Recognizing the Signs of the Times

As frequent readers of Catholic Stand might recall, after many struggles I finally obtained my Italian driver’s license.   (For the not-so-frequent reader, I recounted my experiences here and here.)

The flimsy piece of plastic allows me to drive, not only in Italy, but also throughout the EEA (Europe Economic Area), as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.  It also facilitates driving in places such as the United Kingdom.

Despite the wide range of privileges conferred upon me by my license, I have yet to exercise my rights anywhere outside of Italy. Here, though, I drive often, especially through the countryside from my place of residence to the parish where I work.

Italian Road Signs

Of course, travelling through the countryside there are few lights and many signs. Some of these signs would even be familiar to American readers. For instance, my route has several “deer crossing” signs. But I have never seen a deer crossing anywhere along my route. Indeed, I have never seen a deer at all during my six years in Italy.

Likewise, there are signs that proclaim “Alberi in banchina!” which means “Trees on the side of the road.” I have always found that sign rather odd. Where else would the trees be? My understanding is that it is meant to warn drivers of the possibility that trees might fall over and end up in the road.  To me, however, it seems excessive and, in the absence of storms, simply a note regarding local vegetation.  Any alert driver could not help but notice the trees, let alone a tree on the road.

The most difficult sign

However, there is one sign that can almost pass unnoticed. It is a yellow diamond that makes its appearance at odd intervals along the roads. It also has a counterpart, a yellow diamond with a black line through it.

Those who have taken their driver’s education course here know what both diamonds mean. But to those who simply exchanged their licenses (or drive without one!) the meaning is anything but clear.

The yellow diamond indicates that a certain stretch of road has the right-of-way over any streets that might intersect with it. The drivers on that portion enjoy priority over any side streets, alleyways, winding yellow brick roads, or any other thoroughfare that connects with it. The yellow diamond with the black line means that the street no longer enjoys the right-of-way privilege.

I used to think that this was a particularly confusing way to indicate the right-of-way, until a friend of mine, a priest stationed in Papua New Guinea, mentioned how they determine right-of-way in the jungle. Throughout the country, when two cars meet, the priority goes to the one travelling east. In other words, rather than looking for a yellow diamond, the drivers need to look for the sun or check a compass!

The point of signs

The point of signs is to indicate something, to make something come to mind. In his books “On Christian Doctrine” the great Saint Augustine gives a famous definition of signs. He writes (Book 2, Section 1):

“For a sign is a thing which, over and above the impression it makes on the senses, causes something else to come into the mind as a consequence of itself: as when we see a footprint, we conclude that an animal whose footprint this is has passed by; and when we see smoke, we know that there is fire beneath; and when we hear the voice of a living man, we think of the feeling in his mind; and when the trumpet sounds, soldiers know that they are to advance or retreat, or do whatever else the state of the battle requires.”

In other words, signs have colors, shapes, and sizes, all of which we perceive. However, the importance of any sign lies not in these external realities, but rather in what it causes to come into our minds. For instance, a red octagon with the letters S, T, O, and P written on it causes (or should cause) me to stop. One thing appears to the senses, but it invokes something else, namely, a behavior or an action.

The signs of the times

I mention all this because, as the Church’s liturgical year ends, the readings for Mass focus more and more on the signs of the end times. Indeed, we find many such references in the Gospel readings for the 34^th week of Ordinary Time. In these readings Jesus often speaks of the signs that are to come.

While not a reading from this week, we can also think, for instance, of Matthew 16:1-3.  Here Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees because they are ignorant of the “signs of the times.”

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He said to them in reply, “In the evening you say, ‘Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red’; and, in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.”

What Jesus means, then, is that the Pharisees and Sadducees are unable to pass from what they see and hear to the reality that it should suggest. These people have seen, in the words of Jesus Himself, “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Matthew 11:5). All these should suggest the thought that Jesus is not simply an unemployed carpenter from a no-name town. These things are signs of a power that lies within Him. Indeed, they are signs of His Divinity.

The signs of the times today

A subject of frequent speculation today is when will Christ return. When will the end of times take place?

In the Gospels, Jesus gives us quite a few hints, signs that indicate that something bigger is happening than what meets the eye. For instance, the Gospel readings from Tuesday through Saturday of the 34^th week of Ordinary Time come from Luke 21:5-36. These speak of the destruction of the Temple, on one hand, but also of the future that is to come.

Scholars generally agree that verses 20 through 24 clearly refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. In the year 70, the Romans laid siege to the city and demolished it, and many Jews were killed or enslaved. Regarding this, Saint Augustine writes (in Letter 198 of the “Letters of St. Augustine”) that “This has happened, and no one doubts that it has happened.”

However, verses 25 through 28 concern, rather, the end of the world, and Christ’s second coming. Here, Christ tells us what will take place: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

What does this mean, and what are we to do?

What are we to do today?

The Fathers of the Church, mystics, saints, and popes have all given different interpretations of these lines. For instance, in his “Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to  Luke,” Saint Ambrose seems to think that these are to be taken in a spiritual sense:

“When very many fall away from religion, a cloud of unbelief will darken bright faith, because for me that heavenly Sun is either diminished or increased by my faith. . . .  The sun seems bright or pale in proportion to the capacity of the viewer, so the spiritual light is imparted to each according to the devotion of the believer. . . .  Love of this life alone certainly very often shuts out the light of God.”

Regardless of how these signs are to be interpreted, there are two truths that we know with absolute certainty. First, the end of the world draws nearer every day.  This is simply a fact based on chronology. Each day is a step closer to the end of the world, which will undoubtedly occur. Second, since no one knows the day or the hour, the best thing we can do is be prepared.

But being prepared does not mean hoarding food supplies.  Rather, it means that we should get our souls in order and convert. Some of us might live to see the end of the world and Christ’s glorious return with it. However, there is a good possibility that not all of us will.

Only God knows when He will come for us at the end of our lives. Rather than worry about the signs of the end times, we are better off reading the signs of our times.  These signs tell us to find God in the midst of our struggles, and to turn to Him with our whole hearts through conversion and the sacraments.  In short, live like today might be your last day upon the earth.