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SPIRIT MATTERS: Pope Leo’s cancer diagnosis illuminates unity in prayer · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Spirit Matters. Pope Leo cancer diagnosis illuminates unity in prayer. Written by
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  Gerilyn Zavada, Novak and Spirit Matters. This article is being read by
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  an automated voice brought to you by Everlit. On Friday I shared
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  a post on social media from Vatican News of Pope Leo XIV
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  celebrating Mass that morning on the tenth floor of Gemelli Hospital in
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  Rome. They were the first pictures released of him, since he had
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  surgery on Tuesday to remove a nodule and the lower lobe of
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  his right lung. Subsequent tests confirmed Pope Leo has lung cancer, but
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  as of this writing it is still unclear what additional treatment he
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  might need, if any. All of his post operative tests show that
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  he is recovering as expected. He is expected to continue to be
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  hospitalized at least until october twentieth. Last Sunday, during his weekly Angelus
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  address, the 71-year-old pontiff shocked the world when he announced the impending
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  surgery Dear friends, during some recent medical examinations, the doctors found a
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  small, localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very
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  early stage and is well localized. The doctors believe that it is
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  best to intervene, so following their advice I have decided to undergo
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  surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled to take place
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  in the coming days. I thank you for your spiritual closeness and
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  entrust myself to your prayers. Thank you and happy Sunday. Like a
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  rock, Leo shared the news with his usual calm and affable steadiness,
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  providing spiritual strength to millions of people around the globe who were
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  feeling anything but calm or steady at the news. I cannot tell
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  you how many posts I have seen this week on threads of
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  people who identify as non-Catholic, non-Christian, atheist, or agnostic, mincing no words
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  about their concern for Robert Prevost, born and raised on the south
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  side of Chicago. The world loves Pope
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  Leo and that love was palpable in the hundreds of comments and
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  thousands of reactions to every thread I read. Many of the comments
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  began with I'm not religious but or I'm atheist but or I'm
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  a lapsed Catholic but and When
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  went on to say how the world cannot afford to lose Pope
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  Leo now or any time soon. Since he was elected Pope last
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  May, Pope Leo has undeniably been a light, shining in the darkness.
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  With his calm, unassuming nature and his unwavering, clearly stated commitment to
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  objective moral truth, he continues to give hope to many whose spirits
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  have been decimated by the ongoing daily deluge of destructive news. When
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  Leo was elected Pope, the excitement was electric, to the point it
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  was almost eerie. His predecessor, Pope Francis, was widely popular, and the
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  world was still grieving his loss a few short weeks earlier. But
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  when Leo walked onto the balcony at Saint Peter's Square for the
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  first time, the adulation of the crowd felt different, like it came
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  from somewhere not of this world. Like without fully realizing it themselves,
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  it was an affirmation that this man from the Midwest, the Heartland,
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  was truly appointed the vicar of Christ for such a time as
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  this, through the movement, guidance, and grace of the Holy Spirit. For
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  all of his Midwest affability, calm presence, and heartful sincerity in blessings
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  people he encounters, Leo is sharp in intellect and keen in discernment.
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  God knew the kind of person we needed at this time in
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  history to lead the church, to give hope where there is largely
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  fear. Robert Prevost is that person. Pope Leo is a beacon of
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  stability on the world stage. People of all backgrounds recognize in him
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  something they aren't always able to articulate, and they aren't ready to
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  lose him. This week, through modern technology, they have made that sentiment
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  blatantly clear in prayer to the one in charge. Let's hope those
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  prayers have registered. Long live this Pope. Spirit Matters is a weekly
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  column by Gerilyn Zavada Novak that examines experiences common to the Spirit
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  Matters is a weekly column by Gerilyn Zavada Novak that examines experiences
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  common to the human spirit. Contact her at jayzblue33 at yahoo.com