H.E. Monsignor De Donatis (First question)There are some questions. The first is this:
Dearest Pope Francis, you have heard from Father Paolo a synthesis of the work that our communities carried out this year on the spiritual diseases that afflict us. It hasn’t always been easy to recognize the deep root, namely, the spiritual: we see well the blocks that impede us from deciding and dedicating ourselves with more passion and with greater ease to evangelization. It was as if we had to recognize that, despite our efforts, even generous, something “was sick at the root,” undermining the ecclesial organism and rendering it sterile in a certain sense. As you can imagine, the temptation of frustration, of bitterness, can gain ground, and with it, a sense of impotence. It would be as if we were made to enter a mechanism that would make us go around in circles again, and we don’t want to go around in circles. We want to start again and start well, in such a way that these diseases set in motion a process of healing . . . How is this done? Is there a basic therapy that you could prescribe for all our diseases? How does the Lord wish to heal them? And how does He want us to grow through the our experience of them?
Pope Francis:Some words have struck me: for instance, “root.” Speaking of sin, of defects, of diseases, there is always need to go to the root, because otherwise the diseases remain and return. Then, that attitude of frustration, of bitterness when – it’s a daily experience – when I go to Confession, I always say the same things. If, when you go to Confession, that it is the usual case, stop and ask what is happening, because otherwise there is that bitterness: this doesn’t change . . . No. There is need of help there. Bitterness, frustration is when you feel that you can’t change, that you can’t heal. Stop, think. Impotence. The Lord wants to make us grow with the experience of healing: it’s no accident that in the Gospels the Lord – without being a healer or a witch doctor, healed, healed, healed . . . It’s a sign of the redemption, a sign of what He came to do: to heal our roots. He healed us fully: grace heals in depth. It doesn’t anesthetize; it heals. And this experience of healing that we’ve seen in the Lord — in His life He healed in depth and with spiritual dialogue — we must do the same as diocesan Church.
However, how to do it? Each one must find the way. How to do it? You can’t on your own: no one can heal himself on his own, no one. It’s necessary that someone help me. The Lord is the first. . Having identified the disease, having identified the sin, having identified the defect, having identified the root – that bitter root of which the Letter to the Hebrews speaks –that bitter root having been identified, first talk with the Lord: “Behold what I have; I can’t stop, I always fall into the same thing . . .” And then, look for someone to help me, go to the “clinic,” namely, go to a good soul who has this charism of help. And it doesn’t have to be necessarily a priest: the charism of spiritual accompaniment is a lay charism that is given to us at Baptism – priests also have it, because they are baptized, thank God! –; a charism can be the community, it can be an elderly person, a young person, one’s spouse . . . In sum, to be helped by another and to talk: “Look at this . . .”
To talk with Jesus, to talk with another, to talk with the Church. And I believe this is the first step. Then, it will be helpful to read something on that argument. There are beautiful things; there are also methods to resolve some of these diseases. Two years ago I gave the Cardinals, for Christmas greetings, a very beautiful thing that was written by Father Acquaviva: “Devices to Cure Diseases of the Soul.” It was published by Monsignor Libanori and Father Forlai … This also helps to see how diseases are: “Ah, I have this one!” – and how to heal them. I can do all this: pray, talk with another, read . . . However, the only one that can heal is the Lord – the only One.
https://zenit.org/articles/popes-q-a-with-diocese-of-rome-full-dialogue/
Topic: Pope Francis Said (Read 2003 times)