On the
occasion of the 120th anniversary of the "Bambino Gesù" Children's Hospital in
The doctor's
healing of disease and its prevention
1."Who
then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his
household?" (Lk 12:42).
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, the solemnity of
Therefore it is a beautiful occasion
to celebrate with you, in this liturgy, the 120th anniversary of the
foundation of your hospital named after the Infant Jesus. It is a hospital
built to cure and relieve, by love as well as by dedication, the suffering of
little innocent children, so similar in this to the Son of God who became man,
an infant like them, subject to suffering.
2.I wish to greet cordially all present, and to
express my joy at this meeting which is very
significant
for me. I greet the President, the administration, the doctors, the Sisters of
Charity, the children’s nurses, the auxiliary staff, as well as the relatives
of the little patients.
It is an important meeting, as I said, because you
know what a close relationship exists, what analogy, what interchange exists
between the priest’s mission on the one hand, and that of the health care
worker on the other. In different ways, all are dedicated to the salvation of
man: to restoring him to health, freeing him from evil, suffering and death,
promoting his life, well-being and happiness. How much more striking is this
analogy, if we consider that the healing of these little patients requires to
an even greater degree virtues of self-sacrifice, diligence, delicacy,
compassion and mercy, which the doctor and the priest should have in common!
For this reason, dear brothers and sisters, I must tell you that your hospital
is very dear to me; for 120 years this institution has carried out its
charitable wok
.
3.In the Opening Prayer of the Mass we recalled
that God wished to place “the beginnings of
our
salvation under Joseph’s watchful care”. What are these “beginnings of our
salvation”? They are the earthly life of the Child Jesus; a life which for
thirty years he lived in the intimacy of the home, among the simple people of his time, lovingly
dedicated, certainly, to good works, but without having the splendour
of his divinity shine out above his normal human behaviour.
What love and respect Jesus showed during those years; afterwards in his public
ministry he would publicly recall the commandment of the Decalogue to honour one’s father and mother! With what care and
dedication did Joseph and Mary follow Jesus’ growth “in wisdom and in stature,
an in favour with God and man” (Lk
The life of every baptized child is also a
participation in Christ’s redemption. For this also and especially, the Church
is “a faithful guardian of God’s mysteries”, in the above-mentioned prayer we
invoked
Especially,
if we think of a suffering child, we cannot but think also of the Church’s
sharing in Christ’s redemptive suffering.
4.In your delicate profession, doctors, religious,
nurses who assist these little children, you
will
always find in
The little children whom you have in
your care have been mysteriously called from their earliest years to a hard
trial, which also involves you, adults, and poses disturbing questions for you.
Faced with the tremendous mystery of pain, even the greatest minds have felt
the powerlessness of human limitation. Words seem to fail them. For this very reason it is
necessary that your rely on God’s word;
listen to it an make it your own, “hoping against hope”, as
5.I hope that children’s hospitals such as yours
will continue to be multiplied. As you
know, a vast number of innocent children throughout the world suffer and also
die through lack of hospitals. This certainly is one of the most terrible
plagues afflicting modern society: it is an intolerable scandal which we can never
do enough to remedy. This most noble ideal, that of bringing aid to
sick or needy children, in whatever part of the world they may be, is a cause
which should appeal to the hearts and
arouse the energies of many young people and
give meaning to their existence. Many laity and religious devote
themselves to this, yet how much more forces are necessary! Therefore, I avail
myself of this occasion to launch an appeal to all generous souls: go forward
without fear, and God
will give you the hundredfold!
May
Amen.