Pope at Audience: Let's go to Jesus, our hope! He can heal us!
During his weekly General Audience in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV reflects on two miracles which demonstrate that the Lord can always heal us when we go to Him in trust and faith, for "Jesus is our hope" and will make us new. Jun 25, 2025
Pope Leo XIV holds Wednesday General Audience in the Vatican (@Vatican Media)
By Deborah Castellano Lubov"In life there are moments of disappointment and discouragement, and there is also the experience of death. Let us learn from that woman, from that father: let us go to Jesus: He can heal us, He can revive us. Jesus is our hope!"Pope Leo XIV made this invitation during his Wednesday General Audience in the Vatican, as he continued his catechesis series on the Jubilee theme of 'Christ our Hope,' reflecting this week on two miracles that reveal the healing power of having faith in Jesus.
Two miracles born of full faith in Christ The first miracle recounted in the Gospel according to St. Mark involves a woman who, after suffering from an illness that had led her to be shunned by society as unclean, trusts that Jesus has the power to heal her. Thus, she reaches out to touch Him amid the crowd, and because of her faith, Jesus heals her and says to her, 'Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace.'In the second miracle, St. Mark recounts, Jesus raises a young girl from the dead, responding to the faith-filled plea of a distressed father, who had received the news that his daughter had died. Jesus said to him: 'Do not be afraid; only have faith,' goes to the man's house and, seeing everyone crying and wailing, says: 'The child is not dead but sleeping.'The two episodes, Pope Leo XIV suggested, reveal that when we turn to the Lord with trust and faith, nothing is beyond His capabilities."Jesus' act shows us that not only does He heal from every illness, but He also awakens from death," Pope Leo stressed, noting, "For God, who is Eternal Life, death of the body is like sleep. True death is that of the soul: of this we must be afraid!"
Transforming our lives from within Pope Leo also underlined that after bringing the girl back to life, Jesus tells her parents to give her something to eat, pointing this out as another very concrete sign of Jesus' closeness to our humanity.The Pope said it enables us to understand this in a deeper sense and makes us ask ourselves a question, "When our children are in crisis and need spiritual nourishment, do we know how to give it to them? And how can we, if we ourselves are not nourished by the Gospel?"The Holy Father reflected on each miracle, underscoring how they did not allow anything to get in the way of their faith in God to resolve their dire situations."Sometimes," the Pope marveled, "we are unaware of it, but in a secret and real way, grace reaches us and slowly transforms our lives from within."
He will make us new Often times, the Holy Father suggested, many are slow to catch on."Perhaps today too," he said, "many people approach Jesus in a superficial way, without truly believing in his power. We walk the surfaces of our churches, but maybe our heart is elsewhere!"
These two Gospel accounts, the Holy Father marveled, show that nothing is too great for Jesus to heal, and that we are to go to Him, for He will make us new.--Vatican News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Malaysia
20 hours ago
- Herald Malaysia
Catholic Sister brings synodal approach to prison through restorative justice
Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF, facilitates restorative 'justice circle keeper' trainings for staff and incarcerated individuals inside prisons in the US state of Illinois, as part of her ministry with Mobilizing Network. Jun 28, 2025 Sr. Janet, OSF leads a circle training with Catholic Mobilizing Network at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago, Illinois By Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Catholic Mobilizing Network*When thinking of the American penal system, we might recall the harsh conditions depicted in popular movies and television shows. And when one hears about justice being pursued or carried out in these environments, the first words that come to mind might be punishment and retribution. Of course, our Catholic understanding of justice extends beyond this narrow definition to include concepts and goals like rehabilitation and restoration. True justice—Gospel-inspired justice—is oriented toward genuine peace, flourishing, and even communion. This vision of justice is truly a synodal way of proceeding. It is rooted in the dignity of each person, something that is innate and cannot be forfeited. But does that vision of justice and the recognition of each person's dignity, even when they have committed grave crimes, seem like a mere fantasy, given the nature of incarceration and capital punishment in the United States? Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF, does not think so. That's why she is leading restorative justice trainings inside prisons throughout Illinois. Sowing Seeds of Hope in Prison Sr. Janet is a Fransiscan sister from Clinton, Iowa. For more than a decade, she has served at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR), an organization located in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago, IL, which exists to restore human dignity through hospitality, hope, and healing. It feels especially fitting to share the story of her hope-filled work in prison as we continue to celebrate this special Jubilee Year dedicated to hope. Founded by the Catholic religious order, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, PBMR serves community members who are impacted by violence and the criminal justice system, including men and women who are currently incarcerated. Sr. Janet's particular role within PBMR is to lead the peace circle prison ministry. A peace circle, also known as the restorative practice of circle process, invites participants to sit in a circle and pass a talking piece, which signals the speaking order. Facilitators, like Sr. Janet, guide the dialogue using a series of prompts to which every person has the chance to provide a response. Recently, Sr. Janet has initiated a new circle process training program inside prisons to equip incarcerated individuals and prison staff to use the restorative practice of circle process themselves. Offering this program not only to those who are incarcerated, but to the correctional staff at these prison facilities as well, Sr. Janet transcends this common divide in a highly uncommon way. Sr. Janet says each time she gathers in a circle is an opportunity to meet 'beautiful, loving, funny, gifted people.' There is a lot of laughter and a lot of tears. Through authentic dialogue, the circle process creates space to recognize the humanity in every person, which Sr. Janet says 'has the potential to have long-term impact and bring about real transformation'—even if that takes time. Each training is conducted over the course of four days and takes roughly 28 hours to complete. In that time, Sr. Janet shares that she hopes to reflect the goodness, beauty, and dignity of those who are incarcerated and those who work in corrections, creating a space where each person feels safe enough to share honestly and vulnerably without judgment. By the end of this experience, Sr. Janet says the participants—whether incarcerated individuals or prison staff—walk away with the skills and tools needed to facilitate these kinds of authentic dialogues in prison or in their community. Catholic Mobilizing Network's facilitator guide, Conversations in Communion: Parish Dialogues for Connection and Understanding, serves as a companion to Sr. Janet's trainings. She said that one inmate was particularly passionate about the potential impact of this model. He made a striking observation, suggesting that you could change parish to prison, and parishioner to inmate, and distribute copies throughout prisons across the country. Synodal Encounters Toward Healing and Communion A testament to the success of this approach is that Sr. Janet's co-trainer, Eric Anderson, is helping to facilitate circles in the very facility where he was incarcerated about five years ago. His story is a great inspiration to many of the men who know his history and desire a better way forward. The staff, meanwhile, have been polite and professional toward him, even those not yet ready to participate in a circle with him. Sr. Janet is aware that the circle process is deeply countercultural—particularly in the prison system. But this is why it can be so transformational. She believes we can do better—for the incarcerated individuals and the prison staff—to reduce trauma and stress and to create a more just and effective system. Hosting these trainings is one step in that direction. Amid fractured relationships and divided communities, we are all in need of dialogue like this that fosters deep listening, authentic encounter, and radical truth-telling that can build a path toward healing and communion. Whether behind prison bars or in the parish hall, this is the work of synodality that we as a Church are being called to. Both synodality and restorative justice encompass a vision and process for journeying together through woundedness and division, inside prison and here on the outside. Just how critical this work is can be best summed up here: When some of the incarcerated individuals found out that the Department of Corrections did not provide any funding for their trainings, they pooled their own resources and wrote Sr. Janet a check for more than $1,000. Sr. Janet's teaching of circle process—and the transformation made possible through the practices of restorative justice—is truly a tangible sign of hope today. * Are you interested in bringing the restorative process of circle process to your parish, ministry, or community? Explore Catholic Mobilizing Network's formation program Conversations in Communion: Parish Dialogues for Connection and Understanding. --Vatican News
The Star
20 hours ago
- The Star
Vatican unveils final restored Raphael Room after 10-year cleaning
The Raphael Rooms were never fully closed off to the public during their long restoration, but they are now free of scaffolding for the many visitors flocking to the Vatican Museums for the 2025 Jubilee. Photo: AP The Vatican Museums on Thursday unveiled the last and most important of the restored Raphael Rooms, the spectacularly frescoed reception rooms of the Apostolic Palace that in some ways rival the Sistine Chapel as the peak of high Renaissance artistry. A decade-long project to clean and restore the largest of the four Raphael Rooms uncovered a novel mural painting technique that the superstar Renaissance painter and architect began but never completed: the use of oil paint directly on the wall, and a grid of nails embedded in the walls to hold in place the resin surface onto which he painted. Vatican Museums officials recounted the discoveries on Thursday in inaugurating the hall, known as the Room of Constantine, after the last scaffolding came down. The reception room, which was painted by Raphael and his students starting in the first quarter-century of the 1500s, is dedicated to the