Romana

Miguel Angel Monge Sanchez

Chaplain, University of Navarra Hospital (1982-2010)

Human beings, the culmination of God’s creative work,^[1] are nevertheless, as a consequence of original sin,^[2] deeply fragile and vulnerable creatures.

Vulnerability, which is part of our human condition, is a polysemic term with quite diverse meanings. These can be summarized as the possibility of suffering harm, in the dual condition of the human being’s fragility and finitude.^[3]

It is well known that one of the wounds (vulnera,in Latin) of original sin is illness, which marks us with a deep need for help and care. Indeed, illness often involves elements of fragility and insecurity that are not known until they are experienced.

And just as “God cares for his creatures,”^[4] so too do we have the same task of caring for the world and its inhabitants, especially when they become more vulnerable. This care is an essential part of the love (agape) that Christ taught us. This can be seen, among many other Scripture passages, in the parable of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:30-37), where various elements are intertwined: compassion, trust, competence, affection, and understanding. We will consider each of these throughout this study.

Etymologically, the word “care” seems to come from the Latin cogitatus, meaning thought. The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines it as “the solicitude and attention to do something well.” It also has the meaning of “to assist, guard, preserve, or care for something or someone.”^[5] Care therefore implies actions aimed at doing for someone what they cannot do for themselves in their basic needs: food, hygiene, activity, mobility, etc.^[6] This involves helping vulnerable people when they cannot take care of themselves, planning nursing activity programs, instilling and encouraging progressive independence, etc.

Specifically, what we propose to consider in this study is the care of sick people, and we will look at the example of Jesus of Nazareth, how the Church has lived this in practice over time, and what St. Josemaría Escrivá taught about it.

1. Jesus of Nazareth’s example with the sick

The Gospel describes Jesus’ journey throughout the lands of Palestine, and how he responded to the needs of the people following him, how he healed their hearts and every kind of illness. His attitude is always one of welcome and compassion. We could even say that his life unfolds in a continuous relationship with the sick, to whom he always offers mercy and understanding, and whom he often heals and also forgives their sins. The sacred text recounts, in great detail, the miracles that Jesus worked for the sick. They are so abundant that one could rephrase the expression (coined in the second half of the 20th century) that Jesus showed a “preferential option for the poor” as, perhaps more accurately, that he showed a “preferential option for the sick.”^[7]

Indeed, the Gospel is full of examples of sick people who approach Jesus seeking healing. We can recall a few here: the woman who suffered from bleeding for twelve years (Mt 9:20-22); the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman who suffered from demonic attacks (Mt 15:21-28); the ten lepers Jesus encountered while walking to Jerusalem (Lk 11:17-19); the servant of the Roman centurion (Mt 8:5-13); the paralytic lowered by his friends through the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching (Mt 9:1-8); the demon-possessed epileptic; the paralytic beside the pool of Bethesda) (Jn 5:1-16); Jairus’ daughter (Mt 9:18-29), etc.

St. Matthew offers us a brief summary of Jesus’ activity: “And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them” (Mt 4:23-24; cf. also Mt 9:35). St. Luke gives a similar description in his introduction to the Sermon on the Mount: “And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all” (Lk 6:17-19). Or the scene after the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law: “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them” (Lk 4:38-40).

Often, these miracles of healing are recounted with many human details, sometimes quite moving. St. Mark offers a scene that can serve as an example: “And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well” (Mk 6:54-56). Clearly there is no situation of human suffering that Jesus can’t touch with his mercy. This was part of his mission and a sign of the authority he had as the one sent by the Father.

Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd (cf. Jn 10:11-18), claiming for himself the figure of the shepherds of Israel, whom Yahweh had promised in the prophetic oracles of the Old Testament (cf. Jer 3:15). He fulfills this mission by giving rest to those who are weary and burdened (“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened...,” Mt 11:28), healing the sick, offering “life and life in abundance” (Jn 10:10), acting as the good Samaritan to those in need (cf. Lk 10:25-37), and even giving his own life for his sheep (cf. Mt 26:2; Mk 14:21, etc.). We see how Christ wanted to experience human weaknesses, including physical ones, and turn them into a means of sanctification for mankind. Therefore, when our Lord allows it, illness and pain place us by his side on Calvary, from where we can identify more closely with Christ the Savior. When we care for the sick, we care for our Lord Jesus Christ, as he himself teaches us: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).

