"Hope does not disappoint" February 10, 2022Rm 5,5)
And it makes us strong in tribulation

February 10, 2022

We celebrate the XXXIII World Day of the patient in the 2025 Jubilee Year, in which the Church invites us to make ourselves "Pilgrims of Hope." In this we are accompanied by the Word of God that, through St. Paul, gives us a great message of encouragement: "Hope does not disappoint" (Rm 5,5), moreover, it makes us strong in tribulation.

They are comforting expressions, but that can raise some questions, especially those that suffer. For example: how to remain strong, when we suffer in our own, invalidating diseases, which perhaps require treatments whose costs go beyond our possibilities? How to do it when, in addition to our suffering, we see those who love us and who, even by our side, feel helpless for not being able to help us? In all these situations we feel the need for superior support to us: we need the help of God, his grace, his providence, of that force that is the gift of his spirit (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1808).

Let us be arrested for a moment to reflect on the presence of God who remains close to whoever suffers, in particular under three aspects that characterize it: the meeting, he don and the share.

1. el meeting. Jesus, when he sent the seventy -two disciples on a mission (cf. MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS 10,1-9), he urged them to tell the sick: "The kingdom of God is close to you" (v. 9). He specifically asked them to understand that also the disease, even when it is painful and difficult to understand, is an opportunity to meet the Lord. In the time of the disease, in effect, if on the one hand we experience all our fragility as creatures - physical, psychological and spiritual -, on the other hand, we feel the closeness and compassion of God, which in Jesus has shared our sufferings. He does not abandon us and many times surprises us with the gift of a determination that we would never have thought to have, and that we would never have found for ourselves.

The disease then becomes the occasion of an encounter that transforms us; in the finding of an unwavering rock that we can hold to face the storms of life; An experience that, even in sacrifice, makes us stronger, because it makes us more aware that we are not alone. That is why it is said that pain always carries a mystery of salvation, because it makes experience the comfort that comes from God closely and real, to "know the fullness of the Gospel with all its promises and life" (S. John Paul II, Speech to young people, New Orleans, September 12, 1987).

2. And this leads us to the second point of reflection: the don. Certainly, never as in suffering we realize that all hope comes from the Lord, and that is why it is, above all, a gift that we have to welcome and cultivate, remaining "faithful to the faithfulness of God", according to the beautiful expression from Madeleine delbrêl (cf. Hope is a light in the night, Vatican City 2024, Preface).

For the rest, only in the resurrection of Christ our destinations find their place in the infinite horizon of eternity. Only from his Easter is the certainty that nothing, «neither death nor life, nor angels nor the principalities, neither present the future, nor the spiritual powers, neither the high nor the deep, nor any other creature can ever separate us from God's love »(Rm 8,38-39). And from this "great hope" derives any other ray of light that allows us to overcome the evidence and obstacles of life (cf. Benedict XVI, Letter en. Spe salvi, 27.31). Not only that, but the resurrected also walks with us, becoming our traveling companion, as with the Emaus disciples (cf. MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS 24,13-53). Like them, we can also share with him our confusion, our concerns and our disappointments, we can listen to his word that enlightens us and makes our heart burn, and allows us In the limits of the present, that "beyond" that when approaching us returns courage and trust.

3. And we arrive in the third aspect, the share. The places where it is suffered are often places of exchange, mutual enrichment. How many times, next to the bed of a patient, learn to wait! How many times, being close to whoever suffers, you learn to believe! How many times, leaning before the needy, love is discovered! That is, we realize that we are "angels" of hope, messengers of God, one for others, all together: sick, doctors, nurses, family, friends, priests, religious and religious; And wherever we are: in the family, in the dispensaries, in the residences of the elderly, in the hospitals and in the clinics.

And it is important to know how to discover the beauty and magnitude of these grace encounters and learn to write them in the soul not to forget them; Keep in the heart the friendly smile of a health agent, the grateful and confident look of a patient, the understanding and attentive face of a doctor or a volunteer, the expectant and restless countenance of a spouse, of a child, of a grandson or an endearing friend. They are clearly to treasure because, even in the darkness of the test, not only give strength, but also teach the true flavor of life, in love and proximity (cf. MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS 10,25-37).

Dear sick, dear brothers and sisters who attend those who suffer, in this Jubilee You have more than ever a special role. His walking together, in effect, is a sign for all, "a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope" (Open Hope does not disappoint, 11), whose voice goes far beyond the rooms and beds of the sanatoriums where they are, stimulating and encouraging in the charity "the concert of the whole society" (cf. ibid.), In a harmony sometimes difficult to realize, but precisely because of that, very sweet and strong, capable of bringing light and heat where it is most needed.

The whole Church is grateful to them. I am also and I pray for you entrusting them to Mary, health of the sick, through the words with which so many brothers and sisters have addressed her in the difficulties:

Under your amparo we welcome ourselves, Holy Mother of God;
Do not discard the pleas that we direct you in our needs,
rather, let us out of all danger,
Oh always virgin, glorious and blessed!

I bless you, along with their families and other loved ones, and I ask, please, do not forget to pray for me.

Rome, San Juan de Letán, January 14, 2025

FRANCISCO