous? The sight of Jesus shedding his blood for humanity.
Who are these [wearing white robes] and where did they come from?. . .These are the ones who have [survived the time of great distress]; they have washed their robes [and made them white] in the blood of the Lamb. What comfort we will have one day when in the great valley of Jehosophat, the elect with palms in hand, will sing the praises of the divine blood through which we possess the nuptial garment and the robe of exultation and happiness. They washed their robes... in the blood of the Lamb. We shall realize then how baptism, confirmation, penance, the eucharist, and prayer had been nothing but the perennial springs which applied this divine blood. And what blessings there will be especially at the appearance of the cross.
But what will those poor souls say who trampled this blood with sacrilege and blasphemies? Oh God! But I wish to speak instead of the just to you; nor do I wish to sadden you this day; this, my people, is my hope.
Happy the person who is more and more enriched with the treasures we have in the application of the blood of Jesus Christ. To the extent that we apply it we shall advance in the ranks of heavenly glory. Observe then the industry of the saints in this heavenly commerce. And what of us? We who perhaps have not yet begun to atone for the past or provide for the future. What shall we resolve? Jesus shows us his precious homeland. "Behold," he says, "at what price I have won it for you:`You have been bought at a great price'."
Let it therefore be our duty to make known its glories by offering it continually to the eternal Father. Oh balsam of our souls! Oh font of every mercy, grant that my tongue reddened with this blood in the daily celebration of Mass might praise you now and forever. For this purpose I am a priest: to apply the merits of the divine blood. What a great thought this is for me! What a great incentive to propose its veneration to the people, and on divine authority:You have redeemed us for God [with your blood]. . .and have made us a kingdom and priests.
Musical Selection
Hi qui amici sunti stolis albi, qui sunt, et unde venerunt? Hi sunt, qui venerunt de tribulatione magna et laverunt stolas suas in sanguine Agni.Ideo sunt ante thronum Dei, et serviunt ei die ac nocte. Beati qui lavant stolas suas in sanguine Agni.
These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from? These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night. Blessed are they who was their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
Collect
God of our salvation and our freedom,
you have redeemed us by the blood of your Son.
Hear the voices of your people
and grant that through you we may have life
and in you find eternal refuge.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen. (Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter)