When St. John Paul II established the World Day of the Sick in 1992 — a day to be commemorated annually on Feb. 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes — he wrote that “the Church consistently emphasizes the salvific nature of the offering of suffering, which, lived in communion with Christ, belongs to the very essence of redemption.”
During the nearly two years of the pandemic, all of us have become much more aware of and appreciative of the burdens of illness and the challenges it poses in terms of day-to-day life and activities.
As St. John Paul II noted, the Church provides us with a perspective on this in that the suffering we experience in illness is evidence in the human person, of something with which we contend in every age and every place and, most importantly, that is part of our communion with Christ.
We bring to bear against illness and frailty all the genius and efforts we can as human beings — from the use of our intellectual abilities and from science and technology. Those are great blessings that enable us to respond to illness in such a way that they can mitigate the damage caused by illness and disease.
However, as Christians, we have another perspective when it comes to illness and those who bear the burden of it: We see it as a potential source of growth in holiness and a practical participation in the Paschal Mystery. That is the “salvific nature” of which St. John Paul II speaks.
That is an after effect. Our intention when we become ill is to get well. Yet, amid whatever we are enduring, we realize that good can come out of the worst of situations.
As we bear the burden of illness, frailty or disease, that are at times beyond the capacity of modern medicine to remedy, if we do it with patience and trust in God — accepting that is part of his larger plan, even if we don’t understand it in this moment — it can become a source of grace.
When we identify with the frailties and conditions of people worldwide, we learn to be more patient with those who are struggling, and we can be much more charitable and empathetic in our response.
Bringing the good out of the bad is how our Church responds. This is what our faith calls us to do. Rather than only say, “This is an enemy to attack” or “This is a disease to overcome,” when we are in the midst of it, we seek the sources of good that can come from it.
Our faith in God helps us to bear that burden in a way that keeps us from becoming discouraged, bitter or angry. Instead, we look at that illness, that challenge, as an occasion of grace, of putting our sufferings in the hands of God. We pray, as the psalmist did, “I cried out to you for help and you healed me” (30:3).
In his message to mark the celebration of the first World Day of the Sick in 1993, St. Pope John Paul II expressed to health care workers the hope that the day would “be a renewed spur to continue in your delicate service with generous openness to the profound values of the person, to respect for human dignity, and to defense of life, from its beginning to its natural close.”
My mother and grandmother were nurses; my sister is a nurse. I have nieces and nephews who work in health-related fields. Thus, I hear a lot about what it is like to be on the front lines of caring for the sick, especially over the last two years.
My sister talks about the challenges COVID has presented at her hospital and how everything in health care has been affected with added layers of precautions, e.g., the now routine necessity for gloves, masks and other protective measures when caring for patients. With these added necessary precautions, everything becomes more challenging to administer.
When health care workers are confronted daily with the most difficult of health issues, they can become magnified in one’s awareness. It is a unique burden and challenge to keep focused on the mission, to keep a positive approach and to remember why they first accepted the calling to this profession to bring healing to the sick and injured.
Add this to the heightened concern about COVID and the cultural and political response to it, and we can understand why many in the medical field are exhausted as they dedicate themselves to those they serve.
After two years of the pandemic, it is still not clear if there will ever be a conclusion to COVID or if it will be something with which we will be living for many years to come. The latter possibility is discouraging, especially for those who take care of the ailing. They want to help overcome the illness, but it remains despite their best efforts. The temptation to despair can be strong.
It is precisely in those moments when things are most discouraging that we — those who are sick and those who care for them — are called to immerse ourselves once again in renewed faith and hope.
As we mark the World Day of the Sick, I invite you to join me in prayer. First, let us pray for those who suffer the burden of illness that they may be open to grace that comes in bearing that which ails them, and that they offer that sacrifice to our loving and merciful God.
Secondly, let us pray for all who work in the health care field, those about whom Pope Francis, in his message for the World Day of the Sick, said, “… your service alongside the sick, carried out with love and competence, transcends the bounds of your profession and becomes a mission. Your hands, which touch the suffering flesh of Christ, can be a sign of the merciful hands of the Father.”