The Revelation of the Mass

As many of you know, I lead a weekly Bible Study (Thursday nights from 7:30-9 PM at St. Justin, Martyr Parish in Unionville). We are currently studying the Book of Revelation, one of the most enigmatic - and most misunderstood - books in the Bible.

One of the best-kept secrets about the Book of Revelation, filled as it is with unfamiliar (and downright scary) images of beasts, dragons, and blood, is that it has an awful lot to do with the one thing that is most familiar to Catholics: the Mass. Many scholars have noted that the book is arranged, if you will, after the fashion of the Mass; it has a decidedly liturgical shape.

Near the beginning of the book, there are seven letters to seven local churches of first-century Asia Minor (seven is a biblical number signifying completeness/wholeness/perfection, meaning that the book is not just addressed to those first-century local "parishes" in particular, but that they are meant for the Universal Church of all times) with the message: Repent! This corresponds to the Penitential Rite (or, the "I Confess") of the Mass, where we confess to God and before one another our sins, and whereby venial sins are forgiven.

The next major section of Revelation features a scroll with seven seals. No one is found worthy to open and read the scroll - except Jesus, the Lamb of God. This corresponds to the next major movement of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, where Jesus himself opens the Scriptures to us, speaking powerfully into our lives.

Next, we witness the pouring out of seven chalices. This represents the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which, of course, involves the cup of Christ's blood.

The book concludes with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which is, of course, the moment at Mass of our Communion with the Eucharistic Jesus, when we unite his flesh and blood with ours, receiving the gift of his divine life. The Eucharist is, as Pope John Paul II liked to say, "the sacrament of the Bridegroom (Jesus) and the Bride" (the Church).

That's a bird's eye view of the book, from the point of view of the Divine Liturgy, as they call the Mass in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church - but there is much, much more to tell in future posts, so stay tuned!