Towards the end of each liturgical year, the Church reflects upon the end of time. “The ‘resurrection of all the dead’… will precede [Christ’s coming] ‘in his glory, and all the angels with him…. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats’” (CCC 1038). This anticipation of Our Lord’s second coming is an essential part of our faith. During the Mass after the consecration the people acclaim, “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.” St. Bernard spoke of the three arrivals of our Lord: his earthly life, his hidden presence within us, and, finally, his arrival at the end of time. Advent presages the first coming and the end of the liturgical year presages the final coming, and both prepare us for when he comes to us daily–silently, interiorly–but truly.
We proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again
