Antiphona 4

From Apocalypse 7:14, this antiphon identifies the blessed: 'Hi sunt qui venerunt ex magna tribulatione' - these are they who came out of great tribulation. The 'magna tribulatio' refers not merely to persecution but to the entire struggle of earthly existence against sin, the world, and the devil. The decisive phrase is 'laverunt stolas suas in sanguine Agni' (they washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb) - paradoxically, blood cleanses. The white robes of the saints are not their own achievement but Christ's victory applied to them. At Lauds, this antiphon reminds the faithful that the path to glory passes through suffering: 'per crucem ad lucem.' The tribulation is 'magna' but finite; the glory is infinite.