Mary in the Second Coming

# Mary in the Second Advent: Presence and IntercessionIf Christ has already come at the end of Israel’s expectations and was presented to the world through Mary, He remains the one who is still to come. “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end,” we proclaim in the Creed. We therefore await a second coming: “He will come again.”Salvation has already been accomplished and is yet to be extended to all humanity, and revealed to every man in all its splendor and power. If Israel’s expectation was fulfilled with the coming of Christ the Savior, the same expectation exists today for the Church and all humanity: “Maranatha: Come, Lord” (1 Cor 16:22) is the cry that has echoed through the Christian community since its inception until today.The time of the Church, as often said, is the time of both “already” and “not yet,” it is the time in which “salvation is already accomplished but not yet fully manifested.” The fullness will be at the second coming of the Lord. The time of the Church is a permanent Advent—Christ continues to enter the Church and each one of us, tirelessly, until the end of history, until the final parousia.In this incessant coming of Lord Jesus, Mary continues to perform a task of even greater importance: she continues “walking in the world,” as the Fathers of the Church said, to be ever that one who prepares for Christ’s coming.This is true for all humanity, for the peoples of the earth and especially for those who are not yet Christians, as it applies to each one of our baptismal lives. We can therefore reflect on this double dimension of Mary’s task regarding the Second Coming:– The mission she accomplishes for humanity and for non-Christian peoples – The mission she has and fulfills for each baptized individual**Mary’s Mission to the Peoples**Let us make a statement: Jesus *has not yet come* to much of humanity. We know He came to some peoples, but not all. He arrived at various times in history, but He is still not recognized by everyone. There are entire areas of the earth where Jesus is as if He had never been born. The *Mystical Body of Christ* has not yet reached its fullness, as Paul says, the *pleroma* of that which is fully realized in all things (cf. Eph 1:23), to lead all things to the Father:> *”All things are yours, you are of Christ and Christ is of God”*(1 Cor 3:22-23)This fullness has not yet been achieved. Recognizing the singular task Mary had for the coming of the Redeemer involves also recognizing her unique and special task in preparing for Christ’s coming among peoples, especially among those who are still awaiting the Redeemer, who are still in the time of Advent.Here lies the missionary dimension of Mary’s mystery, as we are called to contemplate it: *Figure of Advent*. The Virgin’s mystery is to be where Christ has not yet come or been received. And this is Mary’s mystery: to be present in this space of expectation, of Advent.From the perspective of salvation history, in historical terms, Mary was in Israel before Jesus. Mary was already present in that space that precedes the historic incarnation of the *Logos* (Word) into the world. There is a time, there is an Advent in which Mary is present, even before Jesus makes Himself visibly known to humanity. A *presence of Mary* that precedes Jesus’ coming and is not an end in itself or a vacuous wait. This is a presence that already constitutes an active action preparing in the secret of history and works for the revelation and fulfillment of the same expected mystery of the incarnation in all its fullness and redemptive value in the world.It seems we can speak of a moment when the Kingdom of God is already in action even before Jesus explicitly reveals it, for Mary, even before her Incarnation, is an anticipated presence, already a sign of the happening of the Kingdom of God. Mary is the icon of humanity saved by Christ before Christ himself makes salvation historically manifest.Moreover, one can also say that Mary, the first redeemed (Immaculate), is at the same time the first member of the Church: she is the Church before the Church. In this regard, another fact may be significant. Mary is still present in that spiritual space of time, that interval between Ascension and Pentecost. During that period, there is no longer a visible presence of Christ, now glorified and elevated to the Father, but Mary is present.Mary’s state is already the state of the Church, even before the official institution of the Church at Pentecost. There is no visible presence of Jesus, no formally established presence of the Church, but there is Mary, and her presence in some way is the presence of the Church; it is the guarantee that the promise of the gift of the Spirit will be fulfilled.This dual fact—Mary’s presence before the Incarnation and before the birth of the Church at Pentecost—is important because it reveals her role in humanity and among peoples who do not yet believe in Jesus Christ.Christ is not explicitly and recognizably present among them. The Church is not explicitly present among these peoples, but one can assume that there is a presence of Mary.Before the pagan peoples convert to Christ, before the visible presence of the Church among them, there is a mystical presence of Mary that prepares for Christ’s coming, prefigures the Church, and constitutes it as an anticipation.This lies at the heart of Mary’s mysterious and profound relationship with non-Christian peoples. Mary is truly “the figure of the Advent of the Kingdom to all peoples.”Before the Lord’s Prayer, the “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary) is often recited by many “sinners” who are unable to say the Lord’s Prayer. And rightly so, when one cannot express the “Our Father” because of a lack of filial dispositions of grace and thus cannot pray in spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4:23), it is still possible to say “Hail Mary.” Where Jesus and the Spirit seem absent in a full and complete sense, there certainly exists a secret presence of Mary.This explains the mysterious and extraordinary relationship found between sinners and Mary, so strongly felt in the testimonies of sinners. They invoke Mary, even though they often cannot invoke God or draw near to the Church. I remember having met people who had been away from God and the Church for long periods due to some form of faithlessness, and yet they trusted in Mary during that time. And this trust became the starting point for that return to God which is conversion. There truly is a special relationship: Mary anticipates, prepares for the full encounter with the Savior God, with the Church, and with the Sacraments.Similarly, among peoples still far from true faith, far from the Gospel, there is present Mary. Jesus and the Church are not explicitly there, but Mary certainly is. A mysterious protection, a mysterious Marian preparation surrounds peoples who do not yet know Christ. We can invoke her, especially for them, recognizing in Mary the path to encounter the Holy Spirit. We can also acknowledge that where the resurrection cannot yet be witnessed and the Church’s presence expanded through the Eucharist, Mary’s way remains open as it did during Advent, awaiting the Lord’s full manifestation.

