May 9, 2025
Few artists have ventured to depict the mysterious book that is the Apocalypse, this great book of hope. However, in a small town in France, in Angers, there is a jewel of Christian art: the Apocalypse Tapestry. In this masterful work, woven in the 14th century, 67 scenes unfold over a length of 104 meters.
Here are some images from this Apocalypse tapestry, accompanied by the corresponding verses, as well as some pearls from two saints who were happy with the beatitude proclaimed at the beginning of the Apocalypse: “Blessed is the one who reads, blessed are those who listen to the words of the prophecy and keep what is written in it, for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
May these few images and writings give us (back) the desire to read this great “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1), to prepare us for the return of the One who is coming soon!
“Then the one seated on the throne said, 'Write, for these words are trustworthy and true.'
Then he said to me, 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the life-giving well.'” Revelation 21:5-6
And the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land.”
I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will fill your stomach with bitterness, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” Revelation 10:8-9
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters, and like the voice of many thunderings; and I heard the voice of many instruments, like the sound of harps and lyres, and of harps and songs. And they sang a new song before the throne, and they did not learn it until the Lamb gave it to them. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have been redeemed from among those who live on the earth. They are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were chosen from among all people, and God and the Lamb accepted them as his own. No lie was found in their mouths, and they are without blemish.“ Revelation 14:1-5
Dear little Sister, how sweet it is to think that one day we will follow the Lamb together for all eternity!...” Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, LT 238
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Then the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Revelation 21:1-5
For us, this is the day we have been waiting for... the day of the eternal wedding feast when Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, LT 117
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:23
Today is the feast of St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who will open “the eternal gates” for me a little so that I may rest my soul in “the holy Jerusalem, sweet vision of peace!” And first, he tells me, there is no light in the city, “because the light of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its lamp”... If I want my inner city to have some conformity and resemblance to that of the “immortal King of the ages” and to receive the great illumination of God, I must extinguish all other light and, as in the holy city, the Lamb must be “the only torch.” Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, Last Retreat
