On this 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we observe the World Day of the Sick. We also venerate Our Lady of Lourdes.
In the First Reading, from the Book of Leviticus, we hear how those who suffered from leprosy had to live outside of the camp. They had to wear torn clothes, and warn those approaching by shouting out “unclean, unclean.” The lepers, in many ways, were cast out of their towns, families, and social bonds. This too was the case in Our Lord Jesus’ time, when lepers were not able to live normally, and move about freely. Our Lord heals the man afflicted by leprosy. To be healed of leprosy meant that one was also able to re-enter the world of relations and family ties. To be healed of this terrible disease meant that one got one’s life back, so to speak, by being able to interact – to relate – with others. In an ironic twist, after healing the leper, it is Jesus who is now not able to go about freely, as so many people are seeking him.
Pope Francis, in his message for this year’s World Day of the Sick, writes about the healing of people also by the healing of relationships. He writes, “the first form of care needed in any illness is compassionate and loving closeness. To care for the sick thus means above all to care for their relationships, all of them: with God, with others – family members, friends, healthcare workers – with creation and with themselves” (Pope Francis, Message for the 32nd World Day of the Sick, 10 January 2024). So, it is that empathetic closeness that sick people need, the closeness that brings them out of their isolation. We would do well to remember that our God is a God of relations, and that in fact, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in themselves “subsistent relations.” The more that we are able to relate well to others, the more we become like God.
To those who are sick and ill, the Pope writes, “To those of you who experience illness, whether temporary or chronic, I would say this: Do not be ashamed of your longing for closeness and tenderness! Do not conceal it, and never think that you are a burden on others” (Pope Francis, Message for the 32nd World Day of the Sick, 10 January 2024). As I said last week, the two main temptations that come to those who are ill, are “nobody understands,” and “nobody cares.” Our attention to those who are sick helps them to resist those temptations, which, if left untreated, can bring someone to experience the deep pain of isolation. The Pope continues, “isolation causes us to miss the meaning of our lives; it takes away the joy of love and makes us experience an oppressive sense of being alone at all the crucial passages of life” (Pope Francis, Message for the 32nd World Day of the Sick, 10 January 2024).
Not only sick people need the healing of relationships. Marriages and families need the healing of relationships. Workplaces and social groups need the healing of relationships. Parishes need the healing of relationships. Otherwise, as the Pope states, the “mortal wound of sin…creeps in by generating suspicions, fractures, divisions and consequently isolation” (Pope Francis, Message for the 32nd World Day of the Sick, 10 January 2024). We would do well to ask for the healing of relationships: between husbands and wives, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, brothers and sisters. We would do well to ask for the healing of relationships in our parish: between the old-timers and the new-comers, between those who are pro-College and those who are against the College, between those who are more traditional in their piety and liturgical outlook, and those who are less traditional, in their liturgy and pious practices. After almost a full six years at this church, I can say that this healing will be a slow process. But, Our Lord, the Divine Physician, does heal: he heals physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is this spiritual healing of divisions that we ask for, for the people of St. Hedwig’s. Perhaps we can make this healing one of our intentions for Lent, which starts this Wednesday.
Finally, today we remember Our Lady of Lourdes. She is the one who identified herself as the “Immaculate Conception.” She is the one who is known as the “Health of the Sick.” She is the one who continues to intercede with her Son, so that miracles of healing can take place. Let us ask for physical, emotional and spiritual healing for ourselves, our families, and our parish.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, Feb. 11, 2024)