The Lord is close to the brokenhearted—Psalm 34:19
When he was alive, Pope Francis frequently spoke profoundly to the pain and anguish that is prevalent among so many of God’s children. To a group of poor people receiving assistance from local Catholic charities, he said, “Many of you have been stripped by this savage world, which doesn’t provide work, which doesn’t help, to which it makes no difference that children die of hunger.”
The Pope mourned the African immigrants killed in the sinking of a boat near the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, “It doesn’t matter [to the world] that people must flee slavery and hunger in search of liberty.” “With how much pain, so often, we see that they find death,” he said. “This is a day of weeping. The spirit of the world does these things.”
In one of his meetings with young patients at a hospital, many of whom were confined to wheelchairs and with the room resounding with their cries and moans, he reflected, “We are among the wounds of Jesus. Jesus is hidden in these kids, in these children, in these people. On the altar we adore the flesh of Jesus, in them we find the wounds of Jesus.”
More recently, our new Pope Leo XIV reaffirms that “in our world bearing deep scars of conflict, inequality, environmental degradation, and a growing sense of spiritual disconnection,” it is crucial for Christians to continue working and praying together. (2025 Ecumenical Week)
It is human to want to flee pain but as Christians, we must turn toward the pain of this world. Like firefighters that run toward a fire, we must do our part to stop the fire of suffering, for the love of Christ, for the love of our sisters and brothers in Christ.
The task is too big, you say. God is not asking you to conquer everything that is broken but to discover your own humanity in the face of so much suffering; to allow God to work through your efforts to make lives more whole. We have many caring ministries here at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral that assist the brokenhearted and downtrodden. You have only to go to our website at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral | Home to find a social justice ministry that could use your talents. Then contact me at socialconcern@hnojnc.org.
Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director
Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries
Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral Raleigh, NC