The End of the World vs. End Times Mania – Sermon by Fr. Bernard Uttley, OSB

Sermon by Fr. Bernard Uttley, O.S.B.

The End of the World vs. End Times Mania

As things get crazier and crazier in the world and especially in Novus Ordo Land, the topic of the end of the world keeps coming up as a point of interest, and not without all justification. Yet it behooves Catholics not to obsess about these matters and to guard against an undue curiosity concerning those things God has not seen fit to reveal to us except in a very vague manner.

When it comes to this topic, it is easy to fall prey to false apparitions, and some are tempted to cling to a particular interpretation of private revelation that may come at the expense of Catholic doctrine.

For example, Life Site has recently been pushing the highly dubious Garabandal prophecies; and the self-described “dad with a webcam” Taylor Marshall, who in his lousy book Infiltration couldn’t even manage to ensure that all chapter titles reflected their respective content, has just released a new book in which he tries to decipher the complex prophecies of the Apocalypse — a daring and dangerous undertaking.

Some months ago Marshall published a video asking, “Should you look out the window during the Three Days of Darkness?” — no doubt a topic that keeps Catholics awake at night. It’s pretty much on a par with asking, “When God sets the world ablaze to punish it for its sins, should you shave your head so your hair won’t catch on fire?”

Now, of course the end of the world is a legitimate topic for a Catholic. After all, it is part of Divine Revelation, and our Blessed Lord gave a discourse on it in Matthew 24 (parallel passages are Mark 13 and Luke 21):

• The End of the World and the Antichrist (Sermon Series by Bp. Donald Sanborn)

However, it would be wrong to engage in “end times mania”, obsessively speculating about what will happen before Christ returns, and when, and how far along we are.

The amazing Fr. Bernard Uttley, a sedevacantist Benedictine from Canada, put things in perspective with a powerful sermon preached in 2010. It is entitled: “Every Generation Thinks It’s the Last Generation”. You can listen to it here:

Let us thank God for the good Fr. Bernard, and let us remember him in prayer.

The key takeaway is this: Although possible, it is highly unlikely that we will be alive when the end of the world does come. On the other hand, it is 100% certain that we will have our very own personal “end of the world”, namely, our death, whenever Christ calls us to judgment, perhaps in the next few minutes.

“Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour” (Mt 25:13).

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