fourth-century Roman emperor Constantine whose embrace of Christianity helped spread the faith throughout the Roman Empire. "With this restoration, we rewrite a part of the history of art,' Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta said. Pope Julius II summoned the young Raphael Sanzio from Florence to Rome in 1508 to decorate a new private apartment for himself in the Apostolic Palace, giving the then 25-year-old painter and architect a major commission at the height of his artistic output. Even at the time, there were reports that Raphael had wanted to decorate the rooms not with frescoes but with oil paint directly on the wall, to give the images greater brilliance. The 10-year restoration of the Rome of Constantine proved those reports correct, said Fabio Piacentini, one of the chief restorers. Vatican technicians discovered that two female figures, Justice and Courtesy and located on opposite corners of the hall, were actually oil-on-wall paintings, not frescoes in which paint is applied to wet plaster. They were therefore clearly the work of Raphael himself, he said. But Raphael died on April 6, 1520, at the age of 37, and before the hall could be completed. The rest of the paintings in the room were frescoes completed by his students who couldn't master the oil technique Raphael had used, Jatta said. During the cleaning, restorers discovered that Raphael had clearly intended to do more with oil paints: Under the plaster frescoes, they found a series of metal nails which they believed had been drilled into the wall to hold in place the natural resin surface that Raphael had intended to paint onto, Piacentini said. "From a historical and critical point of view, and also technical, it was truly a discovery,' he said. "The technique used and planned by Raphael was truly experimental for the time, and has never been found in any other mural made with oil paint.' The final part of the restoration of the room was the ceiling, painted by Tommaso Laureti and featuring a remarkable example of Renaissance perspective with his fresco of a fake tapestry "Triumph of Christianity over Paganism.' The Raphael Rooms were never fully closed off to the public during their long restoration, but they are now free of scaffolding for the many visitors flocking to the Vatican Museums for the 2025 Jubilee. - AP
Herald Malaysia
2 days ago
- Herald Malaysia
Australian priest ordained by Pope: ‘God has always been at work'
Father John Vespa from Australia, one of the thirty-two deacons ordained by the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica, shares his vocational journey, which has special ties to Rome. Jun 27, 2025 Australian John Vespa being ordained a priest by Pope Leo XIV (@Vatican Media) By Kielce GussieOn the morning of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, June 27, thirty-two deacons, from all over the world—representing various countries and regions from the Americas to Oceania—were ordained to the priesthood in St. Peter's Basilic by none other than Pope Leo XIV. One deacon from Melbourne, Australia, learned earlier this month that he had been chosen to be ordained in the papal basilica. With just a few weeks to prepare, Deacon John Vespa invited family and friends and booked a last-minute flight to the Eternal City. Chosen to represent Australia Earlier this year, Vespa was studying at Corpus Christi College in Melbourne and one of the priests at the seminary invited all the deacons preparing for ordination to pray about putting their names forward to receive ordination at St. Peter's Basilica. Vespa took this invitation seriously. 'Over the weekend, I discerned and prayed about it,' he explained, saying he reflected on 'all the men coming together and laying down our life to be ordained.' After time in prayer, he decided to start the process. With all his papers in order, Vespa submitted his name to the Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop Peter Comensoli. Weeks later, he heard he had been chosen. He explained that 'a few weeks ago, on the June 3, I received an email from the Dicastery of Evangelization, which said that I was selected to represent Australia.' Vespa described feeling incredibly blesses and honored to have been selected and he explained, 'I know that God's hand has always been at work.' Heart of Jesus, heart of a priest The priestly ordinations were held during the Jubilee of Priests and on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which Vespa said is no coincidence. 'The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a model for the heart of the priest, which is love, mercy, sacrifice,' he said. Even more, Vespa highlighted that Pope Benedict XVI had described priesthood as being born from the heart of Christ. Full circle While being ordained by Pope Leo is special in itself, Vespa's vocation story has roots in the Eternal City. In 2018, he and his family were visiting Rome. While inside St. Peter's Basilica, in front of Michelangelo's Pietà, he decided to tell his mother that he had applied to the seminary, and later that day he shared the news with his father in St. Peter's Square. Returning to Rome for his ordination reminds Vespa of this unique moment because God has 'worked through our lives and that's a special blessing for myself, my family, but also all the people of God.' Now, Fr. John Vespa's vocational discernment has come full circle—from where it all began to the moment of ordination. Looking forward, he said he'll not only bring home an incredible memory, but will also 'try to take some pearls of wisdoms from that homily and and live that out in my priestly ministry.'--Vatican News
