Love is kind.
... covered in boils - story here.
The man approached for a blessing. The Pope embraced him, prayed with him and blessed him.
I'm sure everyone has seen the photos and read the story by now - I'm posting it again because it demonstrates kindness ...
Nice pic, nice link. Pope Francis is amazing.
ReplyDeletePope JPII tells us our "witness is woefully inadequate unless we have first contemplated His Face" and he dedicates the millenium to The Holy Face. Pope Benedict XVI taught us how to contemplate His Face, "in His Images, in our neighbor and hidden in The Eucharist." and like his namesake Pope Francis shows us how to honor His Holy Face in the poor, the sick and the suffering. "The Most Beautiful Work Under the Sun" is devotion to the Holy Face.
ReplyDeleteI don't want this to sound negative, but this is the most Franciscan thing I've seen him do thus far. Powerful.
ReplyDeleteMJ. What you say doesn't cast negativity on what Francis has done thus far; it simply (and to my way of thinking, correctly) places this powerful embrace at the top.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing after having read and looked at the pictures from the link Terry posted.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to imagine what it must have been like for the man to approach Papa Francis. I am thinking perhaps he was like the woman in the crowd who had been hemorrhaging for what was it, 30 years?
Anyway, he must have been overwhelmed by the crowds and yet of great courage due to his being disfigured and folks misunderstanding. He knew he stood out and yet he waited to receive a blessing. He waited...he was rewarded and affirmed and loved and accepted. In the arms of Peter, he was lifted up!
Much like the wonderful faith of the woman who had endured the hemorrhaging and who was instantly healed in more ways than just the physical, "If I could only touch the hem of his garment..." The beauty of the sick man was more than just the hem of the Lord's garment...it was an invitation to rest in His bosom.
Anyway, that's what I see every time I look at those pictures.
May the love and embrace of Christ's Vicar grant him a lifetime of peace, hope, affirmation and perseverance.
I will hope to remember him in my prayers too. ^^
A beautiful story! Thanks Terry!
This Pope is teaching by example.
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