The Gospel texts show us that Jesus did not act simply as a healer of illnesses, but also, and above all, as a “rehabilitator” of men and women suffering from the ravages of disease. Hence he was not deterred by the religious norms of his time, which prohibited working on the Sabbath or touching lepers so as not to become contaminated with impurity. Jesus has compassion on people marginalized by illness. He approaches them with infinite mercy, and also makes this action an important part of his messianic mission, as we see in his response to John the Baptist’s disciples: “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them’” (Mt 11:2-6).

But Jesus does not approach the sick as a doctor would, or as a priest of the Mosaic law performing purification rites. Rather he does so with the intention of restoring those men and women overwhelmed by physical pain and perhaps also by the marginalization to which they were exposed in the society of their time. What motivates him is his absolute and unconditional love for those most in need. It is a love that springs from his human heart but that is anchored in his power as the Son of God: “He went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother” (Lk 7:11-15).^[8]

Jesus said that “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Mt 9:12), and so he was especially eager to care for the sick and sinners, instilling in them faith, encouragement, and hope. That is why he welcomed them, listened to them, and made them feel understood and loved by God. He wanted to help them to believe again in God’s forgiveness and in the possibility of restoring their relationship with Him and with the people of their time. And often he healed them.

It is also striking to see Jesus sometimes using tangible signs to work a miracle of healing (putting mud on the eyes of the blind, using saliva to heal a deaf man, etc.), thus emphasizing that he wants to use human means, tangible actions, which make the effectiveness of the miracle more visible. We must act in a similar way.

1. Care for the sick in the Church

Concern for the sick has been present in the Church since the beginning of Christianity. Compassion and mercy, especially towards those most in need, is what makes the Church credible and respected.

Christ is the model for the Church in continuing to carry out this task, thus enabling her to become what we might call a “healing community.” “The deep concern the Church has always shown for the world of the suffering is well known. In this for that matter, she has done nothing more than follow the very eloquent example of her Founder and Master. In his messianic activity in the midst of Israel, Christ drew increasingly closer to the world of human suffering. ‘He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil’ (Acts 10:38)), and his actions concerned primarily those who were suffering and seeking help.”^[9]

In the early centuries of Christianity, this specific activity was very present, and the sick held a privileged place in the bishops’ concern. One example of this is the Letter of St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, written in the second century: “Presbyters must have hearts of mercy, and be compassionate towards all, visiting the sick, not neglecting to care for widows, orphans, and the poor.”^[10]

The same reality appears in another interesting text: “It is fitting for brethren in Christ, and it is right and proper for them, to visit those who are tormented by evil spirits, and to pray and pronounce adjurations over them, offering such prayer as is acceptable before God, not with a multitude of fine words, well prepared and arranged, so that they may appear to men as eloquent and of a good memory. Therefore, pray holy prayers and ask God with fervor and with all sobriety. In this way let us approach a brother or a sister who is sick, and visit them in the manner that is appropriate: without guile, without covetousness, and without talkativeness. as men who received from the Lord the charism of healing. It is a beautiful thing to help the sick.”^[11]

Pope Benedict XVI highlighted a significant historical fact about this topic.^[12] From the fourth century on, under the peace of Constantine, this task was extended and expanded through the creation of “hospitals,” which from the beginning were a Christian institution (the first was created by St. Basil of Caesarea around the year 370). Later, with the Benedictine monasteries and the various pilgrimage routes (to Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago), the so-called “infirmaries” or hospitals were organized as places of refuge for the sick, also linked to Church structures. In the Middle Ages, many hospitals arose in response to the mobility of the population along the pilgrimage routes of nascent Europe. They were built next to churches and monasteries to take in those who fell ill, although they were also, on occasion, a response to the horrors of plagues. Thus the birth of hospitals in Europe was a Christian endeavor, in response to those needs.^[13]

In the Modern Age, when public authorities took over the task of providing this care, figures such as St. John of God, St. Camillus de Lellis, St. Vincent de Paul, and Father Damien (who cared for lepers on the island of Molokai), brought about a remarkable revolution in the way the sick were treated by making charity (in welcoming, providing good treatment, generous service, etc.) the hallmark of care.^[14] St. John Paul II summed it up this way: “Over the course of the centuries the Church has felt strongly that service to the sick and suffering is an integral part of her mission, and not only has she encouraged among Christians the blossoming of various works of mercy, but she has also established many religious institutions within her with the specific aim to fostering, organizing, improving and increasing help to the sick.”^[15]

