{"id":109189,"date":"2025-04-08T08:31:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T07:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/?p=109189"},"modified":"2025-04-08T08:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T07:31:15","slug":"pope-francis-illness-is-a-school-in-which-we-learn-to-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/pope-francis-illness-is-a-school-in-which-we-learn-to-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis: \u201cIllness is a school in which we learn to love\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In his homily for the Jubilee of the Sick and Healthcare Workers, taking place on the 5th and 6th of April, Pope Francis drew inspiration from the prophet Isaiah.<\/p>\n

In his sermon, which was read aloud by Archbishop Rino Fisichella,\u00a0Pope Francis invited the faithful to contemplate the situation of the Israelites in exile: \u201cit seemed that all was lost\u201d, the Pope said. However, he continued, it was precisely in their moment of trial that a new nation was bring born.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis compared this experience to the woman in the day’s Gospel reading, who had been condemned and ostracized for her sins. Her accusers, ready to cast the first stone, were halted by the quiet authority of Jesus who told her \u201cGo your way. You are free. You are saved\u201d.<\/p>\n

In comparing the stories, Pope Francis says that God does not wait for our lives to be perfect before he intervenes in them. Rather, said the Pope, \u201cHe enters into our wounds. He knocks at our door, not despite our suffering, but because of it\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Illness and care<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>

Turning then to those who are ill and to all those who assist them, the Pope acknowledged the deep suffering that illnesses can bring. \u201cIt can make us feel like the people in exile\u2026 or like the woman in the Gospel,\u201d he said. But, he continued, it can also be a place of encounter, a \u201cschool\u201d in which we learn to love and be loved with humility and grace.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis then reflected on his own illness, and consequent dependence on others, describing it not as a burden but as a lesson in trust, gratitude and hope. \u201cLet us not push back\u201d, he said, adding: \u201cLet us allow ourselves to be loved\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis then turned to the healthcare professionals, thanking them for their work and encouraging them to receive every patient as an opportunity to renew their sense of humanity. \u00a0\u201cThe sickbed can become a holy place,\u201d he said, \u201cwhere charity burns away indifference and gratitude nourishes hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

Call to compassion<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>

Bringing his address to a close, Pope Francis recalled the words of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, who reminded the Church that \u201cthe true measure of humanity is determined in relation to suffering\u201d. A society that turns its back on the weak, he warned, becomes cruel and inhuman.<\/p>\n

Finally, Pope Francis urged all those present to resist the temptation to marginalise and forget those who are elderly, ill, or weighed down by the hardships of life. \u201cLet us not banish suffering from our surroundings,\u201d he said. \u201cLet us not exclude those who are frail.\u201d Instead, we must allow God\u2019s love – poured into our hearts – to transform even suffering into a space of communion and growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Article published in Vatican News. By: Francesca Merlo. Photo: Vatican Media<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":109185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3386,3367],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-see","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109190,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109189\/revisions\/109190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}