Catholic World News News Feature
God's judgment should prompt apostolic action, not fear, Pope tells audience November 17, 2008
Faithful Christians should be "vigilant and industrious while awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus at the end of time," Pope Benedict XVI told his midday audience on Sunday, November 16.
The Holy Father said that the parable of the talents, from the day's Gospel reading, offered the proper Christian perspective on divine judgment. "The wrong attitude is that of fear," he said, observing that some people develop "a false image of God that paralyzes faith and works." Real discipleship, he continued involves accepting God's gifts and sharing them with others. "What Christ has given us is multiplied when we give it to others," the Pope said.
Pope Benedict observed that the parable of the talents can be interpreted as referring to productive economic work. Indeed the Gospel message does have that dimension, he said, "promoting an active and enterprising mentality among Christian peoples."
However, he went on, the parable should be understood on a more important level as referring to the gift of faith, which should be shared with one's neighbors. The key message of the day's Gospel reading, he concluded, "concerns the spirit of responsibility with which we must welcome the Kingdom of God: responsibility toward God and toward mankind."
After leading the Angelus, the Pope called the attention of his audience to the approaching feast of the Presentation, celebrated on November 21. He reminded the faithful that the feast day is traditionally marked for special prayers for cloistered religious communities. The faithful should recognize the constant support provided by the prayerful witness of these religious, he said. "Let us in our turn pray for htme and for new vocations, and undertake to support the material needs of monasteries," the Pope said.
Finally the Pope asked for prayers for the victims of automobile accidents. He cited the words of St. Paul in making an appeal for road safety: "stay sober and alert."
