It expedient you that I go, so that Mary and the departure that fertilizes

Expedit vobis ut ego vadam: si enim non abiero, Paraclitus non veniet ad vos.
Jo 16,7

«It is to your advantage that I go. For if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you» – this statement of Jesus, «My departure is good for you», is paradoxical and shocking: how can the loss of Jesus be «good» for his disciples? But Jesus’ logic inverts expectations: his physical presence was limited to a time and space. The presence of the Paraclete he sends is universal and perpetual. Mariology finds in this logic of «fructifying departure» a principle of immense richness: Mary, who «departed», through her Assumption, became more present and more fruitful for the Church than when she was physically among us.

I. The Logic of «Fructifying Departure» in the Fourth Gospel

Jo 16,7 is one of the most surprising statements from the Fourth Gospel: Jesus’ departure is presented not as a tragedy to be endured but as a condition for good for the disciples. The underlying logic is pneumatological: while Jesus is physically present, his presence is necessarily limited; a body occupies a space, a voice reaches a certain range, a person can only be in one place at a time. In contrast, the Spirit’s presence is omnipresent, interior, universal.

This logic is not easy consolation for those trying to minimize a loss; it is a deep theological revelation about the nature of God’s presence. Jesus’ departure for the Father is not absence but the way his presence becomes more intense, more interior, more universal. He who «goes» will send the Spirit. And the Spirit that comes makes him present not just before a restricted group of disciples in Galilee, but within the heart of every believer throughout all times and places.

The principle of «fructifying departure» has spiritual applications explored by mystical tradition. St. John of the Cross, in his comments on «the dark night», speaks of withdrawing from sensible consolations as a condition for a deeper presence of God: when God «departs» in an experiential sense, he is preparing a form of presence more interior and real. «The night» is not absence of God; it is a form of presence deeper than any sensible consolation.

Jo 12,24’s grain of wheat points in the same direction: «If the grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit». Fruitfulness comes from «death», departure, visible disappearance. Jesus «dies» to the visible world, «rises again» for an interior and universal presence mediated by the Spirit. This is the Paschal logic that structures all Christian spirituality.

II. Mary’s «Departure»: Assumption as Growing Fruitfulness

The Assumption of Mary

The Assumption of Mary, her “departure” to glory in body and soul, can be understood through the logic of John 16:7. Just as Jesus’ departure made possible the coming of the Paraclete, Mary’s departure to glory has enabled her universal and perpetual presence with all her spiritual children. While on earth, her physical presence was limited to a single location; now in glory, her spiritual motherhood is universal, reaching all who invoke her anywhere in the world.The history of Marian apparitions serves as the most visible sign of this “post-departure presence” of Mary. Lourdes, Fátima, Guadalupe, Czestochowa, Le Vang, Kibeho—these places, scattered across every continent, bear witness to the fact that the Mary who departed for glory is more present to the world than historical Mary of Nazareth. Her departure did not distance her; it brought her closer, making her a contemporary to every generation and culture.The theology of Marian intercession is closely tied to this logic. Mary, who intercedes “at the Son’s throne” (a recurring image in devotional tradition), is not “far away” from her spiritual children but “near” in the deepest sense: she is at the center of the Trinitarian heart from which all grace flows. Her departure to Heaven did not remove her from the earth; it placed her at the source of all grace, where she can intercede more effectively than any earthly presence could.St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in one of his most famous sermons on Mary, described her intercession using a hydraulic metaphor: Mary is the “aqueduct” through which grace flows from the Son to the Church. This “aqueduct” does not obstruct the flow but facilitates it—it is the channel that guides water to where it needs to reach. The Assumption of Mary has deepened and universalized this role as “aqueduct”: she who was in Nazareth or Jerusalem can now irrigate all fields of the universal Church.

