AUDIENCE: THE GLORY OF THE TRINITY IN THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM

VATICAN CITY, JUN 28, 2000 (VIS) - "The glory of the Trinity in the heavenly Jerusalem" was the theme of the Pope's catechesis during the general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 30,000 pilgrims.

"In the new creation," said the Holy Father, "God will grant us the gift of the perfect and intimate communion with Him that the fourth Gospel calls 'eternal life'; a source of 'knowledge' that in biblical language is communion of love."

John Paul II recalled that "it is, above all, the last pages of the Bible - the glorious concluding vision of the Apocalypse - that reveal to us the city that is the final goal of our pilgrimage: the heavenly Jerusalem. There we will first of all meet the Father. ... He will show Himself in fullness like the Emmanuel, God with us, wiping away tears and mourning and renewing all things. However, at the center of that city, the Lamb will also arise, Christ, to whom the Church is linked in matrimony. ... The Holy Spirit impels us towards that city."

"For this meeting," he continued, "we pray every day for the grace of continual purification. ... Consequently, we turn now to Christ so that, through the Holy Spirit, He may help us to present ourselves pure before the Father."

Quoting St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Pope indicated that "together with us, 'the creation (also) waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God ... in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.' The Apocalypse announces 'a new heaven and a new earth' because the first heaven and first earth will disappear." He concluded by affirming that "in anticipation of harmony and full praise, all creation must now join with man in singing a hymn of joy and hope."

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