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From: Revelation 14:1-3, 4b-5

The Lamb and His Companions

[1] Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred
and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their
foreheads. [2] And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and
like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers pla-
ying on their harps, [3] and they sing a new song before the throne and before the
four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except
the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. [4]
It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these have been redeemed
from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, [5] and in their mouth no lie
was found, for they are spotless.

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Commentary:

14:1-16:21 The book now turns to the Lamb and to divine judgment (anticipating
the victory of the Lamb). It stays with this theme up to chapter 17 at which point
the powers of evil appear again (in various symbolic forms) and are subjected to
the judgment of God. First we are shown the Lamb and his entourage (cf. 14:1-
5); immediately after this the Last Judgment is proclaimed and a preliminary de-
scription given (14:6-20); the glory of the Lamb is again extolled (cf. 15:1-4) and
the unleashing of the wrath of God is further described in terms of the pouring
out of the seven bowls (cf. 15:5-16:21).

In opposition to the powers of evil and the active hostility to God and the Church
caused by the machinations of Satan stand the risen Christ and his followers,
who sing in praise of his glory and triumph. These followers are those who have
attained redemption; the salvation will reach its climax when the Kingdom of
God is fully established (the marriage of the Lamb, and the heavenly Jerusalem:
chaps. 21-22). In the meantime, although the Church has to do battle with the
forces of evil, it can contemplate Christ “as an innocent lamb (who) merited life
for us by his blood which he freely shed. In him God reconciled us to himself
and to one another, freeing us from the bondage of the devil and of sin, so that
each one of us could say with the Apostle: the Son of God ‘loved me and gave
himself for me’ (Gal 2:20)” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 22).

1-3. It is highly significant that the Lamb stands on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem,
which was where God dwelt among men according to the Old Testament (cf. Ps
74:1; 132:14; etc.) and where, according to certain Jewish traditions, the Messi-
ah would appear, to join all his followers. The assembly, then, is an idealization
of the Church, protected by Christ and gathered about him. It includes all those
who belong to Christ and to the Father and who therefore bear his mark, which
shows them to be children of God. They are so many that it is impossible to
count them, but their number is complete: they are given a symbolic number
which is 12 (the tribes of Israel) by 12 (the Apostles) by 1000 (a number indica-
ting a huge scale): cf. Rev 7:3ff.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand are not yet in heaven (for the loud noise
comes from heaven); they are on earth, but they have been rescued from the po-
wer of the beast (cf. 13:13-14). The verse from heaven symbolizes the strength
and power of God; and the heavenly voice speaks with the gentleness of liturgi-
cal music. It is a new song, for it now sings of the salvation wrought by Christ (cf.
15: 34) in the same style as the Old Testament chants the praises of God (cf.,
e.g., Ps 33:3; 40:2; 96:1). Only those who belong to Christ can join in this song
and be associated with the heavenly liturgy: “It is especially in the sacred liturgy
that our union with the heavenly Church is best realized; in the liturgy, through the
sacramental signs, the power of the Holy Spirit acts on us, and with community
rejoicing we celebrate together the praise of the divine majesty; when all those
of every tribe and tongue and people and nation (cf. Rev 5:9) who have been re-
deemed by the blood of Christ and gathered together into one Church glorify, in
one common song of praise, the one and triune God” (”Lumen Gentium”, 50).

4-5. The text refers to those who are properly disposed to take part in the mar-
riage supper of the Lamb (cf. 19:9; 21:2) because they have not been stained
by idolatry but have kept themselves undefiled for him. St Paul compares every
Christian to a chaste virgin (cf. 2 Cor 11:2) and describes the Church as the
spouse of Christ (cf. Eph 5:21-32). The author of the Apocalypse is referring to
all the members of the Church insofar as they are holy, that is, called to holi-
ness; but the symbolism he uses also draws attention to the fact that virginity
and celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven is a special expression and
clear sign of the Church as Bride of Christ. Referring to the chastity practiced
by religious, the Second Vatican Council teaches that in this way they “recall
that wonderful marriage made by God, which will be fully manifested in the fu-
ture age, and in which the Church has Christ for her only spouse” (”Perfectae
Caritatis”, 12).

The one hundred and forty-four thousand are also those who have identified
themselves fully with Christ, dead and risen, by denying themselves and devo-
ting all their energies to apostolate (cf. Mt 10:38). They also stand for those
whom Christ, by the shedding of his blood, has made his own and his Father’s
property (like Israel, the first fruits of Yahweh: cf. Jer 2:3), that is, those who
constitute a holy people like that remnant of Israel described in Zephaniah 3:13:
“they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.” The prophet’s words refer to people who have not invoked
false gods, but the Apocalypse applies them to those who are fully committed
to Christ.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 21:1-4

The Widow’s Mite

[1] He (Jesus) looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; [2]
and He saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. [3] And He said, “Truly I tell
you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; [4] for they all contributed
out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living she had.”

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Commentary:

1-4. Our Lord, surrounded by His disciples, watches people putting offerings into
the treasury. This was a place in the women’s courtyard, where there were va-
rious collection boxes for the offerings of the faithful. Just then, something hap-
pens whose significance Jesus wants His disciples to notice: a poor widow puts
in two small coins, of very little value. He describes this as the greatest offering
of all, praising the generosity of giving alms for this purpose, particularly that of
those people who give part of what they need. Our Lord is moved by this tiny of-
fering because in her case it implies a big sacrifice. “The Lord does not look”,
St. John Chrysostom comments, “at the amount offered but at the affection with
which it is offered” (”Hom. on Heb”, 1). Generosity is of the essence of almsgi-
ving. This woman teaches us that we can move God’s heart if we give Him all we
can, which will always amount to very little even if we give our very lives. “How lit-
tle a life is to offer to God!” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 42).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.