Pope: overcoming the fear that drives us to marginalise the sick, the suffering, the disabled
“It is precisely the heart, that is the deep core of the person, that Jesus came to ‘open up’, to free, to enable us to live fully the relationship with God and others. He became man because man, made interiorly deaf and dumb by sin, can hear God’s voice”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke during today’s Angelus about the need to open up “to the needs of our suffering and needy brothers, avoiding selfishness and the closure of the heart" and “overcoming the fear that drives us to marginalise the sick, the suffering, the disabled".
Citing today's Gospel (Mk 7: 31-37) which tells the story of the miraculous healing of a deaf-mute by Jesus, the pontiff said "He led him away from the crowd. On this occasion, as in others, Jesus always acted discreetly. He did not want to impress people, nor was he looking for popularity or success but only sought to do good to people. With this attitude, He teaches us that good should be done without clamour and without ostentation, without blowing one’s horn. It must be done in silence. When he stood away, Jesus put his finger in the deaf-mute’s ears and spitting, touched his tongue. This deed refers to the Incarnation.
“The Son of God is a man fully integrated into human reality and so can understand the painful condition of another man and intervene with an action in which his own humanity is involved. Likewise, Jesus sought to make clear that the miracle happened because of his union with the Father. For this reason, he looked up to heaven and groaned, uttering the decisive word ‘Ephphatha!’, which means ‘Be opened’. And immediately the man was healed: his ears were opened, his speech impediment removed. Healing was for him an ‘opening’ to others and to the world.”
"This story,” Francis told the 30,000 people present in St Peter's Square, “underlines the need for dual healing. First of all, there is healing from illness and physical suffering, restoring the body’s health, even if this goal is not completely attainable in the here and now despite the efforts of science and medicine. But there is a second healing, perhaps more difficult, and it is the healing from fear, from our own fear, which drives us to marginalise the sick, the suffering, the disabled.
“There are many ways to marginalise, even with pseudo pity or the removal of the problem. One remains deaf and dumb when faced with the pains of people marked by illness, anguish and difficulty. Too often the sick and the suffering become a problem, whereas they should be an opportunity to express the concern and solidarity of society towards the weakest."
"Jesus revealed to us the secret of a miracle that we can repeat ourselves, becoming protagonists of the ‘Ephphatha’, of the expression 'Be opened’ with which he gave back speech and hearing to the deaf-mute. It is a question of opening ourselves to the needs of our suffering and needy brothers, avoiding selfishness and the closing of the heart.
“It is precisely the heart, that is the deep core of the person, that Jesus came to ‘open up’, to free, to enable us to live fully the relationship with God and others. He became man because man, made interiorly deaf and mute by sin, can hear God’s voice, the voice of Love that speaks to his heart, and thus learn to speak in turn the language of love, translating it into deeds of generosity and self-giving.”
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