Today. Jesus wants us to lift our eyes toward heaven. This morning, after three days of steady rain, the sky appeared bright and clear—one of the most splendid days of this autumn. We’ve become quite good at understanding changes in the weather; meteorologists have practically become part of the family. Yet we find it much harder to understand the times we are living in: “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (Lk 12:56). Many of those who listened to Jesus let a unique moment in all of human history pass them by. They did not recognize in Jesus the Son of God. They failed to see the time, the hour of salvation.

The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes (no. 4), brings today’s Gospel into our own era: “The Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel (…). We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its explanations, its longings, and its often dramatic characteristics.”

When we look back at history, it’s not difficult to point out the opportunities the Church has missed because she did not recognize the moment she was living in. But, Lord, how many opportunities might we be missing now by not discerning the signs of the times—or, in other words, by not living and illuminating today’s challenges with the light of the Gospel? “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” (Lk 12:57), Jesus reminds us again today.

We do not live in an evil world, even though there is plenty of evil in it. God has not abandoned His creation. As Saint John of the Cross reminded us, we dwell in a land where God Himself once walked and filled with beauty. Saint Teresa of Calcutta recognized the signs of the times—and our time has, in turn, recognized her. May she inspire us. Let us never cease to look upward toward heaven, without losing sight of the earth beneath our feet.