Pope Leo’s advice if feeling ‘stuck and blocked’: look to Jesus
Charles Collins/Crux• June 11, 2025
Christians “who feel lost and without a way out” should bring their pain to Jesus Christ, Pope Leo XIV has declared, describing how such a candid display of our vulnerability to Jesus is a fundamental step in any journey of healing.
The pontiff was speaking during his General Audience on Wednesday, 11 May, when he made his comments in reference to the parable of the blind beggar Bartimaeus that is found in the Gospel of Mark.
“With this catechesis I would like to bring our attention to another essential aspect of the life of Jesus, namely his healings. For this reason, I invite you to bring before the Heart of Christ your most painful and fragile parts, those places in your life where you feel stuck and blocked,” Leo told the people in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
He pointed out that Bartimaeus was in Jericho, which the Pope called the “underworld” of the Holy Land, since it was below sea-level.
“Indeed, Jesus, with his death, went to take back that Adam who fell to the bottom and who represents each one of us,” the Pope said.
“Bartimaeus means ‘son of Timaeus’: the man is described through a relationship, and yet he is dramatically alone. This name, though, could also mean ‘son of honour’ or ‘of admiration’, exactly the opposite of the situation in which he finds himself. And since the name is so important in Jewish culture, it means that Bartimaeus fails to live up to what he is called to be,” Leo explained.
The pontiff notes that unlike the great movement of people who walk behind Jesus, Bartimaeus is stationary, with the Gospel noting that he is sitting by the roadside – and that he needs someone to lift him up onto his feet and to help him resume his journey.
“What can we do when we find ourselves in a situation that seems to have no way out? Bartimaeus teaches us to appeal to the resources we have within us and which form a part of us,” the Pope says.
“He is a beggar, he knows how to ask, indeed, he can shout! If you truly want something, you do everything in order to be able to reach it, even when others reproach you, humiliate you and tell you to let it be. If you really desire it, you keep on shouting!”
The Pope described how the cry and appeal of Bartimaeus – “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” – has become a very well-known prayer in the Eastern Christian tradition: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have pity on me, a sinner.”
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“Bartimaeus is blind, but paradoxically he sees better than the others, and he recognises who Jesus is,” the Pope says. “Before his cry, Jesus stops and has him called, because there is no cry that God does not hear, even when we are not aware we are addressing him.
“It seems strange that, in front of a blind man, Jesus does not go immediately to him; but, if we think about it, it is the way to reactivate Bartimaeus’s life: He [Jesus] spurs him to get up again, He trusts in his ability to walk.
Pope Leo XIV blesses a child as he arrives to hold the weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
“That man can get up on his feet again, he can rise from the throes of death. But in order to do this, he must perform a very meaningful gesture: he must throw away his cloak,” Leo continued.
He explained that for a beggar, the cloak is everything: it is his safety, it is his house, it is the defence that protects him.
“And yet, many times, it is precisely our apparent securities that stand in our way – what we have put on to defend ourselves and which instead prevent us from walking,” the Pope said.
“To go to Jesus and let himself be healed, Bartimaeus must show himself to Him in all his vulnerability. This is the fundamental step in any journey of healing.”
Leo continued by saying that the question that Jesus asks the blind beggar – “What do you want from me?” – might seem strange to the reader.
“But, in reality, it is not given that we want to be healed from our ailments; at times we prefer to stay still so as not to take responsibility,” the Pope countered.
“Bartimaeus’s reply is profound: He uses the verb anablepein, which can mean ‘to see again,’ but which we can also translate as ‘to look up.’ Indeed, Bartimaeus does not want only to see again; he wants to regain his dignity.
“To look up, we must raise our heads. At times people are stuck because life has humiliated them, and they just want to find their worth again,” Leo explained.
“What saves Bartimaeus, and each one of us, is faith. Jesus heals us so that we can become free. He does not invite Bartimaeus to follow him, but tells him to go, to set out on his way. However, Mark concludes the story by saying that Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus: he freely chose to follow [Jesus], He who is the Way.”
At the end of his audience, Pope Leo made an appeal for those who have been killed in Gaza’s schools during the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Two weeks ago there was one particular tragedy – resulting in an independent United Nations commission report that claimed Israel was attempting the “extermination” of the Palestinian population in Gaza – when over 30 people were killed after the bombing of Fahmi Al-Jargawi School by the Israeli military.
“I am close to the families, teachers, and schoolmates,” the Pope said. “May the Lord receive these children of his in his peace.”
Photo: Former Brazilian footballer Cafu (R) kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV during the weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)