Vatican City, Jun 15, 2016 / 03:50 am
Pope Francis said Wednesday that we must listen to the cries of the poor and needy, resisting the temptation to close our hearts because we are "bothered" by their constant pleas for help.
Reflecting on the miracle in Chapter 18 of Luke's Gospel in which Jesus heals a blind man who cries out to him on the side of the road, Francis noted how the man had "a strong voice," but the people around "rebuke him to keep quiet, as if he didn't have the right to speak."
"They don't have compassion on him, but rather, they are bothered by his cries," the Pope said, asking "how many times do we, when we see so many people in the street, needy people, sick and with nothing to eat, feel bothered?"
"How many times do we, when we find ourselves before so many refugees and migrants, feel bothered?" he asked, sayings this is a temptation everyone has, "even me, all of us."