“In life there are moments of disappointment and discouragement, and there is also the experience of death. Let us learn from that woman, from that father: let us go to Jesus: He can heal us, He can revive us. Jesus is our hope!” With these stirring words, Pope Leo XIV offered the faithful a message of deep encouragement during his Wednesday General Audience at the Vatican, continuing his catechesis series on the Jubilee theme, Christ our Hope.
The Holy Father’s reflection centered on two miracles from the Gospel of Mark that illustrate how transformative faith in Christ can be. These stories, he said, reveal that “when we turn to the Lord with trust and faith, nothing is beyond His capabilities,” according to the Pope’s June 25 address.
The first miracle tells of a woman who had suffered from a debilitating illness for many years, one that had rendered her ritually unclean and cast out from society. Despite this, she believed that even touching Jesus’ cloak would be enough to bring healing. “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace,” Jesus tells her, affirming the power of her faith.
In the second miracle, a father pleads with Jesus after being told his daughter has died. Jesus responds with both command and compassion: “Do not be afraid; only have faith.” Then, upon arriving at the house and seeing the grief of those gathered, Jesus says something astounding: “The child is not dead but sleeping.” He then raises her from the dead.
“These two episodes,” Pope Leo XIV explained, “show us that not only does He heal from every illness, but He also awakens from death. For God, who is Eternal Life, death of the body is like sleep. True death is that of the soul: of this we must be afraid!”
Pope Leo pointed to a small but profound detail in the second miracle. After raising the girl, Jesus tells her parents to give her something to eat. The Pope emphasized this as a sign of Christ’s deep humanity and attention to the needs of the body and soul. “When our children are in crisis and need spiritual nourishment, do we know how to give it to them? And how can we, if we ourselves are not nourished by the Gospel?”
The Holy Father challenged believers to examine their own faith and how they approach Jesus. “Perhaps today too, many people approach Jesus in a superficial way, without truly believing in his power,” he observed. “We walk the surfaces of our churches, but maybe our heart is elsewhere!”
Faith, according to Pope Leo, is more than a request for intervention—it is an act of surrender and transformation. “Sometimes we are unaware of it, but in a secret and real way, grace reaches us and slowly transforms our lives from within,” he said.
As the Jubilee draws near, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to remember that “nothing is too great for Jesus to heal,” and invited all to “go to Him, for He will make us new.” His message is both timeless and timely—a reminder that in every sorrow, sickness, or loss, Christ is our hope.
