It is quite remarkable how so many of us plan out our days, our weeks, our years, or our lives, knowing full well that at any moment, it could all end. There is a sense of responsibility in keeping to a schedule and fulfilling our duties now so that we might set ourselves up for the future, but this can sometimes give rise to us neglecting the fragility of life. If it all ended at this moment, would we feel satisfied in how we lived? Would we feel like we didn’t take enough risks? Would we feel unprepared and frightened upon looking back on our poor behavior? As believers, we must remember our mortality every single moment of our lives. This does not mean that we emphasize death or suffering and refuse to enjoy the blessings of life; rather, remembering our mortality means that we do nothing frivolously, and everything we do must be for the sake of our life in Christ.

Consider Saint Polycarp, one of the most significant members of the early Christian Church who does not get the recognition he deserves. Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle, and therefore knew about the truth of Christ in a very personal way despite being born after his death and resurrection. What makes Polycarp so significant is twofold: he lived a very long life (which enabled authentic apostolic tradition to pass on to numerous generations) and we still have some of his writings. His writings are not mere letters with information about the structure of the early Church; they give us an account of what these Christians dealt with in the face of persecution and how they embraced their suffering. One of the most foundational texts of the early Church is the Martyrdom of Polycarp, written by Polycarp himself on his way to his death. On the day he died, he wrote what could be described as the motto of the martyrs: “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong.” The absolute trust that Polycarp placed in God enabled him to go to his death with pure love. Polycarp, and the other martyrs of the Church, had the blessing of approaching their deaths with full satisfaction that, when all was said and done for them, they served God well. 

A life in Christ is a life of intention. No action is done without full awareness of how it is done for the sake of the Lord. Every now and then we may falter. We might do things that are not good for us, we might sin, and we might even fail to appreciate those moments of boredom or suffering that are actually quite formative. But when we reorient our lives and our behavior towards Christ, we correct ourselves and prepare ourselves for the inevitable end of this earthly life. When you give your life to God, He does not waste it. When you actively choose to serve Him and to orient yourself to His will, He will do you no wrong. 

Jesus Christ is a frightening figure. We are constantly reminded that he was a loving and nurturing person who taught us how to live in peace with one another, but a deeper look into the Christ that is presented in all four Gospels paints a picture of a man who is far more complex. Christ is God, and God’s power and glory is far too great for us to comprehend. Consider each moment an angel of the Lord appears to a human being to share a message; every time, the recipient of this divine message is initially frightened by the angelic appearance. If a mere angel has the power to instill fear in a person, imagine the fear that must strike you when you are face-to-face with the living God. Even in the Old Testament, Moses is not permitted to see the face of God because it would cause him to die; instead, God permits him to see His figure as He walks by, which still had a physical effect on Moses. This is the essence of the gift of the Holy Spirit known as “Fear of the Lord.” We are not on equal standing as God, and even as He lowered Himself to participate in our humanity, His fear-inducing presence remained.

The presence of Christ, due to his divinity, is frightening because it is so good. It is the essence of Truth (which is not always easy for us to accept), Beauty (which has the power to intimidate), and Goodness (which can be crushingly humbling to us in our sinfulness). Throughout the New Testament, we encounter the fear of the Lord through the person of Christ in both his true humanity and his full divinity. In the Gospel, we sometimes see Christ at his most vulnerable. In one scene, he looks out over the city of Jerusalem and weeps. He knows that, due to the hard-heartedness of the people of Jerusalem, the city will soon be destroyed. The place where God had decided to make His dwelling on earth for thousands of years, the center of His chosen people, would soon be reduced to rubble. Jesus did not warn that the city might be destroyed, nor did he nonchalantly or triumphantly declare that the city would be destroyed because they rejected him. Instead, he weeps because the fate of Jerusalem has been sealed. To have been a follower of Christ, to have accepted his words as truth, and to witness him in such a state would have been terrifying: the city is gone and there is nothing that can be done. 

