Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Rev 1, 12-16 One like a son of man his face like the sun

(Rev 1, 12-16) One like a son of man his face like the sun
[12] Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands [13] and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest. [14] The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. [15] His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing water. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars. A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun at its brightest.
(CCC 2519) The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him (Cf. 1 Cor 13:12; 1 Jn 3:2). Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty. (CCC 2531) Purity of heart will enable us to see God: it enables us even now to see things according to God. (CCC 748) "Christ is the light of humanity; and it is, accordingly, the heart-felt desire of this sacred Council, being gathered together in the Holy Spirit, that, by proclaiming his Gospel to every creature, it may bring to all men that light of Christ which shines out visibly from the Church" (LG 1; cf. Mk 16:15). These words open the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. By choosing this starting point, the Council demonstrates that the article of faith about the Church depends entirely on the articles concerning Christ Jesus. The Church has no other light than Christ's; according to a favorite image of the Church Fathers, the Church is like the moon, all its light reflected from the sun.

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