Wednesday

ALL SAINTS

 

1. PLACE yourself in the presence of God, kneeling with hands clasped.

2. Read slowly and devoutly

 

Apocalypse, chap. vii. verses 9-17.*

 

3. Bring all this before you as in a picture.

4. Then say to Him whatever comes into your mind to say; for instance

"They are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His Temple." "They shall not hunger nor thirst any more ; " " The Lamb shall lead them to the fountains of living waters."

(1) My dear Lord and Savior, shall I ever see Thee in heaven? This world is very beautiful, very attractive, and there are many things and persons whom I love in it. But Thou art the most beautiful and best of all. Make me acknowledge [You] with my heart, as well as by faith and in my reason.

(2) My Lord, I know nothing here below lasts; nothing here below satisfies. Pleasures come and go; I quench my thirst and am thirsty again. But the saints in heaven are always gazing on Thee, and drinking in eternal blessedness from Thy dear and gracious and most awful and most glorious countenance.

5. Conclusion.-May my lot be with the saints.

*Rev. 7:9-17. "After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

The image of the elect, above, is part of Michaelangelo's Last Judgment, the upper left, showing the saints that surround Christ the Judge. All of the chapel paintings can be seen at Christus Rex, along with a very large selection of other great works. It is used here with permission for religious and educational purposes only.