By Justin McLellan, The Catholic Journal
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Christians are not called to limit themselves to the analysis and criticism of the social, economic and political problems of the moment, but, according to Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, they need to “clean their hands” and do the work. said Pope Francis.
“A lot of people talk (about problems), a lot of people say bad things, a lot of people criticize and say that everything is wrong. But the Christian is not called to this, but to do at work, let his hands be dirty,” said the Pope in his general audience on September 13 in St. Peter’s Square.
He gave the example of the “doctor of the poor” of Venezuela as someone who takes care of the sick who cannot get medical care, fulfilling “the will of God, to help caring for those who suffer, giving hope to the poor, showing not by words but by example.
Continuing his lectures on apostolic strength, Pope Francis said that the 19th century doctor was motivated by an “inner fire” to live in the service of God and neighbor; and that fire was kindled by his mother.
“Mothers carry the faith. “The faith is carried in dialect, that is, with the language of mothers,” said the Pope, leaving his prepared text.
Although Blessed José Gregorio Hernández wanted to become a priest, health problems forced him to leave the seminary twice. However, the Pope said, those health problems led him to “become a doctor more sensitive to the needs of others” in his career as a doctor.
“This is the strength of the apostle; He does not follow his own will, but when a person finds God’s plans,” he said. “How important it is not to suffer things, but, as the Scripture, do all things with a good spirit, keep the Lord.”
While working as an emergency physician, university professor, and scientist in Caracas, Venezuela, Hernández is “above all doctors near weakness,” and is said to have freely treated the poor and take care of the sick during the epidemic. In Venezuela.
“In the wealth of money, he loved the Gospel, giving his life to help those in need,” said Pope Francis. “In the poor, in the sick, in the strangers, in the wounded, José Gregorio saw Jesus.”
Blessed José Gregorio Hernández was able to protect the needy, in part, from realizing his own need for grace, the Pope said.
“It was normal for him to take care of the beggars on the streets and to love the love he received from Jesus every day,” said Pope Francis. “This is the strength I turn to: the relationship with God.”
In his greetings to the guests in St. Peter’s Square, the pope thanked a group of Polish pilgrims for bringing to Rome the relics of the Ulma family, who were killed during World War II for hosting a Jewish family. The nine members of the family were honored on September 10 in Markowa, Poland.
At the end of the mass, Pope Francis praised a painting of the Ulma family, in which each member is depicted with a mushroom – including the unborn child in his mother’s womb.
The Pope praised Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, the ‘doctor of the poor,’ for the fulfillment of the faith previously reported in OSV News.
