Vatican City: During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to resist the creeping despair of "spiritual apathy," drawing profound lessons from the Gospel narrative of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. The Pontiff's message, delivered after greeting crowds in St. Peter's Square from the popemobile, continued his reflection on the Jubilee theme, "Jesus Christ our Hope," with a focus on Jesus as the divine healer.
Pope Leo invited everyone to contemplate those moments when they feel "stuck" or "trapped in a dead end." He explained that when hope appears futile and the urge to surrender takes hold, the Gospel vividly portrays this through the metaphor of paralysis.
As a powerful example, Pope Leo turned to the poignant story of Jesus encountering the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. Upon arriving in Jerusalem for a Jewish feast, Jesus's first stop wasn't the Temple, but rather a gate where those yearning for a miracle gathered. Here, they awaited the stirring of the pool's waters, believing it possessed healing powers, often leading to an "unpleasant scene" of "struggle among the poor"—a frantic pushing and shoving to be the first into the water.
Intriguingly, Pope Leo highlighted that Bethesda means "house of mercy," suggesting it serves as an enduring image of the Church itself. "It's where the sick and the poor gather," he noted, "and where the Lord comes to bring healing and hope."
Jesus's encounter with the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years was particularly striking. The man had seemingly resigned himself to his fate, and it is precisely this disappointment, the Pope explained, that can paralyze us, causing us to "become discouraged and risk falling into spiritual apathy."
The pivotal question Jesus poses—"Do you want to be healed?"—resonates deeply. Like the paralytic, we can become mired in our difficulties, and the very "desire to get better can fade." We might even grow comfortable in our "illness," relying on others. Pope Leo warned sternly against allowing this comfort to "become an excuse to avoid making decisions about our lives."
The paralytic's initial response to Jesus, where he blames others for not helping him into the pool, reveals a mindset of externalizing responsibility. "Was it really true that he had no one to help him?" the Pope queried, inviting self-reflection. Drawing from the wisdom of his spiritual father, St. Augustine, Pope Leo underscored that the paralytic required more than just a helping hand; he needed "a man who was also God."
Ultimately, Jesus helps the man shift his perspective from a fatalistic view where life's events are merely a matter of bad luck to one of personal responsibility. The man's mat, once a symbol of his past illness and personal history, transforms into an emblem of his newfound ability to walk and, critically, his empowered mindset to write his own story.
Concluding his address, Pope Leo XIV encouraged everyone to seek God's grace to identify where they have become "stuck" in life and to vocalize their earnest desire for healing. His message is a powerful call to reject resignation, embrace agency, and step forward into a life of renewed hope.