Pope Benedict XVI picked up his audience catechesis on the Profession of Faith Wednesday morning with a reflection on how Abraham, as the father of believers, teaches Christians to “go against he grain” in societies where God has become the “great absentee” and “possession” the idol to be worshiped.
Speaking to a packed Paul VI hall, despite the storm that swept Rome all morning, Pope Benedict said : “Faith makes us pilgrims on earth, inserted into the world and history, but on the way to the heavenly homeland. Believing in God makes us carries of values which often do not coincide with the prevailing fashion and opinion, it requires us to adopt criteria and a conduct which do not belong to the common way of thinking. The Christian should not be afraid to go “against the grain” to live his or her faith, resisting the temptation to “conform”. In many societies God has become the “great absentee” and there are many and diverse idols now in His place, above all possession. And also the significant and positive progress in science and technology have produced in humans an illusion of omnipotence and self-sufficiency, and a growing self-centeredness, which has created many imbalances within relationships and social behaviours”.