Two days after the horrendous jihadist attacks in Paris, Pope Francis preached about the “end times,” encouraging his hearers to be vigilant and ready at any moment to meet God face to face.
In
his Angelus message Sunday, the
Pope invited the ten thousand pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to think
about their death, the day they will meet God and give an accounting for their
life.
The
Pope also explicitly addressed the Paris carnage, expressing his “deep sorrow
for the terrorist attacks that bloodied France late on Friday, causing many
casualties.” Along with offering his condolences to the victims and their
families, Francis condemned the massacre as an “unspeakable affront to human
dignity.”
“Such
barbarity leaves us shocked and we wonder how the human heart can conceive and
carry out such horrible events, which have shaken not only France but the whole
world,” he said.
Francis
unequivocally recognized the Islamist ideology behind the attacks, denouncing
the use of God’s name to justify the brutal attacks as “blasphemy.”
Commenting
on Sunday’s Scripture readings, the Pope said that Jesus’ preaching about the end of
the world contains “apocalyptic elements, like war, famine, and cosmic
catastrophes.”
“In
those days,” Francis repeated, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not
give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in
the heavens will be shaken.”
These
signs are not the most important things, however, the Pope insisted. “Our final
goal is the meeting with the resurrected Lord.” The most important thing is not
knowing whenthe
end will come, but being ready for it when it does, he said.
“We
are called to live the present,” Francis said, but always ready to meet God
whenever he may call.
At
the end of the world, Francis said, “Jesus’ triumph will be the triumph of the
cross, the demonstration that the sacrifice of oneself out of love for one’s
neighbor, in imitation of Christ, is the only victorious power and the only
stable point in the midst of the upheavals and tragedies of the world.”
The
Pope also warned against an unhealthy curiosity to know details of the future,
with recourse to psychics and horoscopes, saying they distract us from what is
really important in the present.
We
are called rather “to watchfulness,” Francis said, that keeps us focused and
ready at all times.
“In
our days,” he concluded, “there is no lack of natural and moral disasters, as
well as adversities of every kind.”
“The
Lord tells us that everything passes and only He and his Word remain as a light
to guide and strengthen our steps,” he said.
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