Pope recounts message of hope in Book of Revelation
September 12, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI told his weekly public audience on September 12 that “as Christians we can never be pessimists.”
The Holy Father devoted his Wednesday audience to a discussion of the second part of the Book of Revelation, explaining how the vision of St. John shows that the Church “may collaborate in the advancement of the kingdom of God.”
In Revelation, Christ the Lamb alone is worthy to open the scroll that reveals God’s plan for the world. The scroll shows the evils of the world: the violence and injustices that man does as well as natural problems like death and disease. However, the Scriptural vision also portrays the triumph of the Lamb.
In this message, the Pope said, “the ecclesial community is invited never to lose hope, but to remain firm in the belief that the apparent omnipotence of the Evil One in fact comes up against true omnipotence, that of God.”
The faithful help to bring about the kingdom of God on earth through prayer, the Pope continued. The Church is active in history, and as the scroll is opened and history is acted out, prayer allows the Church to focus on Christ, who guides us to the kingdom.
The Pope closed his meditation by recalling the vision of the angel who throws grains of incense down to the earth. These grains represent the prayers of the faithful, he said. “God is not oblivious to our prayers.”
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