Behind this concern lies the conviction that, in the words of Pope Francis, “sickness, then, becomes an occasion for a transformative encounter, the discovery of a solid rock to which we can hold fast amid the tempests of life, an experience that, even at great cost, makes us all the stronger because it teaches us that we are not alone. Suffering always brings with it a mysterious promise of salvation, for it makes us experience the closeness and reality of God’s consoling presence. In this way, we come to know ‘the fullness of the Gospel with all its promise and life’ (St. John Paul II, Address to Youth, New Orleans, September 12, 1987).”^[16]

We can recall here that, for more than a century, so-called “pastoral medicine” has been becoming widespread in Catholic circles,^[17] and also that in the mid-20th century the Church began to speak of “pastoral healthcare” as a specific subject within the field of pastoral theology. Its scope covers all sick people, whether hospitalized or at home, and (in order to be truly effective) it also aims to reach all caregivers (doctors, nurses, assistants, etc.) in the healthcare world.^[18]

1. St. Josemaría and the sick

St. Josemaría Escrivá, who experienced a number of serious health problems in his own life,^[19] taught people to see suffering, when united to Christ’s Cross, as a divine caress.^[20] He saw in the sick the “suffering Christ,” and stressed that they should be treated with great love, while doing everything possible to relieve their suffering. From a young age, God forged his soul through the suffering of loved ones (three of his younger sisters died at an early age). And his own life was marked by abundant sufferings, although he said he didn’t really have any, since he embraced these sufferings as God’s will and found there a deep joy: in laetitia nulla die sine Cruce, “in joy, no day without the Cross.”^[21] He was aware, as the book of Job recounts, that God sometimes purifies us through illness (cf. Job 33:19), and therefore we should take advantage of this opportunity. Illness is present, in one way or another, in the lives of all men and women.^[22]“In this life there will always be joys and sorrows. But don’t forget that if God sends us many joys, it is because he loves us, and if he sends us something painful, it is so that we prove that we love him”^[23].

Right from the beginning of his apostolic work, he asked many sick people for their prayers and the offering of their sufferings to help him carry out God’s will. “They were,” he said, “intense years, in which Opus Dei grew inwardly without our realizing it . . . The human strength of the Work has been the sick in the hospitals of Madrid, the most wretched, those living at home, having lost even the last shred of human hope.”^[24] In them, he insisted, we can find Christ crucified, laden with grace for us; they are a treasure that we should value highly because “next to the prayer of priests and of consecrated virgins, the prayer most pleasing to God is that of children and the sick.”^[25]

A key characteristic of a priest is the ability to sympathize with his brothers and sisters and come to their aid. This quality is known as mercy: having a heart that is close to the miseries of others. The primary misery is sin, but as a consequence of sin, death entered the world, and with it, a series of disorders and imbalances, among which pain and illness found a place. In chapter 25 of St. Matthew, in the scene of the final judgment, Jesus makes it clear that he identifies himself with those who are suffering: those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, etc.

Therefore we can better understand St. Josemaría’s statement that “he found his priestly heart in the Foundation for the Sick.”^[26] Even earlier, during his years of formation for the priesthood, he had meditated deeply on what this meant. Among the testimonies of his seminary classmates are references to his seeing in the priesthood the need to reach out to others. But after his “powerful” experience in Madrid in the 1920s and 30s (his contact with children in poor families, with the sick in hospitals, etc.), he came to see with new clarity Jesus’ identification with the disadvantaged and the needy. He wrote:

“Children. The Sick. As you write these words, don’t you feel tempted to use capitals? The reason is that in children and in the sick a soul in love sees Him.”^[27]

Biographers recount the many hours he devoted between 1927 and 1931 to caring for the sick.^[28] And when he had to leave the Foundation for the Sick in 1931 and began priestly work in the King’s Hospital in Madrid, he wrote: “Yesterday I had to definitively leave the Foundation, and therefore all those patients. But my Jesus does not want me to leave Him, and reminded me that He is nailed to a hospital bed.”^[29]

This predilection for the sick is also evident in some words of his three years before his death, at the end of a gathering in Barcelona: “A sick person is waiting for me, and I have no right to keep a sick person waiting, for that person is Christ.”^[30]

This identification of the sick person with Christ appears frequently in his writings. It could be summarized as follows: where suffering is present – that is, suffering accepted and offered to God – Christ is present. As Pope St. Gregory teaches: “Illness shows us our own weakness and reforms the soul, purifying us of sins and repressing those we might commit. Physical pain makes us quiet and patient, reminds us of our faults, and brings to mind all the evil we have done. Therefore, when we suffer outwardly, we feel our sins more deeply within, and through bodily injury, the hidden wound of our heart is purified more thoroughly.”^[31]

