Mary helps us make sense of our times

Mary has already entered her glory, and the time of trials in our world will come to an end. Here is what our beloved Pope John Paul II said on the subject in 2001:

“The dragon, which evokes Satan and evil, rises up against Mary and the Church, as the symbolism of the Old Testament has already indicated; red is the sign of war, slaughter and bloodshed; the "seven heads" with diadems mean immense power, while the "ten horns" recall the impressive strength of the beast described by the prophet Daniel (cf. 7: 7), which too is an image of the abusive power that rages in history.

Good and evil thus confront each other. Mary, her Son and the Church represent the apparent weakness and smallness of love, truth and justice. Against them is unleashed the monstrous, devastating energy of violence, deceit and injustice. But the song that closes the passage reminds us that the final verdict is entrusted to "the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ" (Rv 12: 10).

Certainly, in historical time the Church can be forced to seek refuge in the desert, like ancient Israel on its way to the promised land. Among other things, the desert is the traditional refuge of those pursued, the secret, tranquil place where divine protection is offered (cf. Gn 21: 14-19; 1 Kgs 19: 4-7). However, as the Book of Revelation stresses (cf. 12: 6, 14), the woman remains in this refuge for only a limited period. The time of anguish, persecution and trial, then, is not indefinite: in the end liberation will come and the hour of glory.

[…] Let us fix our gaze, then, on Mary, the icon of the pilgrim Church in the wilderness of history but on her way to the glorious destination of the heavenly Jerusalem, where she will shine as the Bride of the Lamb, Christ the Lord.”

John Paul II, General Audience, March 14, 2001