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Everyone's Apocalypse
A Reflection and Prayer Guide, second, revised edition
Imprint: Saint Paul Seminary Press
Everyone’s Apocalypse attempts to respond to the request of Dei Verbum 22 that "Easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the faithful." In this easy-to-read introduction for beginners, modern scholarship and the Church’s tradition meet to help readers understand and pray through this demanding part of God’s Word.
Following Ugo Vanni’s proved structure, the two parts of the Apocalypse (chapters 1–3 and 4–22) are presented in seven chapters. The opening two chapters show John’s vision of the Risen Jesus as Son of Man and his words to the seven churches of Asia Minor. Chapter three presents the vital section, full of worship, of the throne vision of God as creator and of Jesus, slaughtered and risen, as redeemer. The opening of the seven seals by the Lamb, the four horsemen, the Risen Jesus, the destruction wrought by the seven trumpets, the three signs of the Woman, the Dragon, and the seven angels with the seven bowls of wrath are dealt with in the next three chapters. The final chapter outlines the climax of the book. Harlot Babylon, the evil city, is judged and falls and, following the intervention of the bridegroom Lamb and the removal of God’s enemies, the marriage of the Lamb reaches its fulfillment when the prepared wife becomes the possessed bride. In the imagery of this text, the kingdom has come.
Uniquely, this book reads the entire Apocalypse in a nuptial manner. This is a love story. Jesus, the lover, following the pattern of Jewish marriage in the first century, helps his espoused wife, the seven churches, to persevere in their nuptial response of love to him, their first love. After coming through the tribulation, they finally become his beloved, possessed Bride, filled with glory. This eschatological union of love is humankind’s destiny.
Fr. Donal McIlraith, SSL, STD, is a Columban missionary from Macroom, Ireland. He has taught in seminaries in St. Paul, MN; New York; Philadelphia; Sydney; and Suva, Fiji, where he currently teaches for the Pacific Regional Seminary.
"Donal McIlraith has made a unique contribution to the interpretation of the most challenging book in the New Testament. There is no single answer to the 'meaning"'of any text. This is especially true of the elusive Book of Revelation. There are many interpretations possible, but this does not mean that any interpretation is good enough. Starting with the rich nuptial imagery of the closing chapters of Revelation, Dr. McIlraith uses the overt use of the theme of love and intimacy found in the text as a key for the interpretation of the whole book. The results of his work break open this treasure from Christian Tradition, relating it to the lived experience of all who hope to follow the Lamb."
~Francis J. Moloney, SDB, Senior Professorial Fellow, Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity, Melbourne
" Everyone’s Apocalypse is a thoughtful study of Revelation that is accessible to all readers. Father McIlraith emphasizes the love story that undergirds the whole book: Christ the Bridegroom and his Bride, the Church. Prophetic symbols and natural disasters abound, but it all turns on Christ’s triumph and justice that call forth our love, faith, service, and endurance. The format helps the reader to slow down and ponder, with reflection questions and prayer suggestions after each section. I will heartily recommend it to both friends and students."
~Kathryn Wehr, Managing Editor, Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota
"This exposition of the Book of Revelation is worth its weight in gold, and so much more. Father McIlraith’s expansive missionary experience and scholarly expertise shine through every page of his reflections on the nuptial love of Jesus, the apocalyptic Lamb, for his people in the Church. And only someone deeply enamored himself with the bride of Christ could have written such a readable guide to one of the most thought-provoking books of Sacred Scripture. With at the same time contemplative and pastoral intuitiveness, the author urges us to share in Jesus’ victory through the trials of the present life. He almost effortlessly, but also amiably, unriddles even the most bewildering symbols of the biblical text, leading the reader into prayerful pondering of their spiritual meaning. If you are looking for an eminently perspicacious and reliable pathfinder into this world of redemptive message, Everyone’s Apocalypse is the book for you."
~Andreas Hoeck, author of Worthy Lamb: An Exegetical-Spiritual Commentary on John’s Apocalypse, and professor and chair of Sacred Scripture, Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, Colorado