Washed in the Blood of the Lamb

"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."  (Revelation 7: 14)

Are your robes washed in the Blood of the Lamb?  The robe that is made pure and white in the Blood of the Lamb is the passport to the kingdom of God.

"Washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb" means one thing:

"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me."  (Matthew 5: 10 - 11)

It also means:

"“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."  (Luke 9:  23 - 24)

Jesus Christ is the Way.  His way is the way of the cross.  It is the way of suffering, pain, contradictions, delays, humiliation, disappointments, obstacles, etc.

The way of the cross passes through what is most important for every person: health, family, finances, job, tools and property, food and future.  Are you enduring persecution in any of these?

Jesus asks us to renounce ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Him.  What do we renounce?  We renounce our will!  Our will stand between us and the will of God.  The will of God is supreme;  it is also our supreme good and peace.  Our will is in perpetual struggle with the will of God.  The saints who washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb had their wills broken.  They became submissive to the will of God.  Therefore, they became triumphant in the struggle against Satan and his demons.

But what is the will of God?  The will of God or His divine pleasure is revealed in His commandments.  It is also revealed in the word of God.  The will of God is also revealed to us in every event and in every moment of our life.  The will of God is also the divine Providence revealed every step every moment of our life.

The contest of our will with the will of God can be seen as the contest between truth and falsehood.  The Truth is Jesus Christ Himself.  Satan is the Father of lies.

Today is November 1.  Today the Church all over the world celebrates  the unsung heroes of the Church throughout the ages in the Feast of All Saints.  The Opening Prayer for this feast is beautiful:

"God our Father,
source of all holiness,
the work of your hands is manifest in your saints,
the beauty of your truth is reflected in their faith.
May we who aspire to have  part in their joy
be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives,
so that having shared their faith on earth
we may also know their peace in your kingdom.
Grant this through Christ our Lord."