The city of Jerusalem was indeed destroyed only four decades later, along with the Temple. But Christ was triumphant over the powers of sin and death through the suffering and death that he underwent for our sake. He was the sacrificial lamb, whose blood washed away our sins. In this passage from the book of Revelation, John has a vision of heaven: in the very dwelling place of God in His full glory, Christ exists as He truly is - a lamb that was slain. This lamb is no ordinary lamb, though; it is a frightening vision that John has of a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, bleeding out for the sake of those souls in Heaven. This is the epitome of Christ’s identity. This frightening vision encompasses all that Christ was on earth and all that Christ remains to be for his Church. The blood of this lamb continues to wash away our sins. The seven horns continue to radiate the glory of the Son. The seven eyes continue to keep watch over his creation. The Son of God is a frightening figure. Embrace the fear he strikes into your heart, because it is this fear that keeps you humble before him, and it is this fear that reminds you that you are encountering the personification of goodness itself. 

It should be the primary goal in life of every person to become a saint. There is nothing more important than to do what is necessary in order to live in union with God in Heaven and to serve His people out of love for Him. The saints are far more than merely admirable individuals from the past. They are the most direct way in which we can communicate our deepest desires with God. It initially might seem unnecessary for us to be focused on the saints; after all, if we truly want to communicate with God, there is nothing preventing us from praying directly to Him. It seems that we do not actually need intermediaries who share our prayers to Him. Even if there are saints in Heaven, they’ve received their reward and we have not yet - why would they be invested in our spiritual journey?

At every Mass, we must first prepare ourselves for the celebration by seeking forgiveness for our sins, not just those we’ve committed against God, but also those against the community. In the Confiteor, we ask “the Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the angels and saints,” and the community itself to pray for us to the Lord, our God, to be intercessors for us in our desire to be forgiven. We are first required to seek the things of Heaven for us to receive a taste of Heaven here on earth; this is simply improbable without the work of the saints on our behalf. First, it is important to clarify that the saints in Heaven are absolutely invested in our path towards Heaven. When we find something that changes our lives for the better and revolutionizes the way we behave day-to-day, it is only natural for us to share that thing with everyone and anyone we encounter so that they may also share in the joy of that thing. Fundamentally good things urge us to share that goodness with others, and there is nothing more good than being in union with God in Heaven. How could someone who knows what it truly is like to be with God not want others to participate in that life? In these holy souls, there is no more sin, no more desire to turn away from God, and that is precisely where we strive to be, not just in the world to come, but in this world as well, in just the same way. The saints are who we strive to emulate, and they want us to join them in the glorious presence of God. However, this is merely the first step in addressing the biggest issue when it comes to saints - do we need their intercession?

While it is true that we can pray directly to God, asking the saints to intercede on our behalf is an authentic way to indicate to God that our prayers are sincere. When you approach someone to ask for something, you are dependent on their kindness and generosity. Therefore, you must approach them with humility. It is a great expression of humility to indicate to God that you recognize other humans are with Him in Heaven, that they are familiar with His ways and reasons, and that you are not at that point of sanctity. We are a community, both here on earth and in Heaven; to think that we can seek salvation on our own is foolhardy, considering that we can literally do nothing else in this life without the help of equals who have already achieved that for which we aim. Although God can come directly to us, we are rarely prepared to come directly to God. To ask saints to share our petitions with God shows Him that we approach Him with humility, we are not prepared to go to Him yet, and that our petition is sincere. We should celebrate the saints often: they exemplify a life dedicated to Christ, and they actually desire to bring us closer to God. 

The similarities between the Church for its faithful and a mother for her child is striking. On one hand, the Church instructs us on the trajectory of martyrdom and persecution for the faith, while on the other hand, mothers have given us life, raised us, and have loved us unconditionally. There is a deeply connected link between the two: to bring someone into this world, to give life, and to guide them through their life requires immense suffering on the part of the mother. Even more so, the mother must prepare her children for their own lives of suffering. So why do it? Clearly, there is something far more noble about life that makes suffering worth it. Clearly, a mother’s love will strengthen us through the moments of suffering so that we can achieve that which is noble. 