For example, St. Josemaría’s account in his Intimate Notes of one of the first women of Opus Dei is quite moving, María Ignacia García Escobar was admitted to the General Hospital of Madrid with a serious illness: “That sister of ours loves God’s will. She sees in that long, painful, compounded illness (she has nothing healthy in her body) the blessing and predilection of Jesus. And while affirming in her humility that she deserves punishment, she sees the terrible pain she is feeling in her whole system, especially on account of the abdominal adhesions, as not a punishment but a mercy.”^[32]

Therefore illness can well be considered a privilege, or, in a bold expression once used by St. Josemaría, a “caress from God,” and the sick are “God’s favorites.”^[33] During his work in the Madrid hospitals, when Opus Dei was just beginning, he continually asked the sick people to pray for something God had asked him to do, convinced that they are very dear to God, and that their prayers are heard and rise up to the presence of the Most High.

When a mother told him about her disabled child, he said: “God has blessed you in a special way, showing you a love of predilection, because our Lord – as the Gospel tells us – tests those he loves most. You can be sure that I suffer with you and that I ask Jesus to help us carry his Cross with joy. Omnia in bonum! God allows this so that we may be better, since great evils bring about great goods.”^[34]

Recourse to the intercession of the sick was also one of his great experiences during his work in the Foundation for the Sick: “I think that some of the sick people I cared for until their death during my ‘apostolic’ years [he is referring to his work with the Apostolic Ladies in the Foundation for the Sick] are a source of strength in the Heart of Jesus.”^[35]

St. Josemaria often remarked that the sick are “our jewels, the treasure”^[36] of Opus Dei. When asked once about the meaning of that phrase, he replied: “That priest had to do Opus Dei... And do you know how he was able to? Through the hospitals. That General Hospital in Madrid, filled with sick people, destitute, with those lying in the corridors because there were no beds; that hospital, called the King’s Hospital, where there were only advanced tuberculosis patients, and at that time, tuberculosis was incurable. Those were the weapons in order to overcome obstacles! That was the treasure to pay! That was the strength to go forward!”^[37]

St. Josemaría always had this conviction of the powerful intercession before God of the sick, whom he asked to offer up their sufferings to help him fulfill God’s will. The reason is clear. Christians who know they are children of God are certain that they are always in the loving hands of their Father God. And where some find illness to be only a burden, sometimes unbearable, the children of God find a treasure of great value, and learn to “bear illness with patience, without complaint or distress, and give thanks to divine Providence.”^[38]

The duty to care for one’s health

With the same force with which St. Josemaría exhorted people to accept illness when it comes, seeing in it a way to unite ourselves to Christ’s Cross, he also stressed the need to care for one’s physical health in order to be good instruments in the service of God, echoing those words of Scripture: “Health and well-being are worth more than gold, and a robust body more than a fortune” (Sir 30:15). For good health usually allows us to work hard in the Lord’s vineyard, from the first hour of the day to the last, joyfully bearing “the burden of the day and the heat” (Mt 20:12).

If, even after taking precautions, one becomes ill, one should offer up that illness to God. As St. Augustine said, when encouraging people to ask God for good health: “If he knows that it will be good for you, he will grant it to you, and if he does not give it to you, it is because it is not good for you.”^[39]

St. Josemaría encouraged people to care for their health, without becoming obsessed, by taking the ordinary measures dictated by common sense. He said we can’t allow ourselves the luxury of being sick, and need to employ the resources – especially getting the required rest – to be able to work intensely. “Physical collapse. You are worn out. Rest. Stop that exterior activity. Consult a doctor. Obey, and don’t worry. You will soon return to your normal life and, if you are faithful, to new intensity in your apostolate.”^[40]

A good summary of how to confront the reality of sickness can be found in the following words:“Most of you here are young. You are passing through that splendid period of being full of life, brimming over with energy. But time passes and inexorably we begin to notice a physical decline; then come the limitations of maturity and finally the infirmities of old age. Moreover, any one of us, at any moment, can fall ill or suffer some bodily disorder. Only if we have a truly Christian appreciation of our periods of physical well-being, of our ‘good times,’ will we be able to accept with supernatural joy such happenings as people mistakenly call bad . . . What we need therefore is a long-term preparation, by practicing daily a holy detachment from self, so that we are prepared to bear sickness or misfortune gracefully if our Lord permits them.”^[41]

