"Risen Lamb Writings"

"The Luminous Flow"

          "The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church", one of the central writings of Vatican Council II, opens with these words: "Christ is the light of humanity" (LG 1). Jesus is the only "Saving Light". It is God's will that all people receive the light of Jesus into their hearts and minds. For, "he came as the "light of the world", he is the Truth" (CCC 2466): 'Light from Light, true God from true God'. Another document of the Council, "The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World", speaks of our wounded human condition:

"Man is split within himself. As a result all of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness" (GS 13.2)

We are all in desperate need of Jesus--of his saving love, light and truth in our lives.

          Saint Columban reminds us that Jesus:

"Is the fountain of light and spiritual illumination; for from him come all these things: wisdom, life and eternal light" ("From an instruction by Saint Columban, abbot", LH vol. IV, p. 173).

Hence, what flows from the wounded side of the "New Temple" of his body--from his pierced heart within--is "luminous" blood and water. The Prophet Isaiah says to the Lord, "Your dew is a dew of light" (Is.26:19B). Further, the Psalm writer unites in one verse the concepts of water, life and light: "For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light" (Ps.36:10). Again, the Lord speaks through the Prophet Isaiah: "I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations" (Is.42:6). Here, we note the connection between God's covenant and light. This passage of scripture is fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus, the Lamb and Light of the world.

          The New covenant is a covenant of light. What flows from the wounded side of the Lamb is "New covenant" blood and water. This blood is a symbol of the Eucharist, which is a "Mystery of light". This water is a symbol of Baptism which is "the gateway to life in the Spirit" CCC 1213), and is also called "enlightenment because it radiates light" (St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 40, 3-4).

          These "luminous" streams expose and expel the spiritual, emotional, psychological, and moral darkness caused by the world, the flesh and the devil: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). There is an "eternal glow" reflected in this "radiant" flow; for, these two, luminous steams of blood and water flow from the pierced heart of the Lamb who now is seated at the right hand of the Father in the Heavenly Sanctuary of a "new world"--the Heavenly City, the New Jerusalem where the "life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flow[s] from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev. 22:1); where "the glory of God [gives] it light, and its lamp [is] the Lamb" (Rev. 21:23).

          Jesus, "The Mystical fountain", has opened the "new and living way" into the Heavenly Sanctuary through the sacrificial offering of his life on the cross--of which his pierced heart is an essential aspect. Intercessors live close to, and drink deeply from, these two "luminous" streams of his precious blood and living water. Here, we are filled with "radiant" faith, hope and love in order to intercede--to give "light to all in the house" (Mt.5:15).     

Questions:

1)   What are a few ways that I experience this "dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness" within myself ?

2)   How does my prayer as an intercessor reflect "radiant" faith, hope, and love as I pray for others?

Scriptures:

Any scripture from the text; Eph.1:15-23; Eph.5:8-9,13-14; Heb. 8:1-2.