Pope Francis released an audio recording with a brief message from him in his own voice yesterday. He thanked all of us who have been praying and hoping for him.
His voice was soft, and I thought I heard him run out of air at least once while he was speaking. I don’t think it was easy for him to record this message.
The Holy Father appears to be a bit better. He’s off the ventilator and is reported to have had a restful night. However, he’s obviously very fragile. It’s almost as if his body is fighting the doctors. Every time he improves, he has another breathing crisis and slips back down.
The Holy Father is 88 years old, and he lost half of one of his lungs decades ago. This struggle he has endured with pneumonia is his mortality, part of his own way of the Cross. We all face this. No one is exempt.
But for someone who lives and walks in the love of Christ, suffering can be a cleansing and a grace. God is there in the dark spaces of our lives. Even when we are too anguished and in too much pain to feel Him, He never lets go of us. I have experienced this.
I would guess that Pope Francis possesses a deep spirituality that enables him to draw ever closer to Christ as He walks through this suffering and sickness. But he is human. He feels the same pain we feel, and he is subject to the same griefs and fears that torment us.
Continue to pray for Pope Francis. He has been a loving poppa to us. We are better because we have him.
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