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| San Pietro al Monte, Civate, 12th century fresco |
There they are: countless angels, gathered around the throne of God, singing a hymn to God’s glory:
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and blessing.”
It is the last scene, God willing, we will see, the precursor of our eternity, joined with the angels and the saints in one grand chorus of joyous praise to the Lamb upon the throne, the Alpha and Omega, the one who was and is and ever will be, the Lord.
Such is the glory of God. It is a glory we can see even now, as we stand this side of heaven. The glory of a Creator, reflected in his creation, in all the wondrous complexity and beauty of the springtime, of plants and animals newborn and overflowing with life. It if the glory, the beauty of the face of God I saw the first time I witnessed the birth of a child.
It was unforgettable, as I heard the first gasp of air and the first muffled cry of this little human being, so gently cradled in the hands of the obstetric nurses. I remember seeing the child’s eyes open for the first time, scanning the room to see what this world had to offer. And the look in the eyes of his mother and father as they gazed upon this miracle of life which they had brought into the world for the first time. It was the most glorious things my eyes had ever beheld.
And that child’s cry, the overwhelming wonder of that new life is but an obscure reflection of the infinite beauty of the glory of God, which we will see face to face at the “the consummation of the ages” on the last day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.
Indeed, each day of our lives is but an unfolding of the glory of God, as we come to know him bit by bit in the wonders he place before us. For God created time, and all time is ultimately his creation, made to mark the passing of all the days and nights of our lives. (Cf. Sirach 43:2,6.)
Such time marks the history of the world and the history of each one of us as we are guided by the hand of the Lord through the pilgrimage of life toward the glory of God which is the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Sacred Liturgy, the Holy Mass which we celebrate today, opens a door into that Heavenly Kingdom. For what we do here “intersects time and space, history and the cosmos,” giving us a glimpse of the perfect sacrifice which has been offered on the Altar of the Cross for our redemption. Thus, in the words of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council: “in [this] earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy….” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 8. ) That is why we pray at this Mass that “from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice be offered to [his] name.” (Third Eucharistic Prayer, cf. Malachi 1:11.)
That’s how the Liturgy directs us away from a certain self-centeredness, and focuses our eyes on God. That’s why the Altar is placed at the center of every Catholic Church, the Altar we venerate with a Kiss and a bow, just as we venerate Christ. And that’s why just above it hangs the cross of the crucified Christ, the Cross which is the Altar upon which the great High priest offered the perfect sacrifice of praise which is our hope and our salvation.
For this is what we were made for, and this is what heaven is going to be. Not puffy clouds with angels playing harps, but perfect joy, pure love and praise in the presence of the glory of God. Listen to the description of heaven in the Book of Revelation:
Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” (Rev 4: 8b.)
A great multitude of saints and angels, like the roar of Niagra Falls or the snap of a peal of Thunder, praising the glory of the Lord for all eternity, as day and night they sing: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” (Rev. 4:11)
This is what we were made for, to be, in the words of Saint Peter, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, announcing the praises” of him who called us out of darkness into his own wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
The Hebrew word for this is Shekinah, gazing upon the face of God. No longer through a cloud of incense, a Pillar of Fire, a Burning Bush or a blinding light, but face to face, reveling in the …of his face.
May we be found worthy of that heaven which eye have not seen and ears have not heard, but which has been prepared for us, that Heavenly Jerusalem where we will hear “the voice of many angels around the throne…and the number of them [who were] myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.” (Rev.. 5:12) For ever and ever. Amen.
