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Friday before Epiphany

Commentary of the day
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross [Edith Stein] (1891-1942), Carmelite, martyr, co-patron of Europe
The Marriage of the Lamb, 14/09/1940 (trans. ©Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, 1992)

"The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world"

In the Book of Revelation the apostle John wrote: “This is what I saw: before the throne... I saw a Lamb standing as though it had been slain” (Rv 5,6). When he had this vision, the unforgettable day on the Jordan when John the Baptist showed him the “Lamb of God” who “takes away the sins of the world” was still fresh in his memory...

But why did our Lord choose the lamb as his preferred symbol? Why did he continue to reveal himself in this form on the eternal throne of glory? Because he was innocent as a lamb and meek as a lamb; and because he came in order to allow himself to be “led as a lamb to the slaughter” (Is 53:7). This, too, the apostle John had witnessed when the Lord permitted himself to be bound at the Mount of Olives and nailed to the cross at Golgotha. There on Golgotha the true sacrifice of reconciliation was accomplished. Thereby the old sacrifices lost their efficacy; and soon they ceased entirely, as did also the old priesthood when the temple was destroyed. John had witnessed all of this, so he was not surprised at the Lamb on the throne...

Just as the Lamb had to be killed to be raised upon the throne of glory, so the path to glory leads through suffering and the cross for everyone chosen to attend “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rv 19,9). All who want to be united to the Lamb must allow themselves to be fastened to the cross with him. Everyone marked by the blood of the Lamb (cf Ex 12,7) is called to this, and that means all the baptized. But not everyone understands the call and follows it.