2022/03/28

32. Peter's "Blessedness"

As I wrote in the previous article, Jesus' question and Peter's answer are linked to the Revelation of John by "blessedness" of Jesus' words, "Blessed are you," and get connected to a new space. There are seven "blessedness"¹ in Revelation, and six of them contain reasons for being blessed. However, only the fourth "blessedness" does not give any reason, as follows: "Then the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These words are true; they come from God'" (Revelation 19:9). The wedding feast of the Lamb is Jesus' last Passover supper. At that table, the Apostles ate and drank what the bread and wine had been made the body and blood of Christ by the word of Jesus, and thereby they had the experience of union with him. Even today, the flow of the Mass goes towards the Eucharist, which makes us experience the union that the Apostles had. At the last stage of the Mass, the priest shows the consecrated bread and wine and invites the faithful into union with the Eucharist, chanting, "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." Here, the faithful before Jesus, who is present in the Eucharist, is forced to give a testimony of who he is, like Peter before Jesus' question, "But who do you say that I am?"(Matthew 16:15). "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16), Peter replied. And Jesus responds, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father" (Matt 16:17). Peter's words of reply were "blessed," which were guaranteed by the Father in heaven, and "these words are true; they come from God." So, the faithful before the Eucharist testifies with Peter's confession of faith that is blessed. Jesus went on to say. "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt 16:19). When the keys to the kingdom of heaven open the doors of heaven² with the words of starting of the Mass, a new space emerges in which the heavenly Mass and the earthly Mass are united. Therefore, the fifth "blessedness" explains the blessedness of the one who shares in the first resurrection. "They will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for [the] thousand years" (Revelation 20:6). "The thousand years" signifies the time of the earthly Mass, connected with the eternity of the Kingdom of Heaven. The congregation who attends the earthly Mass, which is connected to the heavenly Mass where large crowds praise God, receives the blessings of dismissal imparted by the heavenly priests and the earthly priests. The earthly priests, who have accomplished, so to speak, the second mystery of the Incarnation by the Holy Spirit, send the faithful who received the body and blood of Christ, hoping that they will accomplish the third mystery of the Incarnation and return to the Mass. Then, with the priest's words announcing the ending of the Mass and the reply of thanksgiving, the connection with the heavenly Mass is loosed.

References: 1. Revelation ①1:3, ②14:13, ③16:15, ④19:9, ⑤20:6, ⑥22:7, ⑦22:14, 2. Revelation 3:20　

Maria K. M.