While the rest of the world certainly sees the Church as an organizational institution, we understand that we are a part of something far more mystical and far more divine. The Church was not created or instituted by mere human beings; it was founded and brought forth by God Himself, present in the individual Jesus Christ. Therefore, its very essence and identity is mystical and divine, but still explainable. Christ acknowledges his Church as his Bride, and we are part of this Heavenly union. As members of the Church, we build up the Mystical Body of Christ and are united with Christ in this divine Matrimony. But on a daily basis, we find ourselves living as children of this union with Christ at our head and the Church as our mother. Motherhood itself can only be properly understood in its fullness by looking at the Church: it is formative, it is sacrificial, it is nourishing, and above all, it is loving. When we enter into the walls of our local church at any given time, we are being cradled by the warm and loving embrace of Our Holy Mother Church, which was an ability given to her by first learning it from her Bridegroom on the cross. By giving ourselves over to the motherhood of the Church, we are participating in a divine family, and as the parts that make up the Church, the Bridegroom embraces us and calls us just as a shepherd embraces and calls his sheep.

There’s an interesting sentiment expressed in the story of the early Church in the New Testament: after a complete outline of the suffering and the persecution that the disciples experienced, we are told that they were “filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” Tied to the scene of Heaven that is described in Revelation we see why there is joy in this suffering. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb; by his wounds, we are healed. The Paschal Lamb, as is described in Revelation and explained in the Gospel, is our shepherd. He leads us to springs of life-giving water, and will wipe away every tear from our eyes. When we were children and experienced the growing pains of life, we went to our mothers for comfort. Your mother led you through the pain and wiped the tears from your eyes. This never made life easier, but it certainly made life worth living. When you remember the love of your own mother, remember also the role that the Holy Mother Church plays in your life. In life’s most difficult moments, she will welcome you home and wipe away every tear from your eyes.

We tend to use the language of taste quite often when speaking about things that have nothing to do with eating. To be sweet is to be pleasant and moreish. To be bitter is to be unpleasant. To be sour means to be spoiled or difficult to experience. We use the language of taste because we understand exactly what it means for something to be sweet, bitter, sour, etc. We have tasted things that are sweet and know that we would like more of it. We have tasted things that are bitter and know that we do not want more of it. We have tasted that which is sour and know that something might be off or that it might be difficult continuing to taste it. When we metaphorically apply this language to that which is not consumed, we are assigning quality. This tends to be done with personalities, words, or behaviors. 

We hear this metaphorical language multiple times in Scripture. In this passage from Revelation, John is instructed to take the scroll and swallow it. He is told that it will taste sweet like honey in his mouth, but will turn sour in his stomach. Psalm 119 also uses this language, as it says, “How sweet to my taste is your promise!” Sweetness implies a desire for more. When we receive the word of God, we desire to hear more and to learn more from Him; a real example is given of this in the Gospel: after Jesus had driven out from the Temple those were selling things, the chief priests wanted to put him to death but could not because all the people were hanging on his words. The crowds had tasted the sweetness of the word of God through Christ and wanted more of it. Eventually, though, Christ was put to death; all those who hung on his words would eventually abandon him at his hour of most need. How could this happen if his words were so sweet? Recall the scene of the Bread of Life discourse in chapter six of the Gospel of John. Jesus’ words and actions were so sweet to the taste of the crowds that they went running after him; but when he began to clarify exactly what he came to offer and what he came to teach, the initial sweetness of his words became sour in their stomachs, just as it happened to John of Patmos in this scene from Revelation. Christ’s word was initially sweet because it was good. It offered hope. But with it comes tremendous responsibility, suffering, and persecution - this is the sourness that John experienced in his vision.

