"Future telling" and fear of the future

An Irish reader has drawn my attention to an excellent sermon by Archbishop Seán Brady, given recently at Knock as part of the 2007 National Novena. Brady is Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. In his sermon, he made the following points:
  • Those who confidently tell us that the Catholic Church in Ireland is an anachronism, a superstition of bygone days which has been rejected by intelligent Irish people, have greatly over stated their case. God is still active in people’s hearts.
  • The land of saints and scholars has become better known as the land of stocks and shares, of financial success and security. Tragically it has also become a land of increasing stress and substance abuse.
  • People are seeking to control their future rather than entrust their future to God’s promise and plan. The result is an increasing culture of insecurity and fear.
  • Underlying this trend of ‘future telling’, is a fear of the future … It is evidence of the failure of a life without God to address the deepest needs of the human spirit.
  • The challenge is to keep our lives focused on Christ amidst the distractions of increasing prosperity … in an increasingly secular, sometimes hostile culture.
  • The big questions of people’s lives still remain: Why am I here? What will bring me happiness? What will happen to me when I die? For all its human imperfections, it is the Church which still holds the answer to these questions
The Irish Catholic Communications Office makes available the full text of the sermon.

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