Humans, all creation are part of God's plan for salvation, pope says

Published: 2004-05-05

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Human beings are not bits of dust randomly scattered in the universe, but were created by a loving God and are destined for salvation in Christ, Pope John Paul II said. At a May 5 general audience threatened by rain, the pope offered what he said would be the first of several reflections on the hymn to Christ in St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians. The canticle proclaims that all things created in heaven and on earth were created in Christ and that Christ reconciled all creation to himself through his sacrifice on the cross. "In the hymn," the pope said, "there emerges the great figure of Christ, Lord of the cosmos." The canticle proclaims that God is at work in every aspect of creation through his Son, the pope said.

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