CHAPTER FOUR

CELEBRATING
THE GOSPEL OF HOPE

“To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honour and glory and might
for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:13)

A community of prayer

66. The Gospel of hope, as a proclamation of the truth which sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32) is meant to be celebrated. Before the Lamb of the Book of Revelation there begins a solemn liturgy of praise and adoration: “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:13). This vision, which reveals both God and the meaning of all history, takes place “on the Lord's day” (Rev 1:10), the day of the resurrection, as re- lived by the Sunday assembly.

The Church which receives this revelation is a community of prayer. In her prayer she listens to her Lord and hears what the Spirit is saying to her. She worships, gives praise, offers thanks, and ends by imploring the coming of the Lord: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:16-20). She thus declares that salvation comes from him alone.

Church of God dwelling in Europe, you too are called to be a community which prays, celebrating your Lord in the Sacraments, in the liturgy and in your whole life. In prayer you will discover the Lord's life-giving presence. By making him the foundation of all your activity, you will thus be able to invite Europeans to an encounter with him, our true hope, the One who alone knows how to satisfy fully the yearning for God hidden in the different forms of religious quest now reappearing in contemporary Europe.