2026/06/08

251. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: Two Forms of Spontaneity

To convey the essence of the priesthood of the New Covenant, the Gospel of John, from Chapter 5 onwards, depicts Jesus as he begins to confront "human information" in earnest. Before proceeding, I would like to reflect on the "human information" we have been examining thus far.

First, if we look closely at the image above, to Jesus' right stands Judas Iscariot, who, whilst harbouring evil intentions deep within, kisses Jesus affectionately. To His left is Peter, driven by good intentions to protect Jesus, who is about to strike the high priest's servant with his sword. The reason he was carrying a sword here was that, following the Passover meal, as they set out for the Mount of Olives to pray, he had understood from the exchange between Jesus and the disciples that he was to take a sword with him (cf. Lk 22:35–38). Surrounding them are soldiers, trained to obey their superiors' orders and faithfully carry out their duties, who are attempting to apprehend Jesus. Here, people who have assimilated various 'human information' into their own knowledge surround Jesus, each acting in accordance with their own virtues and ethics. Amidst them, only Jesus, who seeks to fulfil the Father's will, stands motionless, gazing straight ahead.

The difference between this Jesus and the others lies in their spontaneity. All creation was created by the Word of God—who is existence itself and who says, "I Am."—when He commanded, "Let there be." Created beings, who exist in response to this, have been endowed with the spontaneity necessary for existence. Through this spontaneity manifested by God within creation, all creation embodies the eternity of the almighty God and the freedom of God, who is Truth, thereby glorifying God.

Among created beings, living creatures respond to God's command "Let there be" with the spontaneity that perpetuates their species. Furthermore, animals have been endowed with a spontaneity appropriate to their nature by God's command to "Be fruitful and multiply" (cf. Gen 1:22, 28). Through this spontaneity, animals ensure the survival of their species, and each individual offers praise to God by living out its finite life. Thus, for all living creatures, leaving offspring and ensuring the survival of the species is a mission to which they devote their entire lives. Consequently, the spontaneity of animals, which emerges from the command "Be fruitful and multiply," drives each individual with intense purpose towards the survival of their species. It is no exaggeration to say that the life-sustaining programme of animals is governed by the workings of their reproductive functions.

Living beings have been endowed with knowledge commensurate with their nature, stored in their memory, to optimise the survival of their species. Spontaneity leads to action through its connection with knowledge. In animals possessing this spontaneity stemming from God's words, "Be fruitful and multiply," that knowledge is subordinate to the workings of the reproductive function. To replace this with terms such as ‘instinct’ or ‘sexual desire’ is an overly narrow interpretation. In order to maintain their species, living beings, when they exist in numbers, share knowledge between individuals, and thus "information" arises. When how to optimise this information becomes a critical factor for the survival of their species, strategies appropriate to that living being begin to be devised. It is here that natural selection occurs.

The information that arises when living beings exist in plural is not God's creation, nor is it something God commanded. However, it reflects the nature of the One who created all things in the relationship of the Triune God. Through the evolution of knowledge brought about by information arising between individuals of the same species, living beings are able to adapt to the world and continue to survive. God looked upon His creation, including these things, and saw that it was good. Amongst this information, "human information" evolves extremely rapidly and to a high degree. This is because God, on the premise that human beings—created in His image—would manifest "our likeness" (Gen 1:26), endowed them with knowledge appropriate to their nature. When each individual's spontaneity strives to optimise the use of information for the sake of future generations, it unleashes an explosive power. Anticipating this, God, when manifesting "our likeness" within man, created the first human being as a single individual.

As Jesus said, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24), to manifest "our likeness" in man is to bestow the Spirit of God upon him. Thus, in Genesis chapter 2, unlike chapter 1, which refers to the One who creates all things in the relationship of the Triune God simply as "God," from verse 4 onwards, the term is changed to "the Lord God." That indicates the Father and the Son. In order to bestow the Spirit upon humanity and to invite humanity into the Trinity, the Father and the Son preferred a relationship in which they stand face to face with humanity and the Holy Spirit, who is involved with humanity. And the "Lord God" breathed the "breath of life" into the nostrils of man. The "breath of life" is the "spontaneity of God" manifested by the Father within the person, in a manner befitting that person, through the breath of the Holy Spirit, so that the person might cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