III. “The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth”: Mary and Dogmatic Development

John 16:13: “But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” This promise of the “guiding to truth” by the Spirit forms the theological foundation for dogmatic development. The Church does not possess “all truth” at once from the beginning; it is guided progressively by the Spirit to a deeper understanding of the mystery revealed in Christ.

Marian Dogmas as a Paradigmatic Process of “Guiding to Truth”

The Marian dogmas, such as the definition of *Theotokos* (Ephesus, 431), the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (1854), and the Assumption (1950), are not “inventions” of the Church but explicitations of truths implicit in the deposit of faith. They were progressively revealed through the guidance of the Spirit who “guides all into every truth.” This process demonstrates how the Spirit has led the Church to a deeper understanding of Mary’s role and identity in the salvific plan.

Mariology: A Privileged Field for Dogmatic Development

Mariology is one of the most significant areas for observing dogmatic development. Unlike Christology or Soteriology, no other topic has sparked as many dogmatic definitions throughout history. Each definition was preceded by centuries of popular devotion, theological reflection, and doctrinal debate, illustrating the organic process through which the Spirit guides the Church—not an arbitrary imposition from on high but a gradual maturation of the faith of God’s People.

The *Sensus Fidei* and Mariological Development

The *sensus fidei*, or the sense of the faith of God’s People, played a particularly active role in Marian theology. The definition of the Immaculate Conception was preceded by centuries of popular devotion on December 8th. Similarly, the definition of the Assumption followed a universal consultation of the Church, with over 8 million faithful and 1200 bishops requesting the definition. The Spirit who “guides to truth” acted through the faith of God’s People, confirmed and defined by the Magisterium—this is the synodal structure of dogmatic development.

IV. “The World Cannot Receive” the Spirit: Mary as an Alternative to the World

John 14:17: “The Spirit of Truth… the world cannot receive because it neither sees nor knows him.” The inability of the “world,” the human order that rejects God, to receive the Spirit has significant theological implications with practical consequences. The “world” that hates the disciples (John 15:18) is the same one that cannot accept the Spirit: the logic of self-sufficiency and rejection of God is resistant to the gift of the Spirit.Mary stands as the most radical alternative to this “world” in the Johannine sense. As one who was preserved from the logic of original sin, the logic of self-sufficiency and the claim of divinity (Genesis 3:5), Mary was also the most receptive to the Spirit. The Immaculate Conception is not merely a personal privilege but expresses fully the alternative to the “world”: a human being who lived entirely outside the logic of rejection of God and entirely open to the gift of the Spirit.

Devotion to Mary in Christian Tradition

Devotion to Mary within the Christian tradition has always possessed this dimension of being an “alternative to the world.” Major Church reforms, from Gregory VII to Saint Francis, Saint Charles Borromeo to the Charismatic Renewal, were often accompanied by an intensification of Marian devotion: as if the Spirit renewing the Church acted preferentially through Mary, the creature most “permeable” to His breath. Invoking Mary as a model and intercessor is, in this sense, invoking the logic opposite to that of the world.

Escatology of the “Fecund Departure”

The escatology of the “fecund departure” culminates in the hope of reunion: Jesus “goes” to prepare a place (John 14:2-3). Mary, having departed for glory, intercedes on behalf of her spiritual children. The Spirit is now given as a “pledge” (2 Corinthians 5:5) of future fullness. The Pascal logic of departing to return more fully is the logic of all Christian hope. Glorified Mary is the anticipation of this hope; she who “departed” guarantees that the Son will return and that separation will end.

Maria’s Departure and Assumption

*Mary, having departed for glory to intercede for all her children, confirms with her Assumption the logic of John 16:7: the “departure” of the Beloved is not a loss but a condition for a deeper and more fruitful presence.*

References

– Pius XII, *Munificentissimus Deus* (1950). – John Paul II, *Redemptoris Mater* (1987). – Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, *Sermo in Nativitate B.M.V.* – Newman, *An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine* (1845). – H. U. von Balthasar, *Theodramatik* IV: *”Das Endspiel”* (1983).