Peter raised Tabitha from the dead in an upper room in Joppa. This is not the first or last time we hear of the "upper room." On the evening beginning the day of Jesus' death on Calvary, Jesus had the Last Supper and the first Mass in an upper room (Lk 22:12). The upper room was first the place associated with covenant-blood (Mt 26:28), the washing of the feet (Jn 13:5), and Jesus' sacrificial death (Lk 22:19). Before the first Christian Pentecost, the upper room was a place of prayer, Mary's prayer (Acts 1:14). Additionally, it is a place of the Holy Spirit and witnessing for the risen Christ (see Acts 1:8). Finally, the upper room is a place of another Mass, the preaching of God's word, Christian community, faith, and, once again, resurrection from the dead (Acts 20:8ff).

Spiritually, all the upper rooms are one. Jesus' death on Calvary, His resurrection, the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, the Church, Mass, Mary, and miracles are united in God's plan of salvation. Mass was originally celebrated in the upper room, and spiritually it is always celebrated in the upper room. Go daily into the upper room.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Giles H. Pater, November 15, 2001

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 16, 2001