Health care requires compassion and love, Pope tells audience
July 02, 2012
At his public audience on Sunday, July 1, Pope Benedict XVI remarked that the miracles of Jesus involve spiritual as well as physical healing.
The day’s Gospel reading, which recounted the stories of the woman with hemorrhages and the daughter of Jairus, should be recognized on two levels, the Pope said. "First is the physical healing, but this is closely tied to a deeper healing, which bestows the grace of God upon those who are open to Him in faith.”
Recognition of this reality, the Pope said, should help Christians “to overcome a purely horizontal and materialistic view of life.” In prayer, while we ask God for particular needs, we should always ask for stronger faith as well, the Pontiff said.
Pope Benedict went on to say that care for the sick should always involve care for the whole person, including his spiritual and emotional needs. He said that while health-care work “requires professional competence as a primary and fundamental requirement, this in itself is not enough.” The Pope paid homage to the caring professionals who serve the sick and disabled with compassion as well as expertise, calling them the “reserves of love.”
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