Pope Francis looks back at Jesus’ healing ministry during the Angelus on Sunday, the first to be held in St. Peter’s Square, as anti-covid distance measures are slowly being relaxed.
By Christopher Wells
The healing of St. Peter’s mother-in-law is characteristic of Jesus’ healing miracles, Pope Francis says during his weekly Angelus address. In the Gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus came to her, took her hand, and got her up from the bed where she had a fever.
The episode also shows the result of the healing: the healed person immediately resumes his normal life, thinking about others, not himself. This, 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 and bring the sick and the possessed with them. “From the very 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 that incarnates and manifests Jesus in His work. and word. “
The Pope notes that the disciples are “eyewitnesses” to the miracles of the Lord. However, Jesus does not expect them to be merely “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
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 suffering mankind.” Pope Francis points to the upcoming “World Day of the Sick”, on February 11th.
The Church’s commitment to caring for the sick, “this essential mission of the Church,” is particularly relevant today, says the Pope, as the world experiences the pandemic experience. Again, he continues, “the words of Job” from today’s liturgy speak of “our human condition, so high in dignity and at the same time so vulnerable.”
Respond to suffering with love
Jesus, says Pope Francis, makes no statement that answers the question of suffering. Instead, He answers “with a presence of love that stoops down, takes the one who is suffering by the hand and lifts him up, just as He did Peter’s mother-in-law.” Pope Francis continues, “The Son of God does not manifest His rule ‘from above’ or from a distance; but in closeness, in tenderness, in compassion. “
Rooted in the relationship with the Father
Finally, Pope Francis notes that the daily readings remind us that Jesus’ compassion for suffering is rooted “ in his intimate relationship with the Father ”: in the gospel, Jesus rises “ very early before sunrise ” and goes to a desolate place to pray. It is through prayer, says the Pope, that Jesus “drew strength to accomplish his ministry, preaching, and healing.”
Updated 2:30 PM.