Dear friends,
In the month of February, there is a day that has deep meaning for our church community, that is World Day of the Sick, which is commemmorated on 11 February 2012, and coincides with the celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes. As we know, sickness is a reality in all of our lives. Each one of us has our own personal health issues physically, mentally and spiritually. Some of us suffer from high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Others have to deal with diabetes and arthritis. Many in our community have to live with HIV, and suffer the social stigma that is present in society due to a lack of knowledge about this issue. And in one way or another, all of us suffer from brokenness emotionally and spiritually due to personal weakness, mistakes that we have made in the past, or due to the mistakes of others having negative effects on our lives.
When talking about illness, whether physical or spiritual, we don’t just dwell on the problem, but we also speak about healing. Physical healing takes place when there is proper and adequate medical care for the sick. Emotional healing takes place when there is love, understanding, and compassion displayed to those who are suffering. And spiritual healing takes place when there is mercy and forgiveness granted to the sick.
Who provides the medical care, the love, understanding, compasssion, mercy and forgiveness? Undoubtedly, each one of us has the ability to do these things for one another. The community and society also have the responsibility to take care of its members. But we don’t do it all based on our own strength, but on the grace of God, who desires to heal each of us, physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually. In the Gospels, Jesus paid particular care for the sick, by curing them, forgiving them, and sending his disciples to also do the same. In our Catholic tradition, great healing comes from such things as receiving the Sacrament of Communion in which we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the Anointing of the Sick.
As we commemorate World Day of the Sick this year, let us each reflect on our broken state, our own sickness, and seek out ways to heal ourselves and one another, using means of science and technology, but most importantly, wonderful ways available to us through the Church, which helps us to always place our faith and confidence into the loving and merciful hands of Gods in the face of great pains and difficulties.
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