Papal preacher says faith keeps people from feeling lost

Published: 2005-12-27

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Faith in Jesus Christ saves people from feeling lost in an infinite, endless universe and from feeling inadequate in a world obsessed with fame and success, the preacher of the papal household told Pope Benedict XVI and his closest aides. "With Christ in one's heart, one can feel on top of the world even (living) in the most remote village on earth" or being a humble worker, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa said in his last Advent meditation Dec. 23. The Italian preacher told the pope and top Vatican officials that science has revealed Earth to be just one of countless planets spinning in an infinitely vast universe, swarming with billions of other galaxies and stars, some flung billions of light years away. Not only has the neighborhood gotten larger, the number of years that has elapsed from the time God created the world has expanded from the 4,000 years in the Bible to 14 billion years, he said.

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