“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.