1. Caring for the sick

Modern medicine has the ability to understand quite well what is happening in a person’s liver or heart, while being insensitive to what is happening inside that person’s soul. Hence there is widespread clamor in the healthcare world for the “humanization” of medicine, by reinforcing a person-centered approach in clinical practice. Healthcare professionals must not only have a high level of technical and scientific knowledge, but also the communication skills, empathy and strategies needed to enable them to care for patients in a comprehensive manner, respecting their dignity, feelings, and personal needs.^[42] Hence, in caring for and accompanying the sick, we need to strive to see in each of them a person who is suffering, always in need of attention and affection.

The letter Samaritanus bonus from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dated July 14, 2020, invites society in general, and Catholic healthcare workers and hospitals in particular, to develop a “contemplative gaze” directed especially towards the weakest and most wounded, those who are unable to lift themselves up on their own. The heart of the Good Samaritan is a “heart that sees” and goes out of its way to find those in need and show them mercy through one’s deeds.

When approaching any sick person, we must first adopt an attitude of respect, almost of veneration, “taking off our shoes,” as Moses did at Horeb. It is said of St. Camillus de Lellis that “he stood before the sick with such great respect as though he were truly and really in the presence of the Lord.”^[43] This is the attitude we should always try to foster when visiting or assisting a sick person.

St. Josemaría always insisted that, in caring for the sick, “official, cold charity is not enough. If necessary, we would rob a little piece of heaven for them, and our Lord would forgive us.”^[44] On one occasion, when speaking about some of his sick children, he said: “How joyfully they bear their illness! When it is our turn, if we have been humble, God will help us and we will not cause trouble. We will be the joy of the Center where we are; we will be the strength of the Work; we will be a great manifestation of love for God and of God’s love.”^[45] Pope Francis stress that we need to show human warmth and closeness, and put our heart into our interactions with the sick.^[46]

We briefly point out some specific concerns to take into account in caring for the sick:

a) First of all, whenever possible, we need to try to relieve a sick person’s pain, which is the primary goal of all medical professionals. Fortunately, pain management has advanced greatly in recent years, and although there are exceptions, it is almost always possible to at least alleviate pain. St. Josemaría himself was very clear on this point: “Physical pain, when it can be relieved, should be relieved. There is enough suffering in life! And when it cannot be removed, it is offered up.”^[47] This approach is present today in any healthcare facility, although it may be practiced to a greater or lesser extent.

b) At the same time, we should do all we can to make the discomforts the sick are enduring pleasant for them. Josemaría said: “Whenever I have seen one of my children fall ill, I have always said to those who need to care for them: my sons, let this person never realize that his mother is far away. By this I mean that, at such times, we must be like his mother to that son of mine and brother of yours, with the love and care that she would give him.”^[48] Recalling these words, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo recounted a powerful anecdote that he heard from St. Josemaría about “the sick nun who received her confessor, and who, when asked by the priest if she was happy and if the other nuns were treating her well, replied, ‘Here they treat me with charity, but my mother treated me with affection.’“^[49]

We need to provide all sick people with the necessary attention and care, while showing them abundant understanding and affection. Certainly, the role of medical professionals, families, and friends is different, but it is incumbent upon all of them to show the utmost respect, seeing in every sick person a vulnerable human being in need of affection.^[50] This help takes various forms: accompanying the patient, helping them with meals, with their mobility, with their prayers, etc.^[51] We need to offer this help even when a sick person becomes difficult or impertinent. I will always remember some words I heard from Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, successor to St. Josemaría, at a meeting he had with the chaplains of the University of Navarra Hospital on September 3, 1990. He told us: “Be very patient, be very understanding with the sick. The sick have the right to be impertinent, because often they are not in control of their actions and fall into impatience, and other brusque reactions. But you don’t have the right to be impertinent with them or impatient. Rather you need to lavish patience on them, to pour out affection, to love them, seeing in the sick – as they truly are – our Lord Jesus Christ.”

c) Not falling into the “sick person’s complex.” When one is sick, one should allow oneself to be cared for and follow the doctor’s advice, without giving in to whims. We need to fight against self-love and selfishness, not closing ourselves off to others. St. Josemaría warned of this danger: “When we are sick we can get very tiresome: 'they aren't looking after me properly, nobody cares about me, I'm not getting the attention I deserve, nobody understands me…' The devil, who is always on the lookout, can attack from any angle. When people are ill his tactics consist in stirring up a kind of psychosis in them so as to draw them away from God and fill the atmosphere with bitterness, or destroy that treasure of merits earned (on behalf of souls everywhere) by pain, that is when it is borne with supernatural optimism, when it is loved! Therefore, if God wills that we be struck down by some affliction, take it as a sign that he considers us mature enough to be associated even more closely with his redeeming Cross.”^[52]

And those accompanying the sick must show great refinement, paying attention to medical instructions (medication, lifestyle, etc.), rest, and appropriate distractions, so that they never feel alone.

