Meditation 79
The Unstained Raiment of the Bridal Feast
The rituals for the
Day of Atonement as persevered in Leviticus as prefigure of the mystery
taking place here in the presence of God’s glory shed a light on the
dignity the bride has been raised to as fellow worker of God.
When the high priest entered alone into the Holy of holies, it was also
a time of awe in the life of
the nation.
In the Mishna we read, “He did not prolong his prayer lest he put Israel in terror.” [1] When the high priest entered into the glory of the presence he was passing into heaven to serve God in the presence of the celestial hierarchies as a prefigure of this fullness in the Beatitudes of the New Covenant in the Christification of the soul,
The vestments of the high priest of the Old Testament were only prefigure of coming blessings. On the Day of Atonement the high priest was ordered to take off his vestments and put on a shining white tunic with a waistband and a linen turban (see Lv 16. 4, 23). The holy fathers in the ancient Church had a keen understanding regarding the value of these bright garments of purity as Cyril of Jerusalem reminded his catechumens of in authentic manner before their baptism referring to the parable of the wedding feast in Mt 22. 1-14,
These light garments of glory are the true inheritance of Christians who have washed themselves in the blood of the Lamb – token of pure faith – and have thus been clothed in the white tunic of justice: THEY REVEAL THE RESTORATION OF THE BAPTISMAL GRACE, the utter fullness of God. All souls who approach the Shekinah Glory at the mercy seat in front of the ark reflects its splendor and become part of it and are transformed in this glory in order to become children of the Father of lights, “children of God” (Jn 1. 12). These robes of light go as a red thread through all of John’s Revelation which we can certainly name the “Book of the manifestation of the Celestial City” in human hearts.
These are those who have “kept their robes unstained, and they are fit to come with me, dressed in white” (Rv 3. 4, 5). The twenty four elders were “dressed in white robes” (Rv 4. 4) and the huge number before the Throne of Glory were “dressed in white robes” (Rv 7. 9). And in the 14. chapter St. John gives us further account of this harvest of redemption where they have the Name of the Lamb and its Father written on their foreheads or are distinguished as those replacing the high priest of the Old Covenant in “kingdom of priests . . . to sing the praise of God who called them out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pt 2. 9). THEY ARE THUS A TOKEN OF THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT.
The white garments reveal the mystery taking place at the Throne of praise in heaven in the eternal worship of the elders and thousand upon thousands of angles, “The twenty four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, AND THREW DOWN THEIR CROWNS in front of the throne, saying,
Thus and only thus the bride receive the splendor which the first man and woman lost by their transgression. By referring to Fig. 75 above we see that the high priest of the Old Covenant carried a double crown: a turban and a golden flower and one the flower of pure gold were written the words “Consecrated to God.” This prefigured Christ as the suffering Servant and the High Priest over all the blessings which were to come (Heb 9. 11),
Thus the suffering servant and King of Life came to the world in His incarnation and took on Himself all the shortcomings,
This is cause and origin of the holy transformation of the Christification and by laying aside their own adornment as stained raiment and throwing down their crowns of glory under God’s feet these son’s and daughters of glory see by their glorified eyes the light in God’s LIGHT OF GLORY as their eye is clear and their whole body is filled with light (see Lk 11. 35) and this light is life “present in the Father and has been revealed to us” (1 Jn 1. 2). And thus the bride is raised above the nine orders of the celestial hierarchies and becomes the tenth choir of praise at the Throne of grace in heaven, the “sterling tenth one” of Hildigard of Bingen. But already here on earth this mystery is such, that the bride rises higher in dignity than the highest rank or choir of the celestial hierarchies by the power of praise – the Seraphim – as in her praise the bride becomes a Winged man in the power of praise,
THUS AND ONLY THUS THE BRIDE CAN SERVE AS A TRUE HIGH PRIEST IN THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT. In the Old Covenant on the Day of Atonement the high priest brought the blood within the curtain and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, on the Tent of Dwelling and the altar and its horns,
We see how purposefully God reveals this mystery as it are the tools and the Dwelling which were atoned but not the people. The sins of the people had polluted the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle – prefigure of the Church – and its purity as a place of the divine presence had to be restored by the atonement.