In this way, humanity came to possess two forms of spontaneity, sandwiching knowledge between them. One is the spontaneity of the flesh, consisting of God's word commanding, "Be fruitful and multiply." The other is God's spontaneity, breathed into the nostrils to manifest the likeness of God, who is Spirit. God trained humanity so that knowledge appropriate to human nature might connect smoothly with God's spontaneity, enabling humanity to live in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and to partake in God's reality of eternal life. Jesus also subjected his disciples to the same training. He was particularly strict with Peter, who would become the head of the Apostles, instructing him to distinguish "human information" from himself. As depicted in the image above, "Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave and cut off his right ear" (Jn 18:10). The Gospel of Luke states, "Jesus said, 'No more of this!' And he touched his ear and healed him" (Lk 22:51).

Here, Jesus finally demonstrated to Peter, through his own actions, the image of a person connected to God’s spontaneity.

Maria K. M.

 2026/06/01

250. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: A Review and the Second Sign

In my reflections on the theme "The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant," upon reaching the scene in Chapter 4 of Jesus' dialogue with the Samaritan woman, where highly condensed content relating to the priesthood of the New Covenant is conveyed, I devoted a great deal of time to matters connected with it. Looking back on the journey thus far, the Gospel of John begins, from the very beginning of Chapter 1, with a context reminiscent of Genesis, prompting the reader to recall what has transpired between God and humankind since the creation of the world and throughout the Old Covenant. This is to lead them to the awareness of the fact that, at the very origin of God's creation of humankind, God—having completed the creation of heaven and earth—had a desire to celebrate the seventh day, which He had rested upon, blessed and sanctified, together with humankind; and that there was a divine plan to nurture humankind until they would worship God "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24). Therefore, God was waiting for the time when John the Baptist, who had the legitimate lineage to succeed the priesthood of the Old Covenant, would appear as the final prophet.

John the Baptist had prophesied that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would appear openly in the world, become the light of the world through the Holy Spirit, and bring about the priesthood of the New Covenant. From John the Baptist's words, the reader could learn about the descent of the Holy Spirit upon people, baptism by water, and baptism by the Holy Spirit. In these passages, we found that surprisingly, among the first disciples, who were called by Jesus whilst fishing as recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, some had already been trained as disciples of John the Baptist. Then, after hinting at the Blood and Body in Chapter 2, Jesus revealed the work of the Holy Spirit in Chapter 3. He did so because the Holy Spirit works to ensure that the state Jesus Himself fulfilled His words on the cross, "that whoever believes in him [the Son of man] may have eternal life" (Jn 3:15), may be sustained.

Just as the work of the Holy Spirit became visible in this world through Jesus, who was both God and man, so God desired human cooperation when the Holy Spirit works. Jesus brought with Him from the Father the priesthood of the New Covenant to bestow upon the New Covenant people, who were called to receive it. The priesthood of the New Covenant is placed particularly within the memory of male believers so that the Holy Spirit may freely draw it forth from them and have them serve the lives of all people born of women. In the final prophecy of John the Baptist at the end of Chapter 3, we see the figure of a priest: He acts as the mouth, hands, and feet of the Holy Spirit, collaborating with the Holy Spirit to celebrate the Mass, as a friend of the Holy Spirit (the Bridegroom) who draws out and welcomes the priesthood of the New Covenant (the Bride) from the memory of the priest who had it bestowed. The priest, having emptied himself, surely hears the Holy Spirit and rejoices greatly, understanding the words of John the Baptist: "He must increase, but I must decrease. "

"No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn 3:27–30).

The Gospel of John, Chapter 4, concludes by referring to the passage: "This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee" (Jn 4:54). This sign took place when Jesus granted the official’s plea to heal his son, who was at the point of death (cf. 4:43–54). We have already discussed this sign in Blog No. 208, based on Hebrews, so I would like to proceed with reference to that.

The writer of Hebrews states: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear" (Heb 11:1–3). He then briefly outlines the history of the Old Covenant figures who were commended by God because of this faith (cf. 11:4–38), concluding as follows: "And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (11:39–40).