Considering the Bread of Life discourse, the crowds went after Jesus to seek after more of the bread that he had miraculously offered to them on the shores. He responds to them, though, that this bread will not last and that they would still die if they ate it; however, his flesh was the Bread of Life and those who ate of this Bread of Life would not die. During Benediction after Adoration, the priest will sing out in front of the Blessed Sacrament, “you have given them Bread from heaven.” The congregation responds, “having within it all sweetness.” The Word made flesh comes to us in the bread of Life, the Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament. The quality of sweetness that makes us want more and more is found in its entirety in the body of Christ. When we consume it, we unify ourselves to the body of Christ, but we must remember that the body of Christ underwent tremendous suffering for the sake of those he loved. We consume his body in all of its sweetness, but we must remember that there will be suffering and pain when we emulate Christ. We bear the sourness in our stomach anyway because we love those for whom we suffer, just as Christ did. This is the essence of sweetness.

There is a reason for every sign and wonder that God permits to occur at the hands of his messengers. When we look at the foundation of our faith in figures like Moses, the supposed miracles he performed had deep theological lessons attached to them. The same can be said about the Old Testament prophets and especially with the public ministry of Christ. Clearly, mere signs and wonders have no real value unless God is trying to communicate something to us through them; this is why Christ warns us against following those who seemingly perform miracles as just displays of power. One of the most significant recurring events in the age of the Resurrection, though, is the private revelations of credible Marian apparitions. There are many purported apparitions, though few are widely accepted in the Church precisely because of the issue of the messages - if God sends His mother to us, surely she must come to communicate something rather than to just show herself.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is both the patroness of the Americas and the source of one of the most widely-venerated images of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because Our Lady of Guadalupe is so deeply tied to the culture of our continent and specifically to the people of Mexico, sometimes we can forget about the details of this apparition. Mary did not merely show up on the tilma of Juan Diego miraculously; in every detail of the story, more about the trajectory of the Church is revealed and God’s communication to us through Mary and Juan Diego becomes clear. Mary came with a message that revealed many, many things, but all of these details are united together by her main message: The Virgin Mary is the mother of the very true Deity, and because of this, she has become our mother. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the first time when it is absolutely inarguable that the Virgin Mary is the same person as the woman of the Apocalypse described in the book of Revelation: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, on her head a crown of twelve stars…she was with child.” All of these details, even her being pregnant, can still be seen in the image of her on the miraculous tilma of Juan Diego. Mary is far more than just a secondary character in the Gospels.

Why would God want Mary to share this message with us 1500 years after her own time on earth? These apparitions occurred only 15 years after the Protestant Reformation, when truth and clarity (especially as it relates to Mary and the saints) was absolutely crucial. Why did the apparitions occur in Mexico? These apparitions occurred only 10 years after Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire; Christianity had entered into the New World, yet Mary appeared as a Native just like Juan Diego. With such a deeply Catholic message being shared, Mary’s use of the indigenous culture (not the indigenous religion) reveals another important message: Catholicism is the Truth, but this Truth is not bound to a geographical or ethnic identity. It is truly universal, but it does not capitulate to religious syncretism. As Europe fell away from the Church, the New World carried on the faith in the name of Our Lady of Guadalupe. No sign from Heaven exists without a message for us attached to it. Study what the Virgin had to say to us through her humble servant, Juan Diego. In this appearance, she shares with us messages from Heaven and a way in which we can listen to the Word of God as it applies to us today. 

In the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos describes a woman at the Apocalypse, saying, “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Any Christian should immediately associate this image with the Virgin Mary, especially as John goes on to describe the woman in labor, a mother figure, giving birth to a male threatened by the great dragon. But this description of her physical experience is crucial to our understanding, not just of Mary, but of humanity’s role in being servants of Christ, perfected by Mary. She covers herself with radiance, not of her own making or of her own power, but provided by the sun. She is literally on equal footing with the moon, a brilliant object in the night sky but only brilliant because it reflects the radiance of the sun.

