Indifference causes blindness and deafness to the suffering of others. This was the message Pope Francis directed during the general audience on a sunny Rome day.
He recalled the miraculous healing of a blind man in the Gospel. The Scriptures recall how the surrounding people were bothered by his aggressive requests to Jesus for help.
POPE FRANCIS
'How many times when we are faced with many refugees and displaced persons do we feel they are a bother to us. It is a temptation. We all feel it. Everyone, even me. Everybody. So the Word of God teaches us: indifference and hostility make us blind and deaf. '
The Pope said that as in those days, people today also marginalize and discriminate against those who require more effort and sacrifices. However, he recalled the gesture of Jesus when He put the blind in the middle of the crowd and helped him.
POPE FRANCIS
'In contrast to this attitude, Jesus is not indifferent to the cry of the blind man who, moved by faith, wants to find and invoke Jesus' help. And the Lord, as a humble servant, hears the prayer of the blind and restores his sight.'
At the same time he stressed another detail: that Christ could heal the blind man because he asked for help with faith and humility. Thanks to that, the Pope explained, he received not only his sight but, he especially experienced the love of God.
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