November 1, 2023
(Solemnity of All Saints)
John had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” . . . Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “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.” Rv_7:2-4,9-14
To the non-believer, the uninformed, this statement may seem like an atrocity, washing in blood! And yet, we Christians, we Catholics know that the Angel and the Elder that John is speaking with is talking about the white robes of Baptism, cleansed by the Blood of Jesus that washes away our sins. And no, it was not symbolic blood. Jesus was truly murdered by a band of jealous, selfish Jewish leaders who, regardless of salvation, desired nothing more than earthly glory for themselves. And thus they had the savior of the world crucified. And it was through that blood that atones our sins, that reunion with our God is possible. That blood washes away our sins and makes us white and pure like the robes of purity we wore in our baptism. And through it, we have been “Saved!” And just as Jesus said to the sinners of His own time, He warns us to, “Go and sin no more!”
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Whispers to the Wind 