* * *

In the litanies of the Rosary, the Virgin Mary is acclaimed as “health of the sick,” “refuge of sinners,” “mother of mercy,” and many other titles that highlight Mary’s merciful love for all our needs, especially when illness strikes. Christians place their hope in her, especially when the hardest moments of life come, as Pope Francis taught: “In Mary’s concern we see reflected the tenderness of God. This same tenderness is present in the lives of all those persons who attend the sick and understand their needs, even the most imperceptible ones, because they look upon them with eyes full of love. How many times has a mother at the bedside of her sick child, or a child caring for an elderly parent, or a grandchild concerned for a grandparent, placed his or her prayer in the hands of our Lady! For our loved ones who suffer because of illness we ask first for their health. Jesus himself showed the presence of the Kingdom of God specifically through his healings: ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them’ (Mt 11:4-5). But love animated by faith makes us ask for something greater than physical health: we ask for peace, a serenity in life that comes from the heart and is God’s gift, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, a gift which the Father never denies to those who ask him for it with trust.”^[53]

[1] “Man occupies a unique place in creation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 355).

[2] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 385ff.

[3] Cf. Feito Grande, L., Vulnerabilidad, in Anales de Asistencia sanitaria de Navarra, 2007, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 7-22.

[4] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 309.

[5] Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato sì, on care for creation, points out that caring means “protecting, safeguarding, preserving, guarding, watching over” (no. 67).

[6] Care, in all its forms, whether healthcare, care for the elderly, or care for victims of natural and social disasters, is seen by some as the defining work of our era: “Caring for others is considered by many to be unproductive work, and yet it is the most necessary” (Boris Groys, Filosofía del cuidado, Cajas Negras, Buenos Aires 2022). See also Luigina Mortari, La política del cuidado. Tomarse la vida en serio, Encuentro, Madrid 2024. The author explores the human being’s deep anthropological need for care.

[7] The first time I heard this remark was from the Archbishop of Pamplona (1993-2007), Fernando Sebastián (later created cardinal in 2014), at a meeting of hospital chaplains in Pamplona. I find this phrase more accurate, because in Jesus’ time almost all of his listeners were poor; that is why the Gospel only explicitly mentions a few rich people: Zacchaeus, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Lazarus, a centurion, and a few others. We have found only two books on the market with this title, Preferential Option for the Sick: one by Jean Claude Baden, PPC, Madrid 2000, and another by Badenhausen – Brignon – König – Meeyer, San Pablo, Madrid 2000. As a counterpoint to this question, a remark by St. Josemaría is appropriate here, when he was asked about this topic: “Church of the poor? There is no Church of the poor, nor of the rich. All souls are poor!... But the Church is rich. Yes. Her wealth is the sacraments. And her wealth is doctrine. And her wealth is all the merits of Christ.” Urbano, Pilar, El hombre de Villa Tevere, Plaza&Janés, Barcelona 1995, p. 71.

[8] These words of Pope Francis are very relevant here: “When Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples out on mission (cf. Lk 10:1-9), he told them to proclaim to the sick: ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’ (v. 9). He asks them, in other words, to help the sick to see their infirmity, however painful and incomprehensible it may be, as an opportunity to encounter the Lord. In times of illness, we sense our human frailty on the physical, psychological and spiritual levels. Yet we also experience the closeness and compassion of God, who, in Jesus, shared in our human suffering. God does not abandon us and often amazes us by granting us a strength that we never expected, and would never have found on our own” (Message for World Day of the Sick, 2025).

[9] John Paul II, Motu proprio Dolentium hominum, February 11, 1985, no. 1. Cf. Leo XIV, Apost. Exhort. Dilexi te, 4-X-2025, nos. 49-52: Caring for the sick.

[10] Letter of Polycarp, VI.

[11] First Letter of