Pope: The Lord tells us: Come, come, you're not discarded to me, but my son, my daughter
At the hearing, Pope Francis says the dell'emorroissa miracle, as an example of the "salvation" of the dignity of women brought by the Gospel. And the mercy that Christ is ready to give anyone who is excluded or a sinner. It is not the garment, touched by the woman suffering from a hemorrhage, but "Jesus is the only source of blessing from which flows the salvation of all mankind".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The gesture of Jesus toward the hemorrhaging woman (Matthew 9. 20-22) was taken today by Pope Francis as an example of how the worked gospel in favor of women and their dignity. At the same time, an example of how Jesus treats each person who feels excluded. "The Lord says: 'Come! Come! To me you're not discarded. Courage, daughter. You are my child, my daughter '. And this is the time of grace, this is the moment of forgiveness, this is the time of inclusion in the life of Jesus, in the Church's life. It is the time of mercy".
The pontiff first spoke of the meaning of the hemorrhaging woman's illness: “For many years, in fact, this poor woman was not simply ill but was regarded as impure because she was suffering from a hemorrhage (cf. Leviticus 15:19-30). Therefore, she is excluded from the liturgies, from conjugal life, and from normal relations with her neighbor”.
"This case - he added— makes one reflect on how woman is often perceived and represented. We are all put on guard, including Christian communities, from views of femininity suffused with damaging prejudices and suspicions of her intangible dignity. In this connection, it is precisely the Gospels that restore the truth and leads back to a liberating point of view. Jesus admired the faith of this woman whom all avoided and transformed her hope in salvation. We do not know her name, but the few lines with which the Gospels describe her encounter with Jesus, delineate an itinerary of faith capable of re-establishing the truth and the grandeur of the dignity of every person. It is in the encounter with Christ that the way of liberation and salvation opens for all, men and women of every place and every time".
"Matthew’s Gospel says that when the woman touched Jesus’ garment, He “turned” and “saw her” (v. 22), and then He addressed her. As we were saying, because of her state of exclusion, the woman acted in a hidden way, behind Jesus, she was a bit afraid, so as not to be seen, because she was a discarded one. Instead, Jesus sees her and His look is not one of reproach, He does not say: “Go away, you are a discarded one!” as if He said: “You are a leper, go away!” No, He does not reproach her but Jesus’ look is one of mercy and tenderness. He knows what happened and seeks a personal encounter with her, which deep down the woman desired. This means that, not only does Jesus receive her but He regards her as worthy of such an encounter to the point of gifting her with His word and His attention".
"Today to all of us, sinners, whether we are great or little sinners – but we all are “sinners” to all of us the Lord says: “Take heart, come! You are no longer discarded: I forgive you, I embrace you.” Thus is God’s mercy. We must have courage and go to Him, ask forgiveness for our sins and go forward – with courage, as this woman did".
Salvation, explained the Pope, "assumes many connotations: first of all, it restores health to the woman; then it frees us from social and religious discriminations; in addition, it fulfils the hope that she bore in her heart, banishing her fears and discomfort. Finally, it restores her to the community, liberating her from the need to act in a hidden way. And this last thing is important: a discarded person always acts in a hidden way, sometimes or “during” his whole life: we think of the lepers of those times, of today’s homeless …; we think of sinners, of us sinners: we always do something in a hidden way; we have the need to do something in a hidden way, because we are ashamed of what we are … And He frees us from this, Jesus frees us and makes us stand: “Arise, come, stand up!”.
The Pope concluded his catechesis with a note: "In the end, it is not the garment the woman touched that gave her salvation, but the word of Jesus, received in faith, capable of consoling her, healing her and re-establishing her in her relation with God and with her people. Jesus is the only source of blessing from which salvations flows for all men, and faith is the fundamental disposition to receive it. Once again Jesus, with His behavior full of mercy, indicates to the Church the course to follow to encounter every person, so that each one can be healed in body and spirit and recover the dignity of children of God".
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