Sign of the times is a phrase strongly associated with Roman Catholicism in the era of the Second Vatican Council. It was taken to mean that the Church should listen to, and learn from, the world around it. In other words, it should learn to read the 'sign(s) of the times'. This phrase, though it comes from the Gospel of Matthew was used in a somewhat novel way by Pope John XXIII when he convoked the council, in the statement Humanae Salutis. It came to signify a new understanding that the Church needed to attend more closely to the world if it was to remain faithful to its calling, and marked a significant shift in theological method. The phrase has continued to be used in papal encyclicals by every pope since then.
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Famous quotes containing the words sign and/or times:
“The man of genius, like a dog with a bone, or the slave who has swallowed a diamond, or a patient with the gravel, sits afar and retired, off the road, hangs out no sign of refreshment for man and beast, but says, by all possible hints and signs, I wish to be alone,—good-by,—fare-well. But the Landlord can afford to live without privacy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The energetic action of the times develops individualism, and the religious appear isolated. I esteem this a step in the right direction. Heaven deals with us on no representative system. Souls are not saved in bundles.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)