The Apostolic Churches (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Oriental, etc.) are often criticized for developing a cult around Mary to a point where she is worshiped rather than merely revered. This critique may possibly be applicable to individuals and their practices, but as the Churches directly established by the Apostles, we approach Mary exactly as she should be approached - with unique reverence. She is not divine, but she is no ordinary saint either; she is the Mother of God. The image of the Woman of the Apocalypse described in Revelation affirms this. Upon first glance, one might assume that she was divine considering the brilliance that surrounded her and the crown of stars she wore, indicating a royal nature on a universal level. But immediately we are told that this brilliance is not her own; it is the reflection of a radiance from another source. Mary is so holy, so revered, and so set apart from every other human being precisely because she is a mirror and a magnifier of the divinity of Christ. This does not come from within her or by her own accord, but rather from the son she bore to the world. When we venerate the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we reflect on the fact that his heart was an amalgamation of all the things that made up Christ’s love, made physical through flesh. His flaming heart radiated with love, spilled blood and water out of a sense of self-giving, bore his own royal crown of thorns to indicate his sacrificially loving kingship, and proudly displayed the means by which he gave himself in love - the cross.

The day after we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, we celebrate the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose love for her son always follows his love for us. Mary leads the way for us to model ourselves after him: in art, her heart is depicted similarly, though not identically. Like Christ, the flames of her heart come from within herself because they are her own love for him. But the radiance of her heart is a reflection of the radiance of Christ. Instead of the bleeding side of Christ, her heart is pierced by a sword, the spiritual suffering she endured alongside her son’s passion. Instead of a crown of thorns, her heart is wrapped by a crown of flowers, symbols of a delicate and motherly love rather than a sacrificial love like Christ’s. Mary is the Woman of the Apocalypse, donning the royalty of her son, because she reflects the glory of his divinity, not because she is divine. She is like the Moon, reflecting the light of the Sun so that we may not be in total darkness in those moments when Christ is hidden from us. We are meant to be reflections of Christ, too; all humans are capable of loving Christ as Mary did. All of us are capable of reflecting the love of Christ as Mary does. Light the way for others when they are in darkness and learn from Mary - reflect the light of Christ.  

God’s creation is not limited to that which can only be seen by human beings. Creation is diverse and expansive, from the smallest molecules in the physical world to the greatest entities that are pure spirit. God loves all of His creation in ways we cannot even begin to fathom, especially because the human person is extremely limited. Perhaps the one part of creation that understands God and His works best are the angels. An “angel” is a generally recognized term by most people, but very few people understand what angels are and what the Church teaches about them. Unlike humans who have both a body and spirit, angels are pure spirits, and their capacity to love, know, and understand God are far greater than ours.

Angels are traditionally categorized in a hierarchy within three orders and nine choirs. The angels that belong to the highest order and are closest to God by serving Him directly are the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. The angels that belong to the middle order and help God in his governance of created things are the Dominions, Virtues, and Powers. The angels that belong to the lowest order and are directly responsible for the affairs of human beings are the Principalities, Archangels, and common Angels. As highly intelligent creatures of God, every angel has the same gift that has been given to us by God: free will. Because of this, they actively choose or reject God. Satan was an angel belonging to the highest rank, either as a Seraph or a Cherub. He was highly intelligent and beloved by God, who gave him the name Lucifer, which means “light-bringer.” Through Satan’s free will and pride in his own powers and abilities, he rebelled against God along with other angels.

The book of Revelation recounts the story of Satan’s fall, which is precipitated by a battle in heaven. It is Michael the Archangel (who is celebrated as a saint along with Gabriel and Raphael) who ultimately defeats Satan and expels him from heaven. This is significant: as a member of the lowest order of angels, Michael defeats one of the greatest angels from the highest order by the power of God. Satan’s pride in his placement and choir was his downfall. This is why he detests those beneath him, from the Archangels to human beings. His hatred for the Virgin Mary is because she holds more power than him despite her lesser species. His hatred for us is that we trust in the power of God, not in our own power like him. The Archangels are the means by which we were protected from the power of Satan. They are the guardians of the human race and the messengers of God. They deserve to be celebrated as remarkable members of God’s beautiful creation.

