Concentrate on Jesus, not end-of-the-world prophecies, Pope tells audience
November 19, 2012
Christians should not concern themselves with predictions of the end of the world, Pope Benedict XVI told his midday audience on Sunday, November 18.
Commenting on the day’s Gospel reading, the Pope said that Jesus, in speaking about the end times, “wishes to ensure that his disciples in every age remain unmoved by dates and predictions.” The essential thing for Christians, the Pope observed, is union with Christ.
In speaking about the end of the world, Jesus uses Old Testament imagery to describe “a future that exceeds our own categories of comprehension,” the Pope said. Most important, Jesus reminds his disciples that their focus should be on “a new center: Himself, the mystery of his person, his death and resurrection.”
In Biblical language, the Pope continued, “the Word of God is the origin of creation.” With the Incarnation, the Word of God takes on flesh and Jesus becomes “the true firmament that guides man’s thoughts and actions on earth.”
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Further information:
- Christ Guides the Journey of Humanity (VIS)
- Pope calls on faithful to ignore doomsday warnings (AFP)
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