Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

By Sophia Garcia

COME, LORD JESUS. While it is a very fitting theme during the Advent Season when the liturgy bids us look to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, it is nevertheless a short, powerful prayer we can often say in our daily lives.

COME, LORD JESUS. We say this in times of trials when we ask for the Lord’s help. We say this in times of quarrels and strifes when we beg the Lord to step in and put love and harmony in our lives. It is a most appropriate prayer before the Mass and especially, before we receive the Eucharist in Holy Communion.

Nevertheless, in this article, as a matter of fact in the subsequent issues of this newsletter, the plea “Come, Lord Jesus” is meant as a theme focusing on the Second Coming of the Lord. You must remember the old text of the Memorial Acclamation during the Mass: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Many will say that we are fools for dedicating articles to this theme. However, what we wish to point out is that there are just too many seers or visionaries already who have said that the Second Coming of Jesus is near – that it could come in our lifetime! Rather than sneer or scoff, isn’t it more Christian to read about these seers and pray for guidance. When Jesus walked the earth, during His first coming, majority sneered and scoffed. Let us not fall into the same mistake and lend credence to the saying, “History repeats itself”.

Here’s an overview.

GOD'S SEERS

Way back in the 1600s, St. Margaret Mary, the apostle of the Sacred Heart, said that the devotion to the Sacred Heart is meant for the last times when the hearts of men would have grown cold.

This devotion to the Sacred Heart is a last effort of His love which wishes to favor men in these last times with this loving redemption, in order to withdraw them from the empire of Satan, which He intends to destroy, and in order to put us under the sweet empire of His love.

During the 20th century there has been a rapid growth of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Almost every parish observes the First Friday devotion – there are prayers to the Sacred Heart, usually a Holy Hour, and attendance in the Mass noticeably increases. Does this therefore mean that the last times have come?

The testimony of St. Faustina, apostle of the Divine Mercy, cannot be brushed aside. Her Diary narrates that the Lord Jesus gave St. Faustina the devotion to the Divine Mercy as a preparation for the end times.

Speak to the world about My mercy…It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the Day of Justice (Diary, 848). You will prepare the world for My final coming (429). Tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice is near (965).

Here are Our Lady’s words to St. Faustina:

"You have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for granting mercy (635)."

Why is it important to ask for mercy now? Because on the day of justice, the day of judgment, we can no longer ask for mercy or forgiveness. On that day, we will already be judged. Now is the time for reconciliation, for gaining merit, for saving our souls.

It is important to note that St. Faustina lived from 1905 to 1938, was canonized in the year 2000, and the devotion to the Divine Mercy propagated throughout the world. When will the preparation time – the days of mercy – end? Counting from the year of her death, the Lord has given us 76 years of His patience – and mercy!

We come closer in time to the end of the 20th century. A former Ambassador to the Vatican, Howard Dee, in 1993 wrote a book, “Mankind’s Final Destiny” in which he writes that “we may live these days with hope, in joyful waiting for the coming of our Lord and Savior.” In 1977, one year before his death, Pope Paul VI said “I sometimes read the Gospel passage of the end times and I attest that, at this time, some signs of this end are emerging.” This is cited by Ambassador Dee in the same book and originally found in “The Secret Paul VI” by Jean Guitton, pages 152 and 153.

Ambassador Dee further writes:

"These consistent references to the biblical passages in Revelation made by Pope Paul VI, Radio Vatican, Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) since 1977 leave no doubt as to the intention of the teaching Magisterium: to make us aware that we are indeed living in Apocalyptic times which will determine decisively the future course of man and his civilization."