The atonement began at the mercy seat in order to emphasize that it was the cause and source of this life and went outward from it. Thus a true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant is obliged to outpour the holy blood of the sacrifice over all the community of the Church with his intercession in the power of praise enkindled by the Eucharist,
“Most highest, most good, most potent [power of activity], most omnipotent, most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most present [the transcendence and immanence]; most beautiful, yet most strong; stable, yet incomprehensible; unchangeable, yet all-changing; never new, never old . . . ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and over spreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things . . . my God, my life, my holy joy,” cried St. Augustine.” [4] To that dignity the bride as been raised that she can have intimate relationship with such a God who is the Lord of the Hosts as King of heaven and earth,
That is why John of the Cross said that this love of the charity which the soul attains in the interior formation in the live of grace is more worth than all other works of the Church put together,
That is why the Russian religious philosopher Nikolyi Berdjavev (1874-1948) said, “The Church of Christ cannot exist without its bishops and priests, independent of their personal holiness. But it can only live and breath because of the holy, prophets, monks and martyrs.” [7] It is the heart of the Church which lives and breaths on this Uncreated Light of Glory shining above the mercy seat in the purity of a human heart, as the almond blossoms thrive and grow in the illumination of the lamp stand.
When the soul becomes a Living ark of the New Covenant because of these beneficial effects of a Living God “ever working, ever at rest” she has become a true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant. When these beneficial effects and fullness of the Godhead raised its abode in the heart of mother Teresa of Calcutta she went out to meet the poor on the streets because she had been lead into this source of love which is the source of all peaceful rest and continuous activity. In an interview in Vienna the 6th of July 1987 Dr. Leo M. Maasberg asked her about the validity of the message which the blessed Virgin began to bring the seers six years earlier, the holy mother named the core of her apparitions the demand of our times and replied,
The fullness of Christian love has nothing to do with the slumberous effects of the closed eyes of Oriental mysticism. When a Christian soul meets her Living God in an authentic way, she flows into the mystery of the Trinity, into this abyss of love “ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and over spreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things.” She get participation in this super mundane fluctuation of Ruysbroeck, this true life in the spirit “in rest and in work” and “dwells in God, and yet goes forth towards all creatures in universal love, in virtue, and in justice. And this is the supreme summit of the inward life” (Med. 49). A true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant is not an illusionist but a man of works in eternal rest in the fathom of the Trinitarian mystery and takes his stand in the courtyard of the Sanctuary as a pillar in the service of his Living God (Med. 32).
The words of John of the Cross above are valuable in this context, that is, “until the soul reaches this state of union of love, she should practice love in both the active and contemplative life. This simply means: that we behave as we have already attained this state.
In the Mishna we read, “He did not prolong his prayer lest he put Israel in terror.” [1] When the high priest entered into the glory of the presence he was passing into heaven to serve God in the presence of the celestial hierarchies as a prefigure of this fullness in the Beatitudes of the New Covenant in the Christification of the soul,
Aaron will then fill
a censer with live coals from the altar before Yahweh [The golden
altar], take two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense and bring
this inside the curtain. He will then put the incense on the fire
before Yahweh, so that the cloud of incense hides the mercy seat which
is on the Testimony and he does not incur death (Lv 16. 12, 13).
