11 February 1995
1. Jesus' gestures of salvation towards
"all those who were the prisoners of evil" (Roman Missal, Com. Pref. VII) have always been significantly
perpetuated in the Church's concern for the sick. She manifests her attention
to those suffering in many ways, among which the establishment of the World Day of the Sick is of great
importance in the present circumstances. This initiative, which has met with
broad acceptance among those who take to heart the conditions of the suffering,
seeks to give a new impetus to the Christian community's pastoral and
charitable action in such a way as to ensure that this presence will be
increasingly effective and incisive in society.
This need is especially felt in our time, which
sees whole populations tried by enormous hardships as a result of bloody
conflicts whose highest price is often paid by the weak. How can we fail to
acknowledge that our civilization should "realize that, from various
points of view, it is a society which is
sick and is creating profound distortions in man" (Letter to Families, n. 20)?
It is sick
because of its raging egoism, because of the individualistic utilitarianism
often proposed as a model for life, because of the negation of indifference
which is quite often displayed in regard to man's transcendent destiny, because
of the crisis in moral and spiritual values, which so deeply troubles mankind.
The "pathology" of the spirit is no less dangerous than physical
"pathology", and they influence each other.
2. In my Message for last year's World Day of
the Sick I wanted to recall the 10th anniversary of the publication of the
Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, which
deals with the Christian meaning of human suffering. On this occasion I would
like to call attention to the approaching 10th anniversary of another highly
significant ecclesial event involving the pastoral care of the sick. With the Motu Proprio Dolentium hominum of 11 February 1985, I
instituted the Pontifical Commission — which later became the Pontifical
Council — for Pastoral Assistance to Health-Care Workers, which, through
multiple initiatives, "manifests the Church's concern for the ill by
helping those engaged in serving the sick and the suffering so that the apostolate
of mercy to which they are devoted will meet the new demands with increasing
effectiveness" (Apostolic Constitution Pastor
Bonus, art. 152).
The leading event associated with the next
World Day of the Sick, which we shall celebrate on 11 February 1995, will take
place on African soil, at the Yamoussoukro Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, in
Côte d'Ivoire. It will be an ecclesial gathering spiritually linked to the
Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops; at the same time, it will
be an occasion for sharing in the joy of the Côte d'Ivoire Church, which is
marking the centennial of the arrival of the first missionaries.
Coming together for an anniversary which is
charged with such emotion on the African continent, and particularly at the
Marian Shrine of Yamoussoukro, invites us to reflect on the relationship between pain and peace. This
is a very profound relationship: when there is no peace, suffering spreads and
death expands its power among men. In the social, as well as in the familial
community, the decline of peaceful understanding translates into a
proliferation of attacks on life, whereas serving, advancing and defending
life, even at the cost of personal sacrifice, constitute the indispensable
premise for authentically building individual and social peace.
3. On the threshold of the third millennium,
peace is, unfortunately, still distant, and there are abundant signs of a
possible further retreat. The identification of the causes and the search for
solutions quite often appear laborious. Even among Christians bloody
fratricidal struggles are sometimes seen to take place. But those who set about
listening to the Gospel in an open spirit cannot grow weary of recalling for
themselves and others the necessity of forgiveness and reconciliation. They are
called to the altar of daily, ardent prayer, together with the sick all over
the world, to present the offering of suffering which Christ has accepted as a
means to redeem mankind and save it.
The source of peace is the Cross of Christ, in
which we are all saved. Called to union with Christ (cf. Col 1:24) and to
suffer like Christ (cf. Lk 9:23; 21:12-19; Jn 15:18-21), the Christian, with the acceptance and the
offering of suffering, announces the constructive power of the Cross. Indeed,
if war and division are the fruit of violence and sin, peace is the fruit of
justice and love, whose summit is the generous offering of one's own suffering,
spurred — if necessary — to the point of giving one's life in union with
Christ. "The more a person is threatened by sin, the heavier the structure
of sin which today's world brings with it, the greater is the eloquence which
human suffering possesses in itself. And the more the Church feels the need to
have recourse to the value of human sufferings for the salvation of the
world" (Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, n. 27).
4. To use suffering to advantage and offer it
for the salvation of the world are, indeed, themselves an action and mission of
peace, for from the courageous witness of the weak, the sick, and the suffering
the loftiest contribution to peace can flow forth. Suffering, in fact,
stimulates deeper spiritual communion, fostering the recovery of a better
quality of life, on the one hand, and promoting a convinced commitment to peace
among men, on the other.
Believers know that, in associating themselves
with the sufferings of Christ, they become authentic workers of peace. This is
an unfathomable mystery, whose fruits are, nevertheless, plainly detectable in
the history of the Church and particularly in the lives of the saints. If there
is a suffering which provokes death, there is also, however, according to God's
plan, a suffering leading to conversion and the transformation of man's heart
(cf. 2 Cor 7:10): it is the suffering which, as a
completion in one's own flesh of "what is lacking" to Christ's
passion (cf. Col 1:24), becomes a reason for and source of joy, for it
generates life and peace.
5. Dear brothers and sisters who suffer in body
and in spirit, it is my wish that all of you will be able to recognize and
accept God's call for you to be workers
of peace through the offering of your pain. It is not easy to respond to
such a demanding call. Always look trustingly towards Jesus, the
"Suffering Servant", asking him for the strength to transform the trial
afflicting you into a gift. Listen with faith to his voice repeating to each of
you: "Come to me, all who are weary and oppressed, and I will give you
rest" (Mt 11:28).
May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Sorrows and
Queen of Peace, obtain for every believer the gift of steadfast faith, which
the world greatly needs. Thanks to it, indeed, the forces of evil, hatred and
discord will be disarmed by the sacrifice of the weak and the infirm, joined to
the paschal mystery of Christ the Redeemer.
6. I now address you, doctors, nurses, members
of associations and volunteer groups that serve the sick. Your work will be an
authentic witness and concrete action for peace if you are willing to offer
true love to those with whom you come into contact and if, as believers, you
are able to honour in them the presence of Christ
himself. This invitation is addressed in a very special way to the priests and
men and women religious who, through the charism of
their institutes or particular form of apostolate, are directly engaged in
pastoral care in health.
While expressing my deep appreciation for all
you do with abnegation and generous dedication, I hope that everyone taking up
the medical and paramedical professions will do so with enthusiasm and
unselfish goodwill, and I ask the Lord of the harvest to send numerous and holy
workers to labour in the vast field of health, which
is so important for announcing and witnessing to the Gospel.
May Mary, the Mother of the suffering, be at
the side of those undergoing trials and sustain the efforts of those who devote
their lives to serving the sick.
With these sentiments, I wholeheartedly bestow
a special Apostolic Blessing upon you, dear people who are ill, and upon all
who, in whatever manner, are close to you in your manifold material and
spiritual needs.
From the Vatican, 21
November 1994, the seventeenth year of my Pontificate