Ines San Martin
Responding to a young woman who survived a suicide attempt, Pope Leo XIV offered a message of hope for anyone struggling with depression or despair:
“The cross of Jesus tells us that God does not abandon us, that he is at our side, crucified with us in moments of pain and extreme loneliness.”
The Pope warned that modern society often hides suffering because we are expected to be “always victorious and perfect.”
But he reminded those in darkness:
“God does not want suffering. He carries it with us and invites us to trust in him with perseverance.”
"In a catechesis on the final hours of Jesus, Benedict XVI says that his suffering becomes a cry of prayer, and this is true for us as well: in the face of the most difficult and painful situations, when God seems absent, we must entrust to him once again the burdens we carry in our hearts, even crying out to him, even protesting like Job, confident that in some way he is present and near even when he appears to be silent. But I believe we cannot do this alone. In times of pain, at least as much as possible, we must open ourselves to someone who can help us utter a simple prayer, who can accompany us with discretion without rushing to explain that pain, who can take us by the hand and lead us out of that cry."
https://x.com/inesanma/status/2064423791149593009
Paulina Guzik
This girl's father tried to kill her mother. A stranger stepped in to shield her, and was killed. The father went to prison, mother turned to drugs. She found Jesus eventually -- through family love and youth retreat -- but struggles to forgive.
"And sometimes I look up to heaven and ask God, 'Where were you when I was a little girl?' Holy Father, how can I forgive my father for almost leaving me without a mother? How can I truly be reconciled with God?"
Pope Leo said the scope of the question should be broadened:
"Should we ask 'where was God'? Or should we ask ourselves about humanity, about how we are sometimes prisoners of evil, resorting to violence against others? How is it that we fail to cultivate love and respect for others’ dignity and freedom? So many crime reports, even today, reflect a toxic climate in family relationships marked by abuse and oppression and, in particular, by violence against women, which unfortunately often leads to femicide."
"We cannot attribute to God what has been entrusted to our responsibility; we cannot imagine that God, from on high, will automatically respond to our needs or miraculously prevent evil from happening."
"He has given us his own Spirit, precisely so that love may be the key to all our human relationships. If violence exists, if selfishness prevails, if even love among family members turns into hatred, we must question the dynamics of our society, the culture of
individualism and the temptation of violence — but not God."
On forgiveness, he said:
"Above all, we must seek forgiveness from the Lord. We must continually ask the Lord — perhaps for our entire lives — to expand the space of love within us,
precisely where we have been wounded, that he can help us reconcile with ourselves and with that
part of our past that has been marked by suffering, so that he may slowly transform resentment into
mercy and compassion."
"This is a long journey," the pope said, "and a process that requires great patience. It is an effort we must make, both on a personal level and through other means of support and inner reconciliation."
"We must not lose heart: we move forward in small steps toward forgiveness. Reconciliation with the past is gradual. Above all, we must not think that forgiveness always and in every case means returning to the previous situation or having a close relationship with those who have hurt us, especially when there was violence. We can maintain a good disposition of heart toward the person, reject all forms of hatred or revenge, strive to repair the relationship as much as possible and perhaps pray for him or her. This helps us to enter more and more into the dynamic of forgiveness and to be reconciled with God and with others."
Video: Vatican Media
https://x.com/Guzik_Paulina/status/2064458905581711850
"God does not want suffering. He carries it with us and invites us to trust in him with perseverance. Let us remember what Pope Francis said: with God, life is always reborn."
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