Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

As he attended a routine ceremony within the inner sanctuary of the temple the young prophet Isaiah – educated, urbane and brilliant – was staggered by an overwhelming vision of God. He saw the god of his people as Lord of Heaven and Earth, judge of all the nations. This omnipotent potentate sat on a majestic throne; he was saluted by terrifying choirs of seraphic angels as they shouted, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts!” The foundations of the temple trembled, the floor quaked and the walls shuddered.

The young prophet would never forget what he saw as he took up his life’s work. His vision glows through every verse of his writings like the sun through a stained glass window. 

Born and educated in Jerusalem, he would have known of many national gods. He would have heard dozens of languages spoken; and seen religious paraphernalia of every description. Jerusalem may have been the world capital of monotheism, but it hosted embassies from many nations, each bringing its own pantheon of idols. Multiculturalism was the order of the day.

Isaiah’s vision changed everything for him and, eventually, for his nation. His book of prophecies laid the foundations for the gospels and Christian liturgy. Sixteen centuries later, Immersed in Christian imagery and Isaiah’s prophecies, Francis of Assisi also trembled before seraphic angels.

This passage from Isaiah 6 is inexhaustible, but I believe our reflections on it should begin with its setting. Isaiah was worshipping in the temple during a Jewish liturgy when he discovered his vocation. Saint Francis heard his vocation when the priest, reading the gospel in Latin, chanted verses about “do not carry a walking stick or knapsack and wear no sandals.”

Likewise, Saint Clare of Assisi never witnessed heaven as she lay on her sickbed for thirty years, but one night she had a vision of the Christmas midnight Mass in Assisi. Who needs heaven when you can attend a midnight Mass?

The liturgy is where we meet God face to face. Believe it. Expect it. The worship of God in church during the Mass assures us there is no other name in heaven by which we are to be saved.