Dogmatic Explanation

Let us consider what theology says about grace. Along with sanctifying grace, theology distinguishes the so-called prevenient grace: before we are in a state of grace, we are not devoid of any grace. There are also graces for those who are not yet in grace; these are preparatory graces that enable us to attain the fullness of grace. Without these preparatory graces, which give us the possibility of achieving grace, that is, the plenitude of grace, we could never achieve it alone.Mary’s mission, from the perspective we are considering, falls within this realm. Mary is like an initial manifestation of grace where grace is lacking or does not operate in its fullness. Mary is like the grace that anticipates and prepares for grace to be realized fully in man.Therefore, we can affirm the existence of a special relationship between her and non-Christian peoples. Let us consider the great continents of humanity: China, Russia, India, the Arab peoples, the immense populations who live, in large part, in relation to Christ, in a situation analogous to that of the Hebrews before Jesus’ coming or the Apostles before the Holy Spirit descended upon them.We find ourselves in a state of expectation in an actual Advent. If we look at:

• The profound veneration of Islam for Mary.
• The enduring popular devotion to Mary that remains so alive in Russia.
• The cult of the Mother that characterizes Chinese culture.
• Or the cult of virginity so present in Indian civilization.

Who knows if all this does not express the presence of Mary in humanity, and who knows if it is precisely through these signs that Mary will one day lead nations back to Christ?In any case, Mary occupies a vast place in the world and there performs a fundamental task. And we regret that our brothers of the Reformation still cannot perceive, at least largely, this mystery of Mary, even though among them significant signs of a rediscovery of Mary are emerging.The mission of Mary at every baptismWhat applies to world populations obviously applies to each one of us. Non-Christian nations are not alone in the Advent. The Church continually awaits in a situation of Advent, because it continually expects a fullness that it does not yet possess. It lives constantly in a time of Advent.Christ has come, but his coming has not yet manifested itself fully and visibly. Christ is present, but his presence is hidden under the signs of the Word and the sacraments. We can perceive him, but only with the gaze of faith. One day all this will be revealed clearly, visibly. However, in the interim between the first Advent and the parousia, the Church lives in a time that precedes the true Church, the definitive Church, the heavenly Jerusalem of which the present Church is the preparation and imperfect prefiguration. Even within the Church, alongside the presence of Jesus, there is an absence of Jesus and a particular presence of Mary, inasmuch as Mary is the one who prepares for the coming of Jesus, his definitive coming.Therefore, the Virgin of Nazareth fills the space that separates Pentecost from the parousia. Just as she filled it with her presence the space between the Ascension and Pentecost.To deepen Mary’s role in the second Advent and Christian eschatology, consult Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Mater on the maternal presence of Mary in the life of the Church.Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Theological Marian Studies, Marian Apparitions, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.