There is a lot in this book, by Stephen Walford, for those interested in a very in-depth study of the Second Coming.

It’s entitled just that, Heralds of the Second Coming, and relates the much-anticipated event to the teachings of Popes, especially modern ones, as well as events in the Church itself, the future of which is a key focus.

Cardinal Ivan Dias opens the gate, writing in the foreword:

“The Catholic Church, at the dawn of the third millennium after Christ, finds itself in the midst of a fierce battle between the forces of good and evil, between God and Satan, resulting from the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden.

“This ferocious combat has wound its way through history and will continue until the end of time. The intensity of this conflict has increased most notably in the past two centuries, as the forces of evil have misled a large segment of humanity to bow before the pseudo-gods of rationalism, secularism, and relativism: their aim is to create a world where God is irrelevant and is replaced with the idols of hedonism and materialism, while banishing the natural law and conscience to history.”

Who can doubt this—especially the materialism?

Worldliness still reigns even with many who proclaim their devotions.

“A decisive moment in the spiritual combat was when the Blessed Virgin entered into the battle fray in the nineteenth century with her apparitions at Rue du Bac in Paris, and thereafter at LaSalette and Lourdes in France, and in many places all around the world, some of which still await the approval of the Holy See.

“These supernatural events could in a sense open the pages of the Book of Revelation with more clarity, as in chapter twelve, narrating the confrontation between the ‘Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars’ (12:1), and a ‘great red dragon’ (12:1-17).”

The book’s subtitle is “Our Lady, the Divine Mercy, and the Popes of the Modern Era from Blessed Pius IX to Benedict XVI.”

Mary is indeed, says the cardinal, “the Woman of Genesis and the Woman of the Apocalypse.”

It’s an awesome matter to ponder: how the Virgin’s swath in time reaches from the beginning to the end. It is also worth contemplating how her true role was not confirmed by biblical details (of which there are few) as much as supernatural phenomena since the last word of Scripture was penned.

Through her intercession, the march of supernaturalism has continued, all at the behest, Power, and Mercy, of course, of her Divine Son.

[resources: Heralds of the Second Coming]