Power over the physical world is not indicative of divinity, but is rather indicative of a powerful spirituality. Consider your own self. What makes you, you? You are not merely your body because there is much more to you than your physical being; there is your personality, your relationships, your motivations, your dreams, etc., all of which are outside of your physical being. But you still have your physical being, which means that you are not merely your soul or your spirit. Rather, you are your body being moved by your spirit; it is the spirit that gives motion to the body. The same applies to the natural world - it was God whose breath, the Holy Spirit, swept over the abyss like a mighty wind to begin the creation of the world. However, God has instilled spiritual power within any being who has a spirit, including us human beings to a certain extent, but most certainly the angels. Through the power of their spirit, angels can manipulate the physical world. 

Some angels have disordered their free will for selfishness and pride, causing them to fall from grace; we call these demons. As angels in nature, they also have the power to manipulate the physical world. This can be used as a tool against the faithful to instill fear within us, or it can be used to convert people away from God through apparent signs and wonders that appear miraculous. Jesus Christ is very clear in all of the synoptic Gospels: just because someone may seem to have the power to perform signs and wonders or to alter the physical world does not mean that it is an act of divinity. Evil spirits will use this power naturally to trick and steal away souls from God. When we place all of our faith into signs and wonders, as so many did during the public ministry of Jesus when he performed miracles, we lose sight of the true power of God - His mercy and His love for us. All of Christ’s miracles had a deep theological lesson attached to them that taught us about the nature of God Himself, as well as what His mercy and love for us actually looked like and actually meant. None were performed frivolously; yet many who claim to be of God or to do the work of God perform signs and wonders merely for the sake of performing them as a show of strength. This defeats the purpose of the Spirit, namely that we orient our powers to share God with others through teaching them about Him. 

When all is said and done, just as Christ promised, the signs and wonders of false prophets and Messiahs will die out. There will be great tribulation and horrific suffering throughout the world, just as a mother undergoes labor pains before the birth of her child. But when the time of the Lord is complete, all will be fully understood and realized; the purpose of our body in relation to our spirits will be unified in perfection. We hope to find ourselves among those who are written about in this passage from Revelation, triumphant over the beast, singing the song of the Lamb: “For you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Do not be swayed by the simplistic spiritual power to manipulate the physical world. Many can do so, but only one has the power that a Creator has over His creation. In due time, all that He has done and all the reasons why He has done so will be revealed. For now, glorify and adore Him as is due to Him - practice now the song of the Lamb so that you may join the choirs in Heaven who will sing it for the rest of eternity. 

The imagery that is shared in the book of Revelation and in the words of Christ in the Gospel about the end of time can be deeply disturbing and frightening; regardless of whether Christ’s second coming occurs within our lifetime or not, it is clear in these readings that we will experience the effects of these events regardless of whether we are dead or alive. The dead are brought to God again for the final judgment, and Earth and even Heaven will pass away to be replaced by a new Heaven and a new Earth. We will be participating in these events, whether we like it or not; it is in our best interest, then, to be as faithful to the word of God as possible, to keep the commandments and to live according to the way that Christ’s Church instructs us to. 

