Pope Francis reflects on the healing ministry of Jesus during the Angelus on Sunday, the first to be held in St. Peter’s Square, as anticovide distancing measures are slowly reduced.
By Christopher Wells
The healing of St. Peter’s mother-in-law is characteristic of Jesus ‘healing miracles, says Pope Francis during Angelus’ weekly speech. In the Gospel of St. Mark, we read that Jesus approached her, took her hand and lifted her from the bed where she was suffering from fever.
The episode also shows the result of healing: the healed person immediately resumes his normal life, immediately thinking of others and not himself. That, says the Pope, “is significant, it is a sign of true ‘health.’
Jesus’ special love for those who suffer
That same evening, after the Sabbath rest, the people of the village come to Jesus, taking with them the sick and the possessed. “From the beginning” of the Gospel, “Jesus shows his predilection for those who suffer in body and spirit,” says Pope Francis, explaining, “It is the predilection of the Father, which Jesus embodies and manifests in his work and word “.
The Pope points out that the disciples are “eyewitnesses” of the Lord’s miracles. Jesus, however, does not expect them to be mere “spectators,” but invites them to participate in his mission. “It gives them the power to heal the sick and cast out demons.”
An integral part of the Church’s mission
This shows that caring for the sick is not an “optional activity” for the Church, but an integral part of its mission; like Jesus, the Church is called “to bring the tenderness of God to the suffering humanity.” Pope Francis marks the next “World Day of the Sick,” February 11th.
The Church’s commitment to caring for the sick, “this essential mission of the Church,” is especially relevant today, the Pope says, as the world experiences the pandemic. Once again, he continues, “Job’s words,” from today’s liturgy, speak of “our human condition, so high in dignity and at the same time so fragile.”
Respond to suffering with love
Jesus, says Pope Francis, gives no explanation that answers the question of suffering. Instead, he responds “with a presence of love that bows, takes the sufferer by the hand and lifts them up, as he did with Peter’s mother-in-law.” Pope Francis continues: “The Son of God does not manifest his lordship“ from above to below ”or from afar; but in closeness, in tenderness, in compassion ”.
Rooted in the relationship with the Father
Finally, Pope Francis points out that the readings of the day remind us that Jesus’ compassion for suffering has its roots “in his intimate relationship with the Father”: in the Gospel, Jesus is resurrected “long before ‘dawn’ and goes to a deserted place. pray. It is from prayer, says the Pope, that Jesus “drew strength to fulfill his ministry, preaching and healing.”
Updated at 2:30 p.m.