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II. The Liturgy in Heaven

A. Caught Up in the Spirit

The biblical story – told to us in the Scripture readings for the Mass and summarized in the Creed – reaches its "goal" in the Mass.

All the history recorded in Scripture, all that it reveals about the "one God" and His only Son, was intended to lead us to the moment of communion with God, through "the breaking of the bread" (see Luke 24:35).

In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we see the culmination of biblical history right in front of us on the altar.

We "lift up our hearts" to heaven and are, in a real sense, "caught up in spirit" and taken into a liturgy that's always going on in heaven (see Revelation 4:2).

That's what was revealed to the Apostle John in the Bible's last book. In fact, it's the Mass that makes sense of the puzzling, and often frightening visions and symbols of Revelation.

What's revealed to John is that the Mass we celebrate on earth is a participation in the liturgy of heaven.

John's vision begins on "the Lord's day," Sunday (see Revelation 1:10) - the name the first Christians gave to the first day of the week, upon which they celebrated "the breaking of the bread" (see Acts 20:7).

John is "caught up in spirit on the Lord's Day." In other words, possibly while celebrating the Eucharist himself, John is taken to heaven.

And John sees the same things we see when we come to Mass.

He sees an altar (see Revelation 8:3); candles (1:12); incense (5:8); priests dressed in robes (4:4). And he sees bread or manna (2:17), and bowls or chalices of blood (seeRevelation 16).

He sees heavenly worshippers – angels and saints – crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy" (4:8), singing a hymn to the glory of God, the heavenly king (15:3-4) and shouting "alleluia" (19:1,3,6) and making the sign of the cross on their foreheads (14:1).

There are readings from Scripture (Revelation 2-3), and, finally, the "wedding feast of the Lamb"(19:9).

B. The Mass Revealed in Revelation

In fact, there are many more similarities between the Book of Revelation and the Mass.

Notice that the book itself is written with the intention that it will be read during the liturgy (see Revelation 1:3). And the book is divided into two parts that roughly correspond to the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist in today's Mass.

The first eleven chapters are concerned with the reading of letters, to be written on a scroll by John who "gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw" at the dictation of "one like a son of man" (see Revelation 1: 2,11-13).

The "one like a son of man" is Jesus Christ, who often referred to himself as "Son of Man" (see, Matthew 25:31, Mark 8:31, Luke 12:8, John 3:13). That image, in turn, takes us back to the vision of Daniel, in which "One like a son of man" comes in glory on the clouds and receives "an everlasting dominion" from God (see Daniel 7:13-14).

But Revelation also identifies Jesus by name: "the name by which He is called is the Word of God" (see Revelation 19:13).

John is the human author of this Scripture. But the Scripture has a divine author, too, the Word of God.

Significantly, the first three chapters of Revelation begin the book as the Mass begins, with a sort of Penitential Rite. Jesus uses the word "repent" eight times during his seven letters (see Revelation 2:16).

And when the Word of God has been proclaimed, the Son declares: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, (then) I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with Me" (see Revelation 3:20).

With this invitation to dine with Christ himself, the heavenly Liturgy of the Word gives way to the feast of the heavenly Eucharist.

As in our Mass, the "liturgy of the Word" in Revelation prepares us to receive the Lamb of God. All who have "ears to hear" are told that Jesus himself will give them "hidden manna."

This is a reference to the "heavenly bread"that God gave Israel to eat on their Exodus journey (see Psalm 78:23-25 ). But this heavenly bread was a sign of the bread that Christ came to give – His own body, given for the life of the world (see John 6:32-33; 49-51).

This is the daily bread that He taught His disciples to pray for - in a prayer that we pray in every Mass and which we will consider in depth in our next lesson.

Revelation's second half begins in Chapter 11, with the opening of God's temple in heaven, and culminates in the pouring of the seven chalices and the marriage supper of the Lamb – a striking image of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

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