On the Fifth Sunday of Easter our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Revelation (18:21---19:10) entitled "The wedding feast of the Lamb". Our treasure, which follows is from a sermon by Saint Maximus of Turin, bishop.
Saint Maximus was a fifth century bishop of Turin, a city in northwest Italy famous for the shroud of Turin being kept in the cathedral there. Saint Maximus was a theological writer "who made a great contribution to the spread and consolidation of Christianity in northern Italy". Saint Maximus may best be described as a zealous and effective pastor of souls.
In the face of rising spiritual and political threats, Saint Maximus charged his congregation to remain steadfast in trusting the Lord and he succeeded in obtaining their support. Saint Maximus is the author of numerous discourses delivered to the people by the saint, consisting of 118 homilies, 116 sermons, and 6 treaties. Several hundred of these writings are still in existence. He died in 465.
The Apocalypse, or Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. Symbolic language, however, is one of the chief characteristics of apocalyptic literature, of which this book is an outstanding example. Such literature enjoyed wide popularity in both Jewish and Christian circles from ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 200.
This book contains an account of visions in symbolic and allegorical language borrowed extensively from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Whether or not these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary conventions employed by him is an open question.