The vestments of the high priest of the Old Testament were only prefigure of coming blessings. On the Day of Atonement the high priest was ordered to take off his vestments and put on a shining white tunic with a waistband and a linen turban (see Lv 16. 4, 23). The holy fathers in the ancient Church had a keen understanding regarding the value of these bright garments of purity as Cyril of Jerusalem reminded his catechumens of in authentic manner before their baptism referring to the parable of the wedding feast in Mt 22. 1-14,
“Friend, how camest
thou in hither?” With what stained raiments? . . . So he
commanded his servants, Bind his feet, which have daring intruder, –
bind his hands, which were not skilled to robe him in the bright
garment; and cast him into the outer darkness; for he is unworthy of
the wedding torches. Thou hast seen how he fared then; take heed
thyself. [2]
These light garments of glory are the true inheritance of Christians who have washed themselves in the blood of the Lamb – token of pure faith – and have thus been clothed in the white tunic of justice: THEY REVEAL THE RESTORATION OF THE BAPTISMAL GRACE, the utter fullness of God. All souls who approach the Shekinah Glory at the mercy seat in front of the ark reflects its splendor and become part of it and are transformed in this glory in order to become children of the Father of lights, “children of God” (Jn 1. 12). These robes of light go as a red thread through all of John’s Revelation which we can certainly name the “Book of the manifestation of the Celestial City” in human hearts.
These are those who have “kept their robes unstained, and they are fit to come with me, dressed in white” (Rv 3. 4, 5). The twenty four elders were “dressed in white robes” (Rv 4. 4) and the huge number before the Throne of Glory were “dressed in white robes” (Rv 7. 9). And in the 14. chapter St. John gives us further account of this harvest of redemption where they have the Name of the Lamb and its Father written on their foreheads or are distinguished as those replacing the high priest of the Old Covenant in “kingdom of priests . . . to sing the praise of God who called them out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pt 2. 9). THEY ARE THUS A TOKEN OF THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT.
The white garments reveal the mystery taking place at the Throne of praise in heaven in the eternal worship of the elders and thousand upon thousands of angles, “The twenty four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, AND THREW DOWN THEIR CROWNS in front of the throne, saying,
You are worthy, our
Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you made the whole universe;
by your will, when it did not exist,
it was created (Rv 4. 10, 11).
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you made the whole universe;
by your will, when it did not exist,
it was created (Rv 4. 10, 11).
Thus and only thus the bride receive the splendor which the first man and woman lost by their transgression. By referring to Fig. 75 above we see that the high priest of the Old Covenant carried a double crown: a turban and a golden flower and one the flower of pure gold were written the words “Consecrated to God.” This prefigured Christ as the suffering Servant and the High Priest over all the blessings which were to come (Heb 9. 11),
You will make a
flower of pure gold and on it, as you would engrave a seal, you will
engrave, “Consecrated to Yahweh”. You will put it on a violet purple
cord; it will go on the turban; the front of the turban is the place
where it must go. This will go on Aaron’s brow, and Aaron will thus
take on himself the shortcomings in the holy things consecrated by the
Israelites, in all their holy offerings. It will be on his brow
permanently, to make them acceptable to Yahweh (Ex 28. 36-39).
Thus the suffering servant and King of Life came to the world in His incarnation and took on Himself all the shortcomings,
For in putting all
things under him he made no exception. At present, it is true, we are
not able to see that all things are under him, but we do see Jesus, who
was for a short while made less than the angels, now crowned with glory
and honor because he submitted to death, so that by God’s grace his
experience of death should benefit all humanity. It was fitting that
God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should in bringing
many sons to glory, make perfect through sufferings the leader of their
salvation (Heb 2. 9-13).
