Pope Benedict draws hope for the Church from the book of Revelation

Aug 16, 2007 / 08:09 am

Benedict XVI celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, yesterday at St. Thomas of Villanova parish in Castel Gandolfo. Reflecting on the readings from the book of Revelation, the Pope proclaimed that “[t]he love of God is more powerful than the materialism of this age.”

Benedict spoke specifically about the figures of the dragon and the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12. He explained that in the days of the early Christians “the evil red dragon was the anti-Christian Roman Empire and the Church, which is embodied by the woman, … outlasted the persecution of the dragon.”

He said that the dragon also represents the great dictatorships of the past century: Nazism and Stalinism and again the Church survived. Even in these dark circumstances the woman, that is, the Church, survived. In the end, “love proved stronger than hate”

“Today it [the dragon] exists in the materialist ideologies which tell people that it’s absurd to think about God; to observe the commandments, which are described as outdated; and that they should grab what they can.”

The Pope described how “it seems impossible to oppose this dominant mentality with all the media backing it. Once again, the dragon appears to be invincible.” But ultimately the Church will win out over the dragon. “In the end God is stronger; love triumphs in the end over selfishness,” Benedict said.

The Holy Father concluded his homily saying that the Feast of the Assumption should remind us that, “Mary helps to protect the Church” and that “it should help us to imitate her service to God.”