In his message for the 2024 World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis highlights the importance of healing relationships in the care of the sick and the dying. In doing so, the Pope has invited us all to consider healthcare as more than just a technical matter of medical procedures, busy emergency departments, and COVID-19 mandates that risk leaving a legacy and burden of ‘solitude’ and ‘abandonment’ for the vulnerable.
The Pope, in his message, points out that we are made for relationships and communion – we are not just ‘body-machines’ devoid of humanity – including supportive relationships, life history, family, personality, human needs and so on. In the words of the Pope, “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.”
The Pope then points out to us that everybody came into the world because “our parents welcomed us, and we were each ‘made for love’ and are called to communion and fraternity.” He goes on to say that “the best therapy for those who are ill… is to offer them our love and communion, despite the pace of our own frenetic lives.”
He then addressed the sick directly with the words, “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.”
He concludes by inviting Christians to draw inspiration from Jesus’ compassion-filled gaze through prayer and the Eucharist, so as to “heal the wounds of solitude and isolation. The sick, the vulnerable, and the poor are at the heart of the Church …They must also be at the heart of our human concern and pastoral attention.”
The importance of relationships in caring for the sick and the dying is highlighted by Pope Francis in his World Day of the Sick message. These relationships begin at home in our own families – where we are either cared for when we become sick, or we care for members of our families who are sick or dying, or else, we witness family members caring for other family members who are sick or dying. This experience of care within the family, the domestic church, then provides the foundational experience on which we build our future care for the sick and the dying.
Since the healthcare ministry of the Church has Sacramental, Pastoral and Professional dimensions, this means that priests who administer the Sacraments, pastoral care ministers such as lay chaplains, and healthcare professionals are all called to reflect on their experience when caring for family members who are sick or dying. In reflecting on their lived experience, they can then have an informed understanding of the human experience of illness and the dying process. This reflective lived experience can then provide the basis for an empathic approach to their Sacramental, Pastoral and Professional roles in the care of the sick and the dying.
Those interested in the healthcare ministry of the Church or are currently in healthcare are invited to explore the Pope’s message and the role importance of healing relationships in healthcare at an upcoming formation session commemorating the 2024 World Day of the Sick on Saturday 10 February. High school students and young adults considering professional careers in healthcare are especially welcome to attend this session.
The session will be held at St Patrick’s Church, Mary, Queen of the Family Parish, Blacktown from 9.30am to 10.30am. Please register your attendance by emailing met@parracatholic.org or for further information, please contact Michael.Tan@parracatholic.org
Following the formation session, participants are invited to attend the annual Diocesan World Day of the Sick Mass at St Patrick’s Church at 11am. Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, will celebrate Mass which will include the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. All are welcome to attend Mass and gather for fellowship afterwards with a special invitation to families with loved ones in aged care. RSVPs are required by 6 February 2024 and can be made by visiting https://parracatholic.org/events/diocesan-world-day-of-the-sick-mass/
Deacon Michael Tan is Deacon Assisting at St John the Evangelist Parish, Riverstone.
