Church as a Field Hospital

Some great insight from Pope Francis, via our friend Father Don:

The Bishop of Rome (Francis) received very favorable reaction to an interview given in August, 2013. One line resonates with many: "I see the church as a field hospital after battle." A recognition that we all have been wounded or at least have wounds from "the slings and arrows" of life. We need healing, a work for both Word and Sacrament, for the touch of the Lord who loves us. Ordinarily that love comes to us through another human being’s compassion and sympathetic understanding. An often used prayer entitled "Hail, Holy Queen" has a line about "poor, banished children of Eve". With little children this has often come across as "poor, bandaged children of Eve", an unwitting intuition of this truth! That certainly fits with "field hospital."


We are all engaged in either healing or wounding by how we interact with our fellow human beings, with those we live with or work with, with those we simply encounter randomly. It seems that developing a sensitivity to whether we are healing or wounding others takes time and experience, experience of successes and failures in our relations with others. Increased sensitivity and understanding of what it means to love our neighbor will require time and certainly requires prayer.

Happy Sunday