This is cause and origin of the holy transformation of the Christification and by laying aside their own adornment as stained raiment and throwing down their crowns of glory under God’s feet these son’s and daughters of glory see by their glorified eyes the light in God’s LIGHT OF GLORY as their eye is clear and their whole body is filled with light (see Lk 11. 35) and this light is life “present in the Father and has been revealed to us” (1 Jn 1. 2). And thus the bride is raised above the nine orders of the celestial hierarchies and becomes the tenth choir of praise at the Throne of grace in heaven, the “sterling tenth one” of Hildigard of Bingen. But already here on earth this mystery is such, that the bride rises higher in dignity than the highest rank or choir of the celestial hierarchies by the power of praise – the Seraphim – as in her praise the bride becomes a Winged man in the power of praise,
Upon the peak of
bliss humanity should chime along with the heavenly spirits’ song of
praise. These spirits constantly glorify God with their burning
devotion. When humanity joins in they should bring to fulfillment that
which the fallen angel has ruined through his arrogance. The human is
therefore the sterling “tenth one” (tenth choir) who completes all of
this through God’s power. [3]
THUS AND ONLY THUS THE BRIDE CAN SERVE AS A TRUE HIGH PRIEST IN THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT. In the Old Covenant on the Day of Atonement the high priest brought the blood within the curtain and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, on the Tent of Dwelling and the altar and its horns,
He will . . .
put it on the horns at the corners of the altar all around it, and
sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times with his finger, thus
purifying it and setting apart from the uncleanness of the Israelites
(Lv 16. 18. 19).
We see how purposefully God reveals this mystery as it are the tools and the Dwelling which were atoned but not the people. The sins of the people had polluted the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle – prefigure of the Church – and its purity as a place of the divine presence had to be restored by the atonement.
The atonement began at the mercy seat in order to emphasize that it was the cause and source of this life and went outward from it. Thus a true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant is obliged to outpour the holy blood of the sacrifice over all the community of the Church with his intercession in the power of praise enkindled by the Eucharist,
My heart is ready,
God,
my heart is ready;
I will sing, and make music for you,
Awake, my glory,
awake, lyre and harp,
that I may awake the Dawn.
(Ps 57. 7, 8).
my heart is ready;
I will sing, and make music for you,
Awake, my glory,
awake, lyre and harp,
that I may awake the Dawn.
(Ps 57. 7, 8).
“Most highest, most good, most potent [power of activity], most omnipotent, most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most present [the transcendence and immanence]; most beautiful, yet most strong; stable, yet incomprehensible; unchangeable, yet all-changing; never new, never old . . . ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and over spreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things . . . my God, my life, my holy joy,” cried St. Augustine.” [4] To that dignity the bride as been raised that she can have intimate relationship with such a God who is the Lord of the Hosts as King of heaven and earth,
He who enters the
Sanctuary enters as a contrite sinner, intercessor and substitute for
others. As such the man is given strength to carry human impediments,
defects, distress and sufferings, both on his on behalf as well as a
substitute for others when he walks in the footsteps of Christ (not to
be understood as in his own strength, but as a gift of Christ) . . .
When he stands in this way as an out
sufferer (ut-lidare) he becomes also a mediator of spiritual
power from an invisible world to human beings (but very secretly). He
takes the sufferings and agonies of other human beings on his own
shoulders and becomes thus a thoroughfare giving them strength and help
within . . . He is thus continuously giver in this way and mortified
and on the verge of capitulation because of his bodily sufferings. As a
consequence of this he is also given inner knowledge of an inner
medicine, a medicine which in spite of this is not more effective than
just as to preserve the strength of a body on the bridge between
weakness and exhaustion which conceals in itself a heavenly power where
the body swings between life and death. This is not meaningless because
if the body didn’t stand thus on the border line between life and
death, it would soon be drawn from true contemplation to the spiritual
life of the world. – Thus Paul was well content with his weakness and
spoke of thorn in his flesh among other things. And this is the general
rule among contemplatives. Without this they had not lived in the dust
where God’s power transforms the desert into a Garden of Eden and the
invisible meets the world. [5]
That is why John of the Cross said that this love of the charity which the soul attains in the interior formation in the live of grace is more worth than all other works of the Church put together,
It should be noted
that until the soul reaches this state of union of love, she should
practice love in both the active and contemplative life. Yet once she
arrives she should not become involved in other works and exterior
exercises that might be of the slightest hindrance to the attentiveness
of love toward God, even though the work be of great service to
God. For a little of this pure love is more precious to God and
the soul and more beneficial to the Church, even though it seems one is
doing nothing, than all these works put together. [6]
That is why the Russian religious philosopher Nikolyi Berdjavev (1874-1948) said, “The Church of Christ cannot exist without its bishops and priests, independent of their personal holiness. But it can only live and breath because of the holy, prophets, monks and martyrs.” [7] It is the heart of the Church which lives and breaths on this Uncreated Light of Glory shining above the mercy seat in the purity of a human heart, as the almond blossoms thrive and grow in the illumination of the lamp stand.
