by Stanley Anderson » September 21st, 2007, 2:50 pm
Scott Hahn's book, The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth talks about Revelation as a description of what is going on in Heaven and that, as he says, "The Mass--and I mean every single Mass--is heaven on earth". An Amazon review says, "The central thrust of this piece is that Catholic liturgy offers the best interpretive paradigm for studying the Book of Revelation." Hahn shows how the Mass reflects what we see of Heaven in Revelation.
Other quotes from Hahn and about the book (which I quickly gathered from the reader's comments on the Amazon page):
"We go to heaven when we go to Mass...This is not merely a symbol, not a metaphor, not a parable, not a figure of speech. It is real."
"When Jesus comes again at the end of time, He will not have a single drop more glory than He has right now upon the altars and in the tabernacles of our churches," Hahn writes. "God dwells among Mankind right now because the Mass is heaven on earth."
Hahn claims that these truths have been held by the Church since the beginning of Christianity
"I want to make clear that the idea behind this book is nothing new, and it's certainly not mine," writes Hahn. "It's as old as the Church, and the Church has never let go of it. ... [Yet] this idea, that the Mass is `heaven on earth,' arrives [today] as news, very good news."
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I can't go into great detail here without simply reproducing the book -- I recommend reading it (it is a fairly short book) for anyone interested in the subject. I think it will be a fascinating read whether one agrees with the premise or not. And it is especially useful to any Catholic to read -- even many cradle Catholics will find it new and invigorating.
--Stanley
…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.