Pope Francis has been in the hospital for several weeks. The 88-year-old pope has long suffered from a series of health issues. However, his most recent hospitalization has been the most severe, leading many to assume the worst. In a brief statement, he gave a sermon on Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent. The Pope remains in grave condition.
“The Holy Father’s clinical condition has remained stable compared to previous days,” the Vatican announced. “He has not experienced any episodes of respiratory insufficiency today. The Pope has continued both respiratory and motor physiotherapy with beneficial effects. Hemodynamic parameters and blood test results remain stable. He did not run a fever. However, the prognosis remains reserved.”
“The Holy Father presented two episodes of acute respiratory failure,” The Pope, “remained alert, oriented and cooperative throughout.”Given the delicate situation, which the doctors have referred to as “critical,” they said their “prognosis remains guarded.” While his condition is still critical, Francis has maintained high spirits. He wrote a brief letter explaining his condition.
“It is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord; at the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people,” he said. “From here, war appears even more absurd,” the pope added, remembering “tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu.”
“He spent the day in a chair,” the Vatican added, “He then dedicated himself to some work activities. ” “The #Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good. It puts us in our place, smooths out the rough edges of our narcissism, brings us back to reality, and makes us more humble and open to one another. None of us is God; we are all on a journey. #Lent.” posted the Pope.
“This evening, we receive the imposition of the holy ashes. This brings to mind the memory of what we are, but also the hope of what we will be,” the Pope said in his homily. “The ashes remind us that we are dust, but they also set us on a journey towards the hope to which we are called. For Jesus descended to the dust of the earth and, by his Resurrection, has drawn us with himself into the Father’s heart.”
“Lent, however, is also an invitation to rekindle our hope. Although we receive the ashes with our heads bowed in remembrance of who we are, the Lenten season does not end there,” the Pope preached. “On the contrary, we are invited to lift our eyes to the One who rises from the depths of death and brings us from the ashes of sin and death to the glory of eternal life.”
“Thus the Lenten journey towards Easter unfolds amidst the remembrance of our fragility and the hope that, at the end of the road, the Risen Lord is waiting for us,” Francis said. “Let us persevere in the certainty that ever since the Lord took upon himself the ashes of humanity, “the history of the earth is the history of heaven. God and man are bound together in a single destiny” …and he will forever sweep away the ashes of death and make us shine with newness of life. With this hope in our hearts, let us begin our journey. Let us be reconciled with God.”