When the soul becomes a Living ark of the New Covenant because of these beneficial effects of a Living God “ever working, ever at rest” she has become a true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant. When these beneficial effects and fullness of the Godhead raised its abode in the heart of mother Teresa of Calcutta she went out to meet the poor on the streets because she had been lead into this source of love which is the source of all peaceful rest and continuous activity. In an interview in Vienna the 6th of July 1987 Dr. Leo M. Maasberg asked her about the validity of the message which the blessed Virgin began to bring the seers six years earlier, the holy mother named the core of her apparitions the demand of our times and replied,
This is exactly the
demand of our time. If we do not cultivate the prayer, we cannot fast
either. What means a fast? That we attain the purity heart. A pure
heart is a heart that looks to God. We must be humble to be able to
turn our eyes to Him, just as Mary. Only after this we can try to be
holy as Jesus. It is because of this that the blessed Virgin asks us to
pray and fast continuously. Prayer and fast create a pure heart in us
and a pure heart can see God. And when we are able to see God in our
neighbors, we can receive peace, love, integrity and joy. I think and
do believe that this is the reason why she asks us to pray and fast.
These two virtues [prayer and fast] create a purity of heart and
without this we cannot see God. The Mother of God received such favor
from God and stood Him so near and was so full of grace exactly because
she was pure in heart, and to have a pure heart is a grace from God. [8]
The fullness of Christian love has nothing to do with the slumberous effects of the closed eyes of Oriental mysticism. When a Christian soul meets her Living God in an authentic way, she flows into the mystery of the Trinity, into this abyss of love “ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and over spreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things.” She get participation in this super mundane fluctuation of Ruysbroeck, this true life in the spirit “in rest and in work” and “dwells in God, and yet goes forth towards all creatures in universal love, in virtue, and in justice. And this is the supreme summit of the inward life” (Med. 49). A true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant is not an illusionist but a man of works in eternal rest in the fathom of the Trinitarian mystery and takes his stand in the courtyard of the Sanctuary as a pillar in the service of his Living God (Med. 32).
The words of John of the Cross above are valuable in this context, that is, “until the soul reaches this state of union of love, she should practice love in both the active and contemplative life. This simply means: that we behave as we have already attained this state.
[1].
Mishna, Yoma 5. 1. Quotation
from “On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Temple Symbolism in the New
Testament,” p. 41.
[2]. Lectures on the Christian Sacraments, pp. 41-42.
[3]. Wisse die Wege Scivias, II. 2., Quotation from “Physics of Angels,” pp. 160-161.
[4]. Confessions, 1, 4.
[5]. Mystikern Hjalmar Ekström, p. 215.
[6]. Spiritual Canticle, 29. 3.
[7]. Ákall úr djúpinu, p. 108.
[8]. The Jounal of Medjugorje, spring 1987.
[2]. Lectures on the Christian Sacraments, pp. 41-42.
[3]. Wisse die Wege Scivias, II. 2., Quotation from “Physics of Angels,” pp. 160-161.
[4]. Confessions, 1, 4.
[5]. Mystikern Hjalmar Ekström, p. 215.
[6]. Spiritual Canticle, 29. 3.
[7]. Ákall úr djúpinu, p. 108.
[8]. The Jounal of Medjugorje, spring 1987.