Pope Francis: The differences of others are an occasion to love better<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe pope\u2019s weekly message focused on the day\u2019s Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus\u2019 miraculous healing of the blind man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Francis pointed out the reactions of the different characters in the story and invited people to reflect on how they might respond in a similar situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do we welcome the difficulties and differences of others? How do we welcome the people who have many limitations in life, either physical like this blind man or social like the beggars we find on the street?\u201d he asked. \u201cAnd do we welcome these people as inconveniences or as occasions to draw near to them with love?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Francis addressed a25,000 people gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square. He also led everyone in praying the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, in Latin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He encouraged everyone to read chapter nine of the Gospel of John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRead about this miracle\u201d of the healing of the blind man, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful the way John recounts it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can read it in two minutes. But it shows how Jesus proceeds and how the human heart proceeds. The good human heart, the lukewarm human heart, the fearful human heart, the courageous human heart,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pope said the Gospel passage shows how each of the different characters react to Jesus\u2019 healing of the man born blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some are skeptics and some find it unacceptable, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn all these reactions, for various reasons, there emerge hearts closed in front of the sign of Jesus,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause they seek a culprit, because they do not know how to be surprised, because they do not want to change, because they are blocked by fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is similar to many situations today, he added. \u201cWhen faced with something that is really a message of a person\u2019s testimony, a message from Jesus, we fall into this: we look for another explanation, we don\u2019t want to change, we look for a more elegant way out than accepting the truth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe blind man, instead, is the only person who accepts Jesus\u2019 gift well, the pope explained. \u201cHappy to see, [he] testifies what happened to him in the simplest way: \u2018I was blind, now I see.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Francis said the Gospel is asking us to imagine ourselves in the same scene, so that we might ask what our own reaction would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat would we have said then? And above all, what would we do today? Like the blind man, do we know how to see the good and to be grateful for the gifts we receive?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added: \u201cDo we bear witness to Jesus, or do we spread criticism and suspicion instead? Are we free when faced with prejudices or do we associate ourselves with those who spread negativity and gossip? Are we happy to say that Jesus loves us and saves us, or, like the parents of the man born blind, do we allow ourselves to be caged in by the fear of what others will think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or are we, he continued, \u201cthe lukewarm of heart who do not accept reality, and do not have the courage to say: \u2018No, this is how it is.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Ecuador, who were hit by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake on March 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am close to the Ecuadorian people and I assure of my prayers for the deceased and all those who are suffering,\u201d the pope said, according to a Catholic News Agency report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We should treat the physical and social differences of others as a chance to love, not as an inconvenience, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on March 19. The pope\u2019s weekly message focused on the day\u2019s Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus\u2019 miraculous healing of the blind man. Pope Francis pointed out the reactions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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