144,000 and Vietnam - 34th week monday 2014

Today in the last week of the liturgical year the church reads from the book of revelation because the book of revelation speaks of the end times, the time when the second coming of Jesus is near.  Revelation as I have explained last week is full of symbols because it is a subversive document and thus has to write in coded language.  Today we talk about the 144,000 who stand together with the Lamb in Jerusalem.  144,000 is the result of multiplying 12 and 12 and 1000.  12 represent the 12 tribes of Israel – it is a perfect number.  This is multiplied with 12 representing the 12 apostles – again it is a perfect number.  Then the total is again multiplied by 1,000.  1.000 is a symbol of a vast multitude, it represents a number that we cannot count.  And so there we have 12 times 12 equals 144 times 1,000 equals 144,000.  It represents the vast multitude of Christians who are marked on their foreheads with the name of the Father.

Today we celebrate the martyrdom of Vietnamese saints - St. Andrew Dŭng-Lạc and his companions – ninety six Vietnamese Catholic Christians who offered their lives for the faith.  Andrew Dung-lac was a priest and like many Catholics in his time he was forced to renounce his faith by stepping on and trampling the crucifix.

Vietnam has been hard hit with so many persecutions starting in the 16^th century to even until now, from cruel kings and emperors to communists who run the country today.  And yet many young men like Brother Qua still want to become a priest.  It is an irony.  Also remember it was from Vietnam that the first Carmelite nuns of Jaro came from.

This is what the book of Revelation is telling us – a vast multitude is willing to follow the Lamb, to follow Jesus wherever he leads, so many even at the cost of so many sacrifices and even persecutions. And I think this is something we should consider during this vocation month.