The official was assured that Jesus would heal his son. Therefore, he paid no heed to Jesus' words, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe" (Jn 4:48), and immediately said, "Sir, come down before my child dies" (4:49). He was assured of what he hoped for and sought to be convinced of the as-yet-unseen fact that Jesus would heal his son. In fact, later on, he confirmed the exact moment Jesus said, "Go; your son will live" (4:50), and the moment his son was healed (cf. 4:51–53). And it is written, "He himself believed, and all his household" (4:54). They were a model of Old Covenant faith—"being assured of what they hoped for and being convinced of things not seen." Yet, though they were approved by God because of their faith, they did not receive what was promised.

What was "promised" is "something better for us"—the priesthood of the New Covenant—which the author of Hebrews later describes, "God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, Jesus' first sign—turning water into wine in response to his mother’s request when she told him the wine had run out—suggests the Eucharist (cf. 2:1–11). This passage states, "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him" (2:11). At that time, the disciples were simply following Jesus. This went beyond the Old Covenantal faith of "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Maria K. M.

 2026/05/25

249. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness VII

The passage containing the fifth blessedness of the Book of Revelation—"Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:6)—is found towards the end of the section entitled "Prophecy of the Completion of the Liturgy of the Mass (Chs. 19-20) " in the diagram, Prophetic Composition of the Book of Revelation (cf. figure below). The perfection of the Liturgy of the Mass prophesied here belongs to the Church, which is composed not only of priests working in union with the Holy Spirit, but also of the faithful who constantly strive for holiness so as to produce such priests. In the previous issue, we discussed how the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer—"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"—includes the forgiveness of sins for all people. The Lord's Prayer keeps alive within us, as we recite it, the flame of hope that leads to the fifth blessedness of Revelation as we journey towards the perfection of the Liturgy of the Mass. 

Alongside the Church's efforts to bring the Mass to its perfection, the power of the Word, which purifies the faithful for holiness, continues to work unceasingly. The Christ-like petitions of the Lord's Prayer, as recited by the faithful, are transmitted through their memories, from one acquaintance to another, and out into the communities of this world. Amongst modern people striving to master AI amid an information society, there are surely some who sense this keenly and choose to maintain a distance between themselves and the information. Jesus, who said on the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34), desires the salvation of those to whom "human information" has stuck and live captive to it without understanding why; even now, He draws such people to the Mass. 

Revelation chapter 19 depicts the purification of the living believers (cf. Rev 19:11–16) and the purification of this world as the efficacy of the perfected Mass liturgy spreads (cf. 19:17–21). The following chapter, chapter 20, concerns the dead. There it is written: "Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (20:4). This signifies that these people have shared in the "first resurrection" (20:5) and, together with Christ, are participating in our Mass from heaven. The "thousand years" is one day for God (cf. 2 Peter 3:8). It is a perpetual time in which the Mass is constantly being celebrated somewhere on earth. 

Of the two types of the dead depicted here, the first are priests who died having fulfilled the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood of the New Covenant, conferred upon them through apostolic succession—the succession of kingship entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper. Next, the "testimony to Jesus" refers here to the fact that Jesus, as the Christ, continued to forgive sins throughout His life, even at the moment of His death. "Those who had been beheaded ... for the word of God" are those who, like the priests, were purified from "human information" by the Word, as if they had been beheaded, so that they might work with the Holy Spirit. Conscious of their identity as a people entrusted with the priesthood of the New Covenant, they did not worship either the "beast"—ensnared by power and the lust for domination—or the image of the beast and thus were not led astray. 

The above constitutes the full scope of the fifth blessedness of Revelation, which is the destination of the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer—"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"—praying for the forgiveness of sins for all people. Those who have attained the blessedness—"Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years"—are the culmination of the new people striving for holiness through the forgiveness of sins. They bear witness to eternal life, which leads all people to the forgiveness of sins. 

Having thus far explored the theme of the Lord's Prayer and the seven blessedness of Revelation, we shall now examine the final two to conclude this theme. It is foreseen that, after the concluding rites of the Mass, the faithful will encounter new "beasts" and "false prophets" and face evil spirits in the course of their daily routines as they make their way to the next Mass. What counters this is the blessing of dismissal conferred by the priest at the concluding rites of the Mass. This blessing incorporates a prayer that the sixth and seventh petitions of the Lord's Prayer—"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"—may be fulfilled. With this blessing, we set out once more to live our lives looking to the next Mass. This is not a departure from the Mass, but an extension of that sacred space. That is because the gaze of those who are to become "priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" is fixed upon the blessing imparted by the priest. 

