On 11 February, in the liturgical memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes, the XXXII World Day of the Sick will be celebrated, established by Pope John Paul II in 1993, just one year after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The Pope chose this anniversary because «Lourdes is one of the Marian sanctuaries most loved by the Christian people, it is a place and symbol of hope and grace».
In love, God thought of man; he created him happy, but not free from difficulties, pain, and illness. Human life, while a wonderful gift, is accompanied by all kinds of suffering. Today more than ever the world (with wars spreading), society and many of our relationships are sick.
Any type of illness, whether physical, mental, psychological, or spiritual, is part of human existence. When we experience disease, it makes us feel all our fragility and vulnerability and, at the same time, the innate need for others. Our condition as creatures emerges and we clearly experience our dependence on others and on God. When we are sick, in fact, uncertainty, fear and sometimes dismay permeate our mind and our heart; we find ourselves in a situation of helplessness, because our health does not depend only on our will, our strength and abilities or our "worry" (see Mt 6:27). It is then that we realize that we are not all-powerful.
Illness imposes a question of meaning, which in faith turns to God: a question that seeks a new meaning and a new direction to existence, and which at times may not find an immediate answer. Friends and relatives themselves are not always able to help us in this tiring search, or we ourselves are not ready or willing to welcome their help.
An example of this is the biblical character of Job. His wife and friends are unable to accompany him in his misfortune, on the contrary, they accuse him, amplifying his loneliness and disarray. But precisely through this extreme fragility, at a certain point, by rejecting all hypocrisy and choosing the path of sincerity with himself, towards God and towards others, he makes his insistent cry reach God, who ultimately answers, opening a new horizon. He confirms to him that his suffering is not a punishment or a torment, nor is it a state of distance from God or a sign of his indifference. Thus, from Job's wounded and healed heart, flows that passionate and moving declaration to the Lord: “I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you” (42,5). It is the experience that many people have of God through illness.
Only in Christ and with Christ can one live one's condition from a perspective of faith: It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it, and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love. (Enc. Spe salvi, 37).
In illness, lived in faith, one experiences the Lord and one's brothers. When we feel like the man in the parable (see Luke 10:29-37), half dead on the edge of the road, it is there, in the moment of extreme weakness, that the Lord and his brothers, like the good Samaritan, come close, they pick us up, they treat our wounds, they take care of us. For us, they are that helping hand that grabs us, accompanies us, and doesn't leave us alone. In this way we experience God's merciful love, brotherhood, solidarity, and closeness as a precious balm, which gives support and consolation. Then it is possible to experience the illness by trusting in God and embrace one's condition with serenity.
This is how several people to whom I bring Communion deal with illness. When I arrive, their faces light up; we speak, we pray; they convey peace and serenity to me. In the course of time, Sunday after Sunday, I feel that intimacy is created, and a relationship of brotherhood and communion grows. This is how the disease takes on a face and a name: brother.
As Mary on Calvary, where the cross of her Son stood, let us approach the crosses of pain and loneliness of many brothers and sisters to share their suffering, give them strength and courage. May the Blessed Virgin, "Health of the Sick" and "Mother of the Living", be our support and our hope. May she increase our sensitivity and dedication to those being tested, along with the trusting expectation of the luminous day of our salvation, when every tear will be dried forever (cf. Is 25:8). May it be granted to us to enjoy the first fruits of that day from now on in the superabundant joy — though in the midst of all tribulations (cf. 2 Cor 7:4) — promised by Christ which no one can take from us (Jn 16:22). (Pope John Paul II, World Day of the Sick, 1993).
