Fifth Day
u I saw a great multitude, which no man could number. . . . These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and havewashed their robes,and have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple : and He, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them. They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, f
All these elect souls, palm in hand, bathed in the light of God, must needs have first passed through " great tribulation," and known the sorrow "great as the sea,"J; sung by the prophet. Before contemplating the glory of the Lord " face to face," they have shared the abjection of His Christ: before1 being " transformed from glory to glory into the image of the divine M they have been conformed to that of the Word incarnate, crucified by love.
The soul that longs to serve God day and night in His temple, in the inner sanctuary of which St. Paul speaks when he says : " The temple of God is holy, which temple you are"2 — such a soul must be resolved to take a real share in the Passion of its Master. It is a ransom which in its turn will ransom other souls. Therefore it will sing to its lyre : " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ !"f. . . " With Christ I am nailed to the cross."J And again : " I . . . fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for His Body, which is the Church."3
" The queen stood on thy right hand."! Such is the attitude of this soul ; it walks on the road to Calvary at the right hand of the crucified, crushed, and humbled King, Who, strong, calm, and full of majesty, goes to His Passion, to show forth "the glory of His grace." 11
He desires His bride to join in His work of redemption, and the way of sorrow which she treads seems to her the way of beatitude, not only because it leads there, but also because her holy Teacher makes her understand that she must pass beyond the bitterness of suffering, to find her rest in it, as He did.
Then she can u serve God day and night in His temple." Neither interior nor exterior trials can make
X Gal. ii. 19. § Col. i. 24.
her leave the fortress in which He has enclosed her. She no longer thirsts nor hungers, for in spite of her overwhelming longings for heaven she is satisfied with the food that was her Master's — the will of the Father. She no longer feels the " sun fall on her " — that is, she does not suffer from suffering, and the tc Lamb . . . can lead her to the fountains of the waters of life/' where He will, as He will, for she looks not at the path whereon she walks, but at the Shepherd Who guides her.
God, bending down towards this soul, His adopted daughter who so closely resembles His Son, "the first-born of every creature,"* recognizes it as one whom He has predestinated, called, justified ; and His Fatherly heart thrills at the thought of perfecting His work — that is, glorifying it by transferring it to His kingdom, there to sing through endless ages " the praise of His glory !"
Footnotes
Chapter 5 of 16