Pope Francis on Sunday thanked volunteers for the closeness and tenderness they show others in need of their care.
As the Holy Father continues medical treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican released his March 9 Sunday homily and Angelus message dedicated to the approximately 25,000 men and women participating in the March 8-9 Jubilee of the World of Volunteering.
At the conclusion of his homily, the pope thanked volunteers associated with non-profit and non-governmental organizations for following Jesus by serving others.
“On the streets and in homes, in the company of the sick, the suffering and the imprisoned, with the young and the elderly, your generosity and commitment offer hope to our entire society,” the pontiff shared in his prepared homily.
“In the deserts of poverty and loneliness, all those small gestures are helping to make a new humanity blossom in the garden that is God’s dream, always and everywhere, for all of us,” he continued.
In his Angelus message, the 88-year-old pontiff said volunteers bear witness to the “primacy of gratuitousness, solidarity and service to those most in need.”
“In our societies, too enslaved to market logic, where everything risks being subject to the criterion of interest and the quest for profit, volunteering is prophecy and a sign of hope,” the pope said.
“I express my gratitude to those who are engaged in this field: thank you for offering your time and abilities; thank you for the closeness and tenderness with which you care for others, reawakening hope in them!”
Calling those who care for the sick “a sign of Lord’s presence,” the Holy Father expressed particular gratitude towards the doctors and medical staff caring for him at Gemelli Hospital.
“Brothers and sisters, during my prolonged hospitalization here, I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care,” he said. “We need this, the ‘miracle of tenderness’ which accompanies those who are in adversity, bringing a little light into the night of pain.”
The pope on Sunday also thanked those who have and continue to pray for his health and healing since being admitted to hospital more than three weeks ago on Feb. 14: “Heartfelt thanks to you all! I pray for you too.”
In a March 9 statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican said it will hold the Roman Curia’s annual spiritual exercises from March 10-14 this year.
“In accordance with tradition, this time of contemplation and prayer represents a moment of silence and discernment for the Holy Father’s collaborators, who will gather in a spirit of reflection and listening to the Word of God, continuing to pray for his health,” the Vatican statement said.
The pope said he will “join spiritually” those participating in this month’s spiritual exercises, in his Angelus message.
During the March 10-14 spiritual exercises, the Vatican said the recitation of the Holy Rosary for the Holy Father’s health will be held at 5 p.m. local time inside the Paul VI Audience Hall, instead of 9 p.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square.
Since Feb. 24, cardinals of the Roman Curia have led daily prayer evenings, open to the public, in St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s recovery.
At the end of his Sunday Angelus message, the pope asked people to pray for the “gift of peace” for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria.
“I entrust you all to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary,” he said. “Happy Sunday, and arrivederci (goodbye)!”
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