For believers to avoid falling into temptation, as stated in the Lord's Prayer, it is essential that they consciously distinguish themselves from "human information." To this end, the sixth blessedness in Revelation declares: "And behold, I am coming soon. 'Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book'" (Rev 22:7). This blessedness points to the fact that there is no other way but to return to the first blessedness of Revelation—"Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (1:3)—and to continue the cycle of training of the Book of Revelation. This is the sole spiritual training given by the Heavenly Father through Christ (cf. 1:1) to protect believers from evil and to bring them the seventh blessedness of Revelation: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates" (22:14). 

Maria K. M.

 2026/05/18

248. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness VI

As it is written in the Book of Revelation, "Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent" (Rev 3:19), so too, within the Liturgy of the Word, the words of Jesus—which have come to life through the Holy Spirit—become a sharp sword that pierces the memory of the faithful, cutting away from it the ingrained "human information" so that they may behold it and distinguish it from themselves. Furthermore, the homily of the priest—who, becoming the mouth, hands and feet of the Holy Spirit, follows him, empties himself and collaborates with him to celebrate the Mass—transforms into the "armies of heaven" (19:14) and strongly urges the faithful to remember that they are qualified to become children of God. In this way, the graces brought about by the Liturgy of the Word during Mass are reminiscent of the event in the Gospel of John where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. 

The Gospel of John begins the account of Jesus washing his disciples' feet by stating: "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (Jn 13:1). The phrase "before the feast of the Passover" is used here to emphasise that this event differs from the day of the institution of the Eucharist, which the Synoptic Gospels unanimously record as having taken place "on the first day of Unleavened Bread." This shows that the act of Jesus washing his disciples' feet happened before the institution of the Eucharist. Consequently, in the liturgy of the Mass in our Church, the two Last Supper tables of the Lord are presented in succession: first through the Liturgy of the Word, and then through the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which leads to the Communion Rite. Through these two tables of the Lord manifested in the Mass, the faithful experience the full scope of the New Covenant. So, it is a place where new wineskins are filled with new wine.

We, the Church, are truly the people who have received the priesthood of the New Covenant. Jesus conferred the priesthood of the New Covenant upon the disciples whom he had chosen and made Apostles, along with the institution of the Eucharist, and entrusted his kingship to them so that they might be passed on. Furthermore, the risen Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and granted them the power to forgive sins. Bearing the burden of guilt for having failed to face Jesus' passion and death, they rejoiced when the risen Jesus came and stood among them, saying, "Peace be with you" (Jn 20:19), and showed them his hands and his side. Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you." He thus enabled them to experience that peace is brought about when one truly feels that one’s sins have been forgiven, accompanied by the joy of being forgiven. Jesus continued, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (20:21). 

Jesus reminded his disciples, to whom he was conferring the authority to forgive sins, that he himself had continued to forgive sins throughout his life even unto death, and commanded them to follow his example. Therefore, Jesus' words, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20:22-23), were stern. That is because "sins of any" means that forgiveness is extended not only to believers but to all people in the world. It must not be the case that sins remain unforgiven on the earth. In this way, our Church has inherited the authority to forgive sins through apostolic succession and has borne that burden. That is because the joy and peace found among believers come from the realisation that they have been forgiven by Jesus. 

In the presence of this authority, believers who seek the sacrament of forgiveness have a clear awareness of their sins. Meanwhile, when reciting the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer—"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"—in many cases, believers either lack a sense of sin or have only a vague awareness of it. Yet they do recall something that troubles them. That is the possibility of future sin. If "human information" remains clinging to one's memory without being stripped away, it will eventually attract various desires. And when those desires become actions, they become "the work of man," many of which lead to sin. Thus, the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us," is a plea for the forgiveness of sins on behalf of all believers and all people. 

When the Liturgy of the Eucharist moves to the Rite of Communion, no believer recites the Lord's Prayer before the Eucharist with a lukewarm attitude. They are like Peter, who, when Jesus walked on the lake to the disciples' boat, asked Jesus to command him to walk on the water and come to him. The Gospel reads, "He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Mt 14:29–31). It is not a strong wind but the word of Jesus that strips away the "human information" from us. During the Liturgy of the Word, we must not be afraid when we see our "human information" being stripped away, but rather learn to distinguish it from ourselves. 