There is a particularly disturbing line from this passage from Revelation: Satan will be defeated, then tied up and thrown into the abyss for a thousand years. After that, he will be released for a short time. When will these thousand years occur? Have they already passed? What does a world without the influence of Satan look like? What makes this vision from John of Patmos so disturbing is that there does not seem to be a time since the life of Christ that has been free of the influence of Satan. Regardless, if these thousand years have passed, then it goes to show just how evil humans can potentially be. Satan will obviously be defeated; in fact, he has already been defeated. But in His infinite wisdom, and perhaps we may not fully understand why now, God has permitted Satan to exert his influence on the world. If these thousand years free of his influence have not occurred yet, we can certainly look forward to a moment in our history when we are free from his grasp. However, just like Satan, we have been granted free will and we would still have the choice to sin or to commit acts of evil. When Satan is released for a short time, as mentioned in Revelation, this will be a truly calamitous period in world history. His full power will be exercised throughout the world and we will either be subject to his evil or tempted to fall away from God. Just as Christ seems to emphasize time and time again, though, his final and glorious coming will only occur once humanity has experienced all of these things. There is hope for all of us, as long as we remain faithful to Christ.

A thousand years without the influence of Satan may sound good, and perhaps it will be. However, it is a fixed amount of time. There will be a time when the prince of all lies will return to try to influence us as humans. Our own lives are mere blips in the history of humanity. We are extremely aware of mortality because it is all we know. Everything that we experience in this world and the next are also subject to this mortality; as Christ says, Heaven and Earth will pass away. But God is eternal. His goodness is eternal, too, and He invites us to be participants in that eternal goodness. We can begin the process now: Christ also clarifies his words, saying that his words will not pass away. Live according to the teachings of Christ. Hold onto them dearly, especially in the face of persecution or temptation. By doing so, you begin to experience a concept so foreign to our humanity that many reject it - we have the opportunity to experience eternal goodness. There is nothing that induces more hope than this understanding.

In the city of Rome, the center of the Catholic faith, there are approximately 900 different churches which all celebrate the Mass, offer the sacraments, and serve as a place of worship for pilgrims and citizens. Even in places with a much smaller Catholic influence and population than other areas, there are usually many different parishes that serve the needs of the faithful. The Catholic Church is expansive, and we can joyfully look at the worldwide Church community and be assured that we have carried out Christ’s message to go out into the world and to make disciples of all nations. 

Before Christ, those who wanted to practice their faith in the One True God needed to travel to Jerusalem in order to worship in the Temple, to offer sacrifices, and to get as close as possible to the Holy of Holies, God’s residing place on earth. Jerusalem was where heaven and earth touched. It was the access point by which humble human beings could approach the divine. As a firstborn Jew, Christ was immediately dedicated to God in the Temple after his birth - God left the confines of the Temple and physically went out into the world through the person of Christ. Even after his death and resurrection, the Church in Jerusalem had a special role: the Gentile converts approached the apostles and elders within the city to be instructed on how they must conform to the Judaic roots of Christianity. In this “Council of Jerusalem”, representatives were sent to Antioch to deliver the message to the Gentiles there. Interestingly, it is understood that Peter, the first leader of the Church, was first bishop in Antioch before moving to Rome. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see the movement and flourishing of the power of the Church from its origins in Jerusalem to the rest of the known world. In the vision of Heaven we hear from the book of Revelation, Jerusalem has been renewed; there is no temple anymore because God’s presence has permeated throughout the Heavenly City through the figure of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. In the Gospel, our understanding is solidified: the persons of the Holy Trinity have made Their dwelling not in a building or a temple, but in the hearts of the members of our Holy Church.

Whether you attend one of the 900 churches in the city of Rome or one of the countless Catholic communities throughout the world, you are opening your heart so that God may make His dwelling on earth through you. The Jews would travel by foot from around the world in order to get to the Temple in Jerusalem, to offer sacrifices to God, and to get as close as they could to the Holy of Holies. In Catholicism, we only need to go to our local parish to participate in the sacrifice of the Mass. That which is contained in the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, is then received into us. We don’t need to try to get close; God enters into us. This is the ultimate love story: that God so loved the world that He acknowledged our desire to be near to Him, and joyfully left His own residing place in Heaven so that He could be just as near to us. We can join him in this love at any church in the world, whether it be Jerusalem, Rome, or anywhere in between.