Signs of the Time

The phrase "the signs of the times" brings back memories of my Cursillo weekend experience. I believe that phrase was part of the talk on the lay person in the Church. The point was made in order to emphasize the need for action on he part of the lay person to effect change that would ameliorate harmful conditions in our environments. 

Certainly, none of the horrors Pope Francis describes are new - people barely living from day to day, a number of diseases spreading, people gripped by fear, violence on the rise, inequality increasingly evident. It is a struggle to live and, often, to live with precious little dignity. 

However, he does point out that there are new "spirits of evil" that are causing these conditions and we must examine ourselves and our culture to discern what they are and how to combat them.

CHAPTER TWO


AMID THE CRISIS
 OF COMMUNAL COMMITMENT

50. Before taking up some basic questions related to the work of evangelization, it may be helpful to mention briefly the context in which we all have to live and work. … What I would like to propose … is the approach of a missionary disciple, an approach “nourished by the light and strength of the Holy Spirit”.


51. It is not the task of the Pope to offer a detailed and complete analysis of contemporary reality, but I do exhort all the communities to an “ever watchful scrutiny of the signs of the times”. This is in fact a grave responsibility, ... . We need to distinguish clearly what might be a fruit of the kingdom from what runs counter to God’s plan. This involves ... choosing movements of the spirit of good and rejecting those of the spirit of evil. … In this Exhortation I claim only to consider briefly, and from a pastoral perspective, certain factors which can restrain or weaken the impulse of missionary renewal in the Church ….


I. SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY’S WORLD

52. In our time humanity is experiencing a turning point in its history, as we can see from the advances being made in so many fields. We can only praise the steps being taken to improve people’s welfare in areas such as health care, education and communications. At the same time we have to remember that the majority of our contemporaries are barely living from day to day, with dire consequences. A number of diseases are spreading. The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and desperation, even in the so called rich countries. The joy of living frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the rise, and inequality is increasingly evident. It is a struggle to live and, often, to live with precious little dignity. This epochal change has been set in motion by the enormous qualitative, quantitative, rapid and cumulative advances occurring in the sciences and in technology, and by their instant application in different areas of nature and of life. We are in an age of knowledge and information, which has led to new and often anonymous kinds of power.