We, believers, know that the Eucharist awaits us, just as Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught the frightened Peter. That is precisely why I never tire of emphasising, time and again, the blessedness and importance for us believers to call the Holy Eucharist we receive "the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus" to link the Eucharist with that name and inscribe it in our memory, and to receive the Eucharist handed to us by the priest firmly in our own hands.  The Eucharist is the very hand of Jesus reached out to save us. If we believers remain unaware of this, it will be difficult for us even to envision the fifth blessedness of Revelation: "Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:6). 

Maria K. M.

 2026/05/11

247. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness V

Continuing from our previous reflection. As in the Book of Revelation, where the angel says to the writer, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9), it is impossible to overemphasise the blessedness and importance for us believers, during the Mass, of calling the Eucharist we receive by the name "Messiah, Son of God, Jesus," and of linking the Eucharist with this name each time, inscribing it in our memory. This method is a formula for assimilating matters that cannot be grasped intuitively. However, Roman Catholic believers throughout the world respond with the centurion's words when the priest presents the Host. This is because the Blessed Sacrament and the centurion's words of humility are easily linked. Yet, Jesus praised the centurion's faith because he believed in Jesus' authority and accepted Him, drawing upon his own experience of exercising authority over soldiers. It was not his human humility that Jesus praised. 

Rather, the centurion’s humility—when, in response to Jesus' offer, "I will come and heal him", he said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Mt 8:8), and thus declined His visit—resulted in his servant being deprived of the opportunity to meet Jesus. Similarly, when Peter, out of human humility, refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet, Jesus rebuked him sternly, saying, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me" (Jn 13:8). The humility and humbleness that Jesus demanded of His disciples consisted of becoming servants (cf. Mt 23:11–12), taking the lowest seat when invited (cf. Lk 14:10–11), and, before God, honestly asking for one's desires, just as the tax collector who was justified and returned home did (cf. 18:13–14). 

Considering these points, we must conclude that the reason Roman Catholics throughout the world have consistently recited the centurion's words before the Eucharist each time at Mass is that they mistakenly believe these words express reverence and humility towards the Eucharist. Yet these are words that seem utterly out of proportion when set against the humility of God, so great that he hides himself in the form of bread and wine. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mt 11:28–30). For the believer, to imitate the divine humility of Jesus, the Son of God, lies in making the decision to take up Jesus' yoke and bear His burden. 

That is something no human being can do without the collaboration of the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus. For this reason, it is a great blessedness for those who participate in the Mass that, by calling the name of the Eucharist received "Messiah, Son of God, Jesus" and inscribing that name in their memory each time, this revelation becomes tacit knowledge and remains in their memory. This is the most effective way to assimilate matters that cannot be grasped intuitively. However, here we encounter another pitfall: the believer’s dependence on the Old Testament. The mission of the Old Testament ended when it was quoted by Jesus in the Gospels. It became linked to Jesus, was completed by Him, and came to live as the new Word within the Gospels. Therefore, it is sufficient for it to be explained as necessary. 

Nevertheless, during Sunday Mass, when the faithful enter the Liturgy of the Word, except for Eastertide, the Old Testament is read first, followed by the singing of the Psalms. Only then are the Epistles and the Gospel read. Consequently, the words of the New Testament read at that point are placed into the faithful’s memory, which has already been attuned by the readings from the Old Testament and the Psalms. They are, so to speak, new wine poured into an old wineskin. Among the faithful who come to the Mass, there are those who are burdened with worries and suffering, and those whose hearts have been weakened by the burdens of daily life. For such believers, it is easy to empathise with the words of the Old Testament and the Psalms and to entrust themselves to them. These texts evoke deep emotion and may even bring a momentary sense of peace. Thus, Jesus' people of the New Covenant are left exposed to the danger of being immersed in the worldview of a people who still await the Saviour, alongside the Old Testament prophecies. 

Even within this atmosphere of the Mass, the Word—read by the priest and brought to life by the Holy Spirit—becomes a sharp sword that enters the believer's memory, seeking to cut away the ingrained "human information." This "human information" is the true form of the "ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world" (Rev 12:9), which Jesus taught His disciples to distinguish from themselves and which He continued to reveal through His Passion and death on the cross. In Revelation, the angel standing in the sun calls the "human information," cut away from individual believers, "flesh," and commands all the birds flying in midheaven to devour it (cf. Rev 19:17–21). That is just as Jesus washed and dried His disciples' feet to purify them before the Last Supper, which was an act by which Jesus, realising that the hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, "loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (Jn 13:1). 

