VATICAN CITY, 8 FEB 2009 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his private study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square below.
The Pope commented on today's Gospel reading which relates the healing of Simon's mother-in-law and of many other sick people. "The healing of the sick occupied a large part of Christ's public ministry", said the Pope, "and it invites us once again to reflect upon the meaning and importance of sickness in all the situations in which human beings may find themselves".
The Holy Father recalled how this Wednesday marks the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick. "Despite the fact that sickness forms part of the human experience", he said, "we are unable to accustom ourselves to it, not only because it is sometimes so serious and oppressive, but essentially because we are made for life, for a complete life. Rightly enough, our 'interior instinct' leads us to think of God as fullness of life, as eternal and perfect Life.
"When we are tried by sickness", he added, "and all our prayers seem ineffective, doubt arises within us and we ask ourselves in anguish: what is God's will? It is to this question that we find an answer in the Gospel. ... Jesus leaves us in no doubt: God - Whose face Christ Himself revealed to us - is the God of life Who frees us from all evil. The sign of His power of love is the healing He accomplishes, thus demonstrating that the Kingdom of God is near and restoring men and women to their full integrity of soul and body".
The Pope went on: "I say that these acts of healing are signs: they guide us towards Christ's message, they guide us towards God and they help us understand that man's real and most profound sickness is the absence of God, the absence of the source of truth and love".
"Thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' activity is prolonged in the mission of the Church. Through the Sacraments it is Christ Who communicates His life to multitudes of brothers and sisters. He also heals and comforts countless sick people through the many healthcare activities which Christian communities promote with fraternal charity, thus revealing the face of God and His love".
"Let us pray for all the sick, especially those seriously ill who are unable to look after themselves but are totally dependent upon the help of others. May each of them experience, in the care of those near them, the power of God's love and the richness of His salvific grace".
ANG/SICKNESS/... VIS 20090209 (460)
The Pope commented on today's Gospel reading which relates the healing of Simon's mother-in-law and of many other sick people. "The healing of the sick occupied a large part of Christ's public ministry", said the Pope, "and it invites us once again to reflect upon the meaning and importance of sickness in all the situations in which human beings may find themselves".
The Holy Father recalled how this Wednesday marks the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick. "Despite the fact that sickness forms part of the human experience", he said, "we are unable to accustom ourselves to it, not only because it is sometimes so serious and oppressive, but essentially because we are made for life, for a complete life. Rightly enough, our 'interior instinct' leads us to think of God as fullness of life, as eternal and perfect Life.
"When we are tried by sickness", he added, "and all our prayers seem ineffective, doubt arises within us and we ask ourselves in anguish: what is God's will? It is to this question that we find an answer in the Gospel. ... Jesus leaves us in no doubt: God - Whose face Christ Himself revealed to us - is the God of life Who frees us from all evil. The sign of His power of love is the healing He accomplishes, thus demonstrating that the Kingdom of God is near and restoring men and women to their full integrity of soul and body".
The Pope went on: "I say that these acts of healing are signs: they guide us towards Christ's message, they guide us towards God and they help us understand that man's real and most profound sickness is the absence of God, the absence of the source of truth and love".
"Thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' activity is prolonged in the mission of the Church. Through the Sacraments it is Christ Who communicates His life to multitudes of brothers and sisters. He also heals and comforts countless sick people through the many healthcare activities which Christian communities promote with fraternal charity, thus revealing the face of God and His love".
"Let us pray for all the sick, especially those seriously ill who are unable to look after themselves but are totally dependent upon the help of others. May each of them experience, in the care of those near them, the power of God's love and the richness of His salvific grace".
ANG/SICKNESS/... VIS 20090209 (460)
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