Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Living the Gospel: Pope Francis Blesses a Disabled Man in the Crowd

I cried when I saw this today:
On his way to the Inaugural Mass, Pope Francis was directed by his entourage to the edge of the crowd, where a disabled man was being held up by his friends in hopes of receiving a papal blessing.

Just like the friends in Mark 2:1-12, who lowered the disabled man through the roof of the house in which Jesus was speaking, these people carried their friend through the crowd of thousands,  in hopes of this very encounter.  In the midst of the papal pomp, a beautiful encounter of faith and love.

May Pope Francis continue to find opportunities for the love, responsibility and service he preached today in his homily: "We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!"  This encounter, above all, was one of great tenderness.

5 comments:

  1. That was pretty cool! Have to admit, he's shaking things up and doing things a little different.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, even though it appears he had spotters helping him, he obviously told them what he wanted. This man is showing us what and who are important. It's NOT the notably absent red mozetta. What it IS, is sending a message that Christ built his Church to be a mission of love - not to be an institution.

      ... and those friends who are holding the man. Wow! Can you imagine navigating a crowd of that size with a person with no mobility?

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  2. I saw the white smoke go up live online. While I didn't get to see this moment, I am very excited and filled with hope at the sight of our new Pope Francis.

    Now for my kind of spammy message (I wanted you to know I really read your blog before posting)


    Hi! My name is Chris and I am a Catholic podcaster and blogger. I am participating in a blog linking/promotion award called Liebster and have nominated your blog.

    No, it isn't a "real" award, but, it is a way for you to find and connect with other smaller bloggers and to expand the reach of the Gospel message by doing so.

    You don't have to participate if it seems too much like a chain letter. However, I have added your blog to my RSS feeder because I have found it to be of value.

    To read more, check out my blog post at http://view.lifeonfire.org/2013/03/liebster-award-a-banding-of-small-blogs/ .

    God Bless,
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. Indeed it does. It testifies - in this case, to the kindness and mercy of God, shown through one of his servants.

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