Heresy!

We worry about many things because, after all, there is
much to worry about. As we watch the news night after night,
we can even begin to move from worry to despair. Sometimes
we even believe that the world as we know it is coming to an
end. Drugs are all around us. Violent crime invades our lives.
War rages in the Middle East. Children are killing children.
Teen pregnancy is as high as ever. Abortion and euthanasia,
signs of indifference to human life, increase. Instead of
serving the country, our political leaders are suspected of or
caught at lying and cheating and playing more politics for
power and personal gain. The list goes on!
We can truly understand those who would look at all of
this and begin to proclaim that the world is indeed coming to
an end! Many in fact do borrow from the Book of Daniel and
from the Gospel of Mark, both of which we read from this
weekend, and they cite the Book of Revelation and claim that
they know for certain when the world is ending. They point to
the signs and then force current events and Scripture to match
them. It becomes very easy to believe them.
Unfortunately for our fortune-tellers, our Readings this
weekend have little to do with the end of time. In fact, any
Catholic who gives in to any belief or prophecy about the end
of time has actually participated in heresy!
We worry about many things because, after all, there is
much to worry about. As we watch the news night after night,
we can even begin to move from worry to despair. Sometimes
we even believe that the world as we know it is coming to an
end. Drugs are all around us. Violent crime invades our lives.
War rages in the Middle East. Children are killing children.
Teen pregnancy is as high as ever. Abortion and euthanasia,
signs of indifference to human life, increase. Instead of
serving the country, our political leaders are suspected of or
caught at lying and cheating and playing more politics for
power and personal gain. The list goes on!
We can truly understand those who would look at all of
this and begin to proclaim that the world is indeed coming to
an end! Many in fact do borrow from the Book of Daniel and
from the Gospel of Mark, both of which we read from this
weekend, and they cite the Book of Revelation and claim that
they know for certain when the world is ending. They point to
the signs and then force current events and Scripture to match
them. It becomes very easy to believe them.
Unfortunately for our fortune-tellers, our Readings this
weekend have little to do with the end of time. In fact, any
Catholic who gives in to any belief or prophecy about the end
of time has actually participated in heresy!