Pope Francis reflects on the service of Jesus’ healing on Angelus Sunday, the first to take place in St. Peter’s Square, as anti-covid distancing measures are slightly eased.
By Christopher Wells
The healing of St. Peter’s mother-in-law is characteristic of Jesus’ healing miracles, says Pope Francis in his weekly speech on Angelus. In the Gospel of St. Mark, we read that Jesus approached her, took her by the hand and lifted her from the bed in which 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 themselves. This, says the Pope, “is significant, it is a sign of true” health. “
The special love of Jesus for those who suffer
That same evening, after the Sabbath rest, the people of the village come to Jesus, bringing 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 notes that the disciples are “eyewitnesses” to the Lord’s miracles. However, Jesus does not expect them to be mere “spectators,” but instead invites them to participate in His mission. “He gives them the power to heal the sick and cast out demons.”
An integral part of the Church’s mission
It 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 a suffering humanity.” Pope Francis points to the forthcoming “World Day of the Sick,” on February 11.
The Church’s commitment to caring for the sick, “this essential mission of the Church,” is especially relevant today, says the Pope, as the world experiences the pandemic. Once again, he continues, “Job’s words,” in today’s liturgy, speak of “our human condition, so high in dignity and at the same time so fragile.”
Responding to suffering with love
Jesus, says Pope Francis, does not offer an explanation to answer the question of suffering. Instead, He responds “with a presence of love that bends, 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 Kingdom” from above “or from a distance; but close, tenderly, compassionate. ”
Rooted in the relationship with the Father
Finally, Pope Francis notes that the readings of the day remind us that Jesus’ compassion for suffering is rooted “in His intimate relationship with the Father”: in the Gospel, Jesus rises “very early before dawn” and goes to a place desert pray. Through prayer, says the Pope, Jesus “drew the power to perform his ministry, preaching, and healing.”
Updated at 2:30 p.m.