MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE TWENTY-SIXTH WORLD DAY OF THE SICK [i.e., February 11] 2018
FOR THE TWENTY-SIXTH WORLD DAY OF THE SICK [i.e., February 11] 2018
Mater Ecclesiae: “Behold, your son... Behold, your mother.
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (Jn 19:26-27)
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (Jn 19:26-27)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Church’s service to the sick and those who care for
them must continue with renewed vigour, in fidelity to the Lord’s
command (cf. Lk 9:2-6; Mt 10:1-8; Mk 6:7-13) and following the eloquent example of her Founder and Master.
The theme for this year’s Day of the Sick is provided by
the words that Jesus spoke from the Cross to Mary, his Mother, and to
John: “Woman, behold your son ... Behold your mother. And from that
hour the disciple took her into his home” (Jn 19:26-27).
1. The Lord’s words brilliantly illuminate the mystery
of the Cross, which does not represent a hopeless tragedy, but rather
the place where Jesus manifests his glory and shows his love to the end.
That love in turn was to become the basis and rule for the Christian
community and the life of each disciple.
Before all else, Jesus’ words are the source of Mary’s maternal vocation for all humanity.
Mary was to be, in particular, the Mother of her Son’s disciples,
caring for them and their journey through life. As we know, a mother’s
care for her son or daughter includes both the material and spiritual
dimensions of their upbringing.
The unspeakable pain of the Cross pierces Mary’s soul (cf. Lk 2:35),
but does not paralyze her. Quite the opposite. As the Lord’s Mother, a
new path of self-giving opens up before her. On the Cross, Jesus
showed his concern for the Church and all humanity, and Mary is called
to share in that same concern. In describing the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, the Acts of the Apostles show that Mary began to
carry out this role in the earliest community of the Church. A role
that never ceases.
2. John, the beloved disciple, is a figure of the Church, the messianic people. He must acknowledge Mary as his Mother.
In doing so, he is called to take her into his home, to see in her the
model of all discipleship, and to contemplate the maternal vocation
that Jesus entrusted to her, with all that it entails: a loving Mother
who gives birth to children capable of loving as Jesus commands. That
is why Mary’s maternal vocation to care for her children is entrusted to
John and to the Church as a whole. The entire community of disciples
is included in Mary’s maternal vocation.
3. John, as a disciple who shared everything with Jesus, knows that the Master wants to lead all people to an encounter with the Father. He can testify to the fact that Jesus met many people suffering from spiritual sickness due to pride (cf. Jn 8:31-39) and from physical ailments (cf. Jn
5:6). He bestowed mercy and forgiveness upon all, and healed the sick
as a sign of the abundant life of the Kingdom, where every tear will be
wiped away. Like Mary, the disciples are called to care for one
another, but not only that. They know that Jesus’ heart is open to all
and excludes no one. The Gospel of the Kingdom must be proclaimed to
all, and the charity of Christians must be directed to all, simply
because they are persons, children of God.
4. The Church’s maternal vocation to the needy and to the sick
has found concrete expression throughout the two thousand years of her
history in an impressive series of initiatives on behalf of the sick.
This history of dedication must not be forgotten. It continues to the
present day throughout the world. In countries where adequate public
health care systems exist, the work of Catholic religious congregations
and dioceses and their hospitals is aimed not only at providing quality
medical care, but also at putting the human person at the centre of the
healing process, while carrying out scientific research with full
respect for life and for Christian moral values. In countries where
health care systems are inadequate or non-existent, the Church seeks to
do what she can to improve health, eliminate infant mortality and combat
widespread disease. Everywhere she tries to provide care, even when
she is not in a position to offer a cure. The image of the Church as a
“field hospital” that welcomes all those wounded by life is a very
concrete reality, for in some parts of the world, missionary and
diocesan hospitals are the only institutions providing necessary care to
the population.
5. The memory of this long history of service to the sick is
cause for rejoicing on the part of the Christian community, and
especially those presently engaged in this ministry. Yet we must look
to the past above all to let it enrich us. We should learn the lesson
it teaches us about the self-sacrificing generosity of many founders of
institutes in the service of the infirm, the creativity, prompted by
charity, of many initiatives undertaken over the centuries, and the
commitment to scientific research as a means of offering innovative and
reliable treatments to the sick. This legacy of the past helps us to
build a better future, for example, by shielding Catholic hospitals from
the business mentality that is seeking worldwide to turn health care
into a profit-making enterprise, which ends up discarding the poor.
Wise organization and charity demand that the sick person be respected
in his or her dignity, and constantly kept at the centre of the
therapeutic process. This should likewise be the approach of Christians
who work in public structures; through their service, they too are
called to bear convincing witness to the Gospel.
6. Jesus bestowed upon the Church his healing power: “These signs will accompany those who believe... they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover (Mk 16:17-18). In the Acts of the Apostles, we read accounts of the healings worked by Peter (cf. Acts 3:4-8) and Paul (cf. Acts
14:8-11). The Church’s mission is a response to Jesus’ gift, for she
knows that she must bring to the sick the Lord’s own gaze, full of
tenderness and compassion. Health care ministry will always be a
necessary and fundamental task, to be carried out with renewed
enthusiasm by all, from parish communities to the most largest
healthcare institutions. We cannot forget the tender love and
perseverance of many families in caring for their chronically sick or
severely disabled children, parents and relatives. The care given
within families is an extraordinary witness of love for the human
person; it needs to be fittingly acknowledged and supported by suitable
policies. Doctors and nurses, priests, consecrated men and women,
volunteers, families and all those who care for the sick, take part in
this ecclesial mission. It is a shared responsibility that enriches the
value of the daily service given by each.
7. To Mary, Mother of tender love, we wish to entrust
all those who are ill in body and soul, that she may sustain them in
hope. We ask her also to help us to be welcoming to our sick brothers
and sisters. The Church knows that she requires a special grace to live
up to her evangelical task of serving the sick. May our prayers to the
Mother of God see us united in an incessant plea that every member of
the Church may live with love the vocation to serve life and health.
May the Virgin Mary intercede for this Twenty-sixth World Day of the
Sick; may she help the sick to experience their suffering in communion
with the Lord Jesus; and may she support all those who care for them.
To all, the sick, to healthcare workers and to volunteers, I cordially
impart my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 26 November 2017
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
FRANCIS
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