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MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE XXIX WORLD DAY OF THE SICK 2021
05/Feb/2021
“You have but one teacher and you are all brothers” (Mt 23:8). A trust-based relationship to guide care for the sick
Dear brothers and
sisters,
The celebration of the
XXIX World Day of the Sick on 11 February 2021, the liturgical memorial of the
Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes, is an opportunity to devote special attention
to the sick and to those who provide them with assistance and care both in
healthcare institutions and within families and communities. We think in
particular of those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, the effects of
the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. To all, and especially to the poor and the
marginalized, I express my spiritual closeness and assure them of the Church’s
loving concern.
1. The theme of this Day
is drawn from the Gospel passage in which Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of
those who fail to practise what they preach (cf. Mt 23:1-12).
When our faith is reduced to empty words, unconcerned with the lives and needs
of others, the creed we profess proves inconsistent with the life we lead. The
danger is real. That is why Jesus uses strong language about the peril of
falling into self-idolatry. He tells us: “You have but one teacher and you
are all brothers” (v. 8).
Jesus’ criticism of those
who “preach but do not practise” (v. 3) is helpful always and everywhere, since
none of us is immune to the grave evil of hypocrisy, which prevents us from
flourishing as children of the one Father, called to live universal fraternity.
Before the needs of our
brothers and sisters, Jesus asks us to respond in a way completely contrary to
such hypocrisy. He asks us to stop and listen, to establish a direct and
personal relationship with others, to feel empathy and compassion, and to let
their suffering become our own as we seek to serve them (cf. Lk 10:30-35).
2. The experience of
sickness makes us realize our own vulnerability and our innate need of others.
It makes us feel all the more clearly that we are creatures dependent on God.
When we are ill, fear and even bewilderment can grip our minds and hearts; we
find ourselves powerless, since our health does not depend on our abilities or
life’s incessant worries (cf. Mt 6:27).
Sickness raises the
question of life’s meaning, which we bring before God in faith. In seeking a
new and deeper direction in our lives, we may not find an immediate answer. Nor
are our relatives and friends always able to help us in this demanding quest.
The biblical figure of
Job is emblematic in this regard. Job’s wife and friends do not accompany him
in his misfortune; instead, they blame him and only aggravate his solitude and
distress. Job feels forlorn and misunderstood. Yet for all his extreme
frailty, he rejects hypocrisy and chooses the path of honesty towards God and
others. He cries out to God so insistently that God finally answers him and
allows him to glimpse a new horizon. He confirms that Job’s suffering is not a
punishment or a state of separation from God, much less as sign of God’s
indifference. Job’s heart, wounded and healed, then makes this vibrant and
touching confession to the Lord: “I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now
my eye has seen you” (42:5).
3. Sickness always has
more than one face: it has the face of all the sick, but also those who feel
ignored, excluded and prey to social injustices that deny their fundamental
rights (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 22). The current pandemic
has exacerbated inequalities in our healthcare systems and exposed
inefficiencies in the care of the sick. Elderly, weak and vulnerable people are
not always granted access to care, or in an equitable manner. This is the
result of political decisions, resource management and greater or lesser
commitment on the part of those holding positions of responsibility. Investing
resources in the care and assistance of the sick is a priority linked to the
fundamental principle that health is a primary common good. Yet the pandemic
has also highlighted the dedication and generosity of healthcare personnel,
volunteers, support staff, priests, men and women religious, all of whom have
helped, treated, comforted and served so many of the sick and their families
with professionalism, self-giving, responsibility and love of neighbour. A
silent multitude of men and women, they chose not to look the other way but to
share the suffering of patients, whom they saw as neighbours and members of our
one human family.
Such closeness is a
precious balm that provides support and consolation to the sick in their
suffering. As Christians, we experience that closeness as a sign of the love of
Jesus Christ, the Good Samaritan, who draws near with
compassion to every man and woman wounded by sin. United to Christ by the
working of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be merciful like the Father and to
love in particular our frail, infirm and suffering brothers and sisters
(cf. Jn 13:34-35). We experience this closeness not only as
individuals but also as a community. Indeed, fraternal love in Christ generates
a community of healing, a community that leaves no one behind, a community that
is inclusive and welcoming, especially to those most in need.
Here I wish to mention
the importance of fraternal solidarity, which is expressed concretely in
service and can take a variety of forms, all directed at supporting our
neighbours. “Serving means caring … for the vulnerable of our families, our
society, our people” (Homily in Havana, 20 September 2015). In
this outreach, all are “called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their
pursuit of power, before the concrete gaze of those who are most vulnerable…
Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their
closeness and even, in some cases, ‘suffers’ that closeness and tries to help
them. Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve
people” (ibid.).
4. If a therapy is to be
effective, it must have a relational aspect, for this enables a holistic
approach to the patient. Emphasizing this aspect can help doctors, nurses,
professionals and volunteers to feel responsible for accompanying patients on a
path of healing grounded in a trusting interpersonal relationship (cf. New
Charter for Health Care Workers [2016], 4). This creates a covenant
between those in need of care and those who provide that care, a covenant based
on mutual trust and respect, openness and availability. This will help to
overcome defensive attitudes, respect the dignity of the sick, safeguard the
professionalism of healthcare workers and foster a good relationship with the
families of patients.
Such a relationship with
the sick can find an unfailing source of motivation and strength in the charity
of Christ, as shown by the witness of those men and women who down the
millennia have grown in holiness through service to the infirm. For the mystery
of Christ’s death and resurrection is the source of the love capable of giving
full meaning to the experience of patients and caregivers alike. The Gospel
frequently makes this clear by showing that Jesus heals not by magic but as the
result of an encounter, an interpersonal relationship, in
which God’s gift finds a response in the faith of those who accept it. As Jesus
often repeats: “Your faith has saved you”.
5. Dear brothers and
sisters, the commandment of love that Jesus left to his disciples is also kept
in our relationship with the sick. A society is all the more human to the
degree that it cares effectively for its most frail and suffering members, in a
spirit of fraternal love. Let us strive to achieve this goal, so that no one
will feel alone, excluded or abandoned.
To Mary, Mother of Mercy
and Health of the Infirm, I entrust the sick, healthcare workers and all those
who generously assist our suffering brothers and sisters. From the Grotto of
Lourdes and her many other shrines throughout the world, may she sustain our
faith and hope, and help us care for one another with fraternal love. To each
and all, I cordially impart my blessing.
Rome, Saint John
Lateran, 20 December 2020
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Franciscus