Yet we, who celebrate the Mass in this manner, will surely, before Jesus with human humility, say, "You shall never wash my feet" (Jn 13:8). And even if we offer a prayer of repentance before the Liturgy of the Word, the day when the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer—"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"—is fulfilled remains far off. Furthermore, the reality of the fifth blessedness in Revelation, to which this petition should lead—"Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:6)—lies even further away. 

Maria K. M.

2026/05/04

246. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness IV

The fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," is, as we considered last time, a prayer in which believers ask for the fulfilment of God's words foretold to Adam: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19). Believers witness the fulfilment of that prayer when they partake in the fourth blessedness, as recorded in Revelation: "And the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'" (Rev 19:9). Immediately preceding this fourth blessedness in Revelation, we read: "'Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure' -- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (19:7–8).

The "Bride" who has made herself ready in this passage is the priesthood of the New Covenant, which is hidden in a special way in the memory of the priest. The "righteous deeds of the saints" with which the priesthood of the New Covenant is clothed represent the actions of the priest who, as the "friend" of the Bridegroom—that is, the Holy Spirit sent in the name of Jesus—follows the Holy Spirit, becoming His mouth, hands and feet, and who, with a selfless heart, collaborates with Him to celebrate the Mass. It is here that the Eucharist is born. The priest and the congregation there will witness all this. For they are the people who have received the priesthood of the New Covenant. Thus, the writer, realising the blessedness of "those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb," was so moved that he sought to worship the angel and fell down at his feet. Then it is written, "But he said to me, 'You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.' For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev 19:10).

By the words, "you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus," the angel refers to the Apostles and their successors, who have preserved in their memory the words of the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood of the New Covenant conferred with them, inheriting the authority of these through the kingship entrusted to them by Jesus. These words, which Jesus bestowed upon the Apostles together with the priesthood of the New Covenant, are drawn from their memory by the Holy Spirit—who becomes the spirit of prophecy—and are made real through His working with them. At that moment, they, like the angel, become servants of the Holy Spirit, who is God. This blessedness reveals that a profound and fundamental structure is woven into the human and simple expression of the prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." This is implied in the phrase of the fourth blessedness that follows: "These are true words of God." When the angel's words ended, the writer continued with the following description.

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev 19:11–16).

This description pertains to the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist. A white horse appears, and the one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, because Jesus said of the Holy Spirit: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come" (Jn 16:13). He judges and makes war in righteousness so that "when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (16:8) and so that "the ruler of this world is judged" (16:11). It reads that his eyes are like a blazing fire, that he wears many diadems upon his head, and that a name is inscribed upon him which no one but himself knows; this is because the Holy Spirit is invisible to the people of this world.

Even so, as it is written that he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and is called "the Word of God," believers recall that in the scene of the Passion, a scarlet robe was put upon Jesus (cf. Mat 27:28–29), and that Jesus said, "He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (Jn 16:14). The fact that his name is called "the Word of God" is because the Holy Spirit is sent in the name of Jesus, to bring the Word to life and to fulfil what Jesus testified to. Thus, the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed the Holy Spirit on white horses. These are the priests who follow the Holy Spirit, becoming His mouth, hands and feet, and who, with a selfless heart, collaborate with the Holy Spirit to celebrate the Mass. The Word, made alive by the Holy Spirit, is a sharp sword. The "nations" that it smites are the "human information" that has penetrated deep into people's hearts.

Next, the "he" in the statement, "he will rule them with a rod of iron," alludes to the Body of Christ. For this phrase is taken from the chapter 12 of Revelation: "She brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne" (Rev 12:5). This description follows the scene in which "a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (12:1). As we have previously discussed in this blog, this "a woman" represents the priesthood of the New Covenant, depicted in the image of the Mother of Jesus. Hence, the woman who "brought forth a male child" is the Apostles (priests) who preserve it in memory, and the child who was "caught up to God and to his throne" is the Body of Christ.

The statement that "he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty" stems from Jesus' words: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mat 26:28). "The wine" refers to the Blood of Jesus. The subsequent passage, "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords," refers to the name of the Holy Eucharist. "King of kings" suggests the Anointed One, the Messiah, whilst "Lord of lords" suggests the name of Jesus, the Son of God. The Eucharist has a name, and that name is "Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God."

These things suggest that, amidst the blessedness of "those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb," we believers are able to call the name of the Eucharist we receive "Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God." Indeed, to call upon that name before "God with us" (Mat 1:23) is the ardent desire of every Christian. And when believers, in the presence of the Eucharist, call out "Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God" and hear that voice, it is as though they are writing that name upon their own memories. That is why the angel said to the writer, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

Maria K. M.

(Notice)

A new article has been posted on the blog, The Wind of Patmos. It is a translation of an article I submitted to and was published in the Japanese internet magazine, Catholic Ai.

 

 2026/04/27

245. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord’s Prayer and the Seven Blessedness III

In Capernaum, Jesus said to the crowd that had followed him: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal" (Jn 6:27). The crowd present at that time could not understand these words. Yet now we know that Jesus fulfilled His words: "For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world. ... I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst" (6:33–35). Therefore, we as the Church strive to live out our daily routine, oriented towards the Mass. 

The daily practice of reading aloud the prophetic words of the Book of Revelation and listening to its voice, much like one drinks water, aligns with the daily routine of the faithful, oriented towards the Mass. The first blessedness of the Book of Revelation declares that it is essential to continue the training of Revelation, so that the name of the Heavenly Father may be hallowed within the innermost being of every believer who attends the Mass—the very heart of the Kingdom of God brought by Jesus—and calls out to God, "Our Father who art in heaven." As Revelation says there, "for the time is near” (Rev 1:3), the time for us believers to be with the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus, and to work together with Him is "now." It is for this reason that the prayer "Thy kingdom come" grows ever more serious within us. And, whilst acknowledging that we are walking the path of our daily routine towards the Mass with the Holy Spirit, we pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 

These petitions, rising along the path of our daily routine towards the Mass, prompt the faithful to utter the confident prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." This human and simple prayer, the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, corresponds to the fourth blessedness in Revelation: "And the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'" (Rev 19:9). This blessedness reveals that behind the human and simple expression of the petition "Give us this day our daily bread" lies a profound and fundamental structure. That is because this petition is a prayer to ask the words God foretold to Adam in Genesis to be fulfilled: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19). 

Genesis states: "The LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Gen 2:7). Furthermore, the account in the Gospel of John where the risen Jesus "breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (Jn 20:22), makes it clear that the "God's breath" is what makes man a spiritual being. Man was created in the image of God and was created as one with a likeness to God, of whom Jesus said, "God is spirit" (4:24). Human beings were created from the beginning to become spiritual beings. God foretold to Adam that he would work "in the sweat of his face" to eat bread until the death of his physical body, and that he would return to being a spiritual being. Jesus was born of a woman so that this foretelling might apply to all who will be born of women; and He was born as a man to fulfil the words spoken to Adam. 

The "food which endures to eternal life" of which Jesus spoke—"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal"—is precisely the "bread" that the men, to whom this work has been entrusted, earn in the sweat of their face. The phrase "for on him has God the Father set his seal" signifies that the Heavenly Father has set a seal upon the man who works in this way. It is the seal of the man who has received the words Jesus spoke earlier: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (Jn 4:34). 

At that time, only the Apostles were ultimately able to accept these words of Jesus (cf. Jn 6:66–69). The food "which the Son of man will give to you" means "to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." That is to bring forth "the food which endures to eternal life," and to distribute it to people in a special way. Working together with the Holy Spirit sent in Jesus' name, they make real the words of Jesus: "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." This divine reality is repeated in the Missal liturgy. That is because the priesthood of the New Covenant, which Jesus conferred upon the Apostles at the institution of the Eucharist, became an unbroken succession due to the kingly office Jesus also entrusted to them. 

The Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus, gives life to the words of Jesus left on earth as the Gospel, making them living. Within the Mass, the priesthood of the New Covenant is hidden in a special way in the memory of the priest, who is the "friend of the bridegroom" (Jn 3:29) of the Holy Spirit. They follow the Holy Spirit, becoming His mouth, hands and feet. And their prayer, "So that it may become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ," is heard by the Father (cf. 16:23–24), bringing forth the Eucharist. Amidst all this, the priest himself and the congregation, who witness everything, see the fulfilment of the prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." They are sharing in the fourth blessedness, the blessedness of "those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." 

Maria K. M.