Wednesday saw the conclusion of Pope Leo XIV’s catechetical series on the public life of Jesus, which he described as being marked by encounters, parables, and healings.
Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square for his weekly General Audience, the Pope brought everyone’s attention to the present, noting that “this time we are living through also needs healing”.
Pope Leo described today’s world as being marked by “a climate of violence and hatred” that deeply wounds human dignity. Our society, he said, is growing ill, not from isolation, but from a kind of overload. “We are hyperconnected,” he said, “bombarded by images, sometimes false or distorted.” Social media, he warned, has produced a kind of emotional ‘bulimia’, where too much input leaves us exhausted and confused.
In the midst of this, many feel tempted to shut down, continued the Pope. “We might even prefer to feel nothing at all,” he said, noting that words themselves are increasingly fragile.
The Church, accompanying others
With this in mind, Pope Leo reflected the reading, taken from the Gospel of Mark, which recounts the healing of a man who was deaf and mute. The man does not seek healing for himself; he is brought to Jesus by others. These figures, said the Pope, can be seen as an image of the Church – those who accompany others, especially when they have lost their voice or ability to listen.
After meeting Jesus, the man begins to speak again; and this detail, Pope Leo said, reveals a deeper truth. Perhaps he had been silent because he didn’t know how to speak, or didn’t feel adequate. How often, asked the Pope, do we stop speaking because we feel misunderstood?
Bringing his address to a close, the Pope reminded us that true communication is not only about being effective but rather it is about healing, about not hurting others with our words. “Speaking correctly is the beginning of a journey,” he said. And this journey leads us to Jesus Himself, through His Passion and Cross.
“Let us ask the Lord,” concluded the Pope, “to heal our way of communicating, and to help the Church remain a place where every person can hear His Word, be healed, and become a messenger of His salvation.”
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