Fourth Sunday of Advent
Yesterday at the Ember Saturday Mass, Holy Mother Church gave us to read a passage from St Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians in which we find the following:
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day [of judgment] will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Th 2:3-12).
Just a few days from the commemoration of the birth of Our Lord in the poverty of Bethlehem, the liturgy puts before us this prophecy of His second coming in which we are told that He will kill the lawless one with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the light of His coming. The contrast between the first and second coming of Our Lord could hardly be stressed in a more thought-provoking way. Humility marks His first coming; power and victory will mark the second.
But let’s pause for a moment to consider some details of the text. The apostle begins by reminding the faithful of a fundamental dogma of faith, namely that Christ Jesus will return in glory. Ever since His Ascension, we live in lively expectation of His glorious return. What is most intriguing is that St Paul makes it exceedingly clear – and in this he concords with all the other New Testament texts, whether from the Gospels, other epistles, or the Apocalypse – that the second coming will be preceded by a rebellion, an apostasy. In other words, when Christ returns, He will not find a humanity united in singing His praises, but rather a world so turned away from Him that it has totally rejected His mystery. There will be a universal apostasy from Christ and from the true religion He revealed.
Perhaps the most mysterious part of the text is where the apostle makes reference to something or someone else that will restrain (it is the famous katechon) the apostasy, and only when he is removed will the apostasy reach its climax. Many of the ancient commentators thought the restrainer was the Roman Empire. Indeed, from the Edict of Milan, the Roman Empire became the protector of the Church and the promoter of the true faith throughout the world. While the Roman Empire as such ceased to exist in the fifth century, it was succeeded by the Romano-Germanic Empire, whose last emperor died only a century ago and has since been beatified, Blessed Charles of Habsburg. A century ago, the Empire ceased to exist, but the Church remained a bulwark of civilisation for another forty years or so. But then took place an event that many commentators hailed as the end of the Constantinian era, that is to say, the end of the time when the Church was supported by the empire and given her rights as sole teacher of the nations; the Church herself renounced her privileges and began to ask simply to be treated like any other religion, and she herself acknowledged other religions and treated them as her equals. You have guessed: this event was the Second Vatican Council.
What does that mean for us? Primarily, it means we need to be aware of it. The Constantinian era is over, that is certain. The Church is no longer a strong moral voice in the world. That is equally certain. The outstretched hand she offers to her enemies does not augur well for the future. The stage seems to be set for the final apostasy, and although there are still strong pockets of resistance, we can only wonder how long these will last without a strong central authority to support them. The danger is real of a total collapse of faith, and then the stage is set for ‘the lawless one’, that is to say, the Antichrist and his reign.
In yesterday’s office, we sang the O antiphon to the Key of David. O Key of David, Sceptre of the house of Israel, Thou who dost open and no one can shut; thou dost shut and no one can open; come and lead out the captive from prison, the one who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death. There are many today who are in darkness; they are all around us, and their numbers will only increase as the Church replaces teaching with dialogue. They live their entire lives in the shadow of death because their souls are dead to God’s grace. Only the Key of David, Christ Our Lord, who wields the sceptre of the true Israel of God, the Church, only He can open those hearts that are immersed in darkness and set the captives free. Let us never doubt for an instant that even in the darkest hours of the reign of the Antichrist, the grace of conversion will always be on offer, and we can ask for it for those who do not ask because they have grown accustomed to the darkness.
The Key of David opens the gates of the prison and sets the captives free. He sets souls free from their vices and gives them to live the bliss of true freedom from sin. But the Key of David also shuts gates. We can ask Him to shut the gates of Hell, to put an end to the reign of Satan in so many lives. We can ask Him to shut the windows of the Church that, more than sixty years ago, a pope opened wide, letting in the smoke of Satan.
In today’s epistle, we heard St Paul admonish us not to judge until the Lord comes. His judgment is true, but ours is often off the mark. Furthermore, the measure we use for others will be used for us. That is why it is wise to take the apostle’s advice and refrain from passing judgment on others, any others. Although we may very well be living through the great apostasy, it is not given us to judge who is on whose side. Sometimes, apparent enemies become the best friends, and those we thought we could count on fall. Judge not. When the Lord comes, He will enlighten the darkness, and He will manifest the deepest thoughts of hearts. Then each of us will get what we have truly deserved.
In the last few days before Christmas, under Mary’s Immaculate Mantle, let’s live in the lively expectation of the Lord’s second coming. In today’s Gospel, the Baptist gives us some of the most elementary aspects of that attitude of humble expectation: Let every valley be filled; that is to say, le those without hope be filled with confidence in God’s loving providence even in the darkest hours and under the burden of the heaviest crosses; let every mountain and hill be brought low; that is, let all the proud and haughty who think they know everything and can do anything they want humble themselves before God and learn to keep His commandments; let the crooked be made straight; that is, let those who rely on cheating and falsehood attain to the simple, pure, chaste ways of the child; finally, let the rough ways become plain; that is, let those who treat others harshly learn the gentle ways of Christ. All of those virtues will be made manifest in the Babe on Christmas night. If we strive to do these things, we will be prepared to celebrate His coming in a holy, dignified manner.