Going for the Gold
Yet truly, the city itself was of pure gold. —Revelation 21:18 CPDV
Inner chapel at São Bento Monasatery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Founded in 1590 by Benedictine monks from Portugal, São Bento is one of the oldest monasteries in the western world.
A guard stands at the entrance to the inner chapel and more guards are stationed throughout the Abbey Church. The sheer volume of gold is breathtaking. Its ornate brilliance, and the palpable sense of Our Lord’s presence, brings an awed hush to all who enter.
Surrounded by gold, I knelt there, sometimes gazing up through the clear glass skylight overhead — like a gateway to heaven. What did it take to overlay this entire chapel with gold?
It began first by finding raw gold and then mining it. Next came washing and separating the nuggets before smelting them in heated crucibles to remove every impurity.
From there, the purified gold was hammered into bars or disks from which a tiny amount was sliced off and subjected to a beating. First a coarse beating and then a fine beating to achieve a state of extreme thinness. After that, the gold was cut into delicate squares, ready to be applied as gold leaf.
We turn to Christ in our raw, unrefined state and purification takes place as we are put through the fire, beaten, and pressed. Jesus was already pure, yet allowed himself to be cut, beaten, and hammered. And then — glory!
I think there will be two types of gold on the streets of heaven. First will be the precious metal such as we see in this chapel. But even more radiant will be those who are walking the streets — the faithful followers of Christ perfectly purified and refined.
Lord Jesus, help us to see the trials in our lives as steps towards purification and holiness. As we are being refined, keep us in awe of Your glory and give us a window through which we can glimpse heaven.
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold. — The Old Testament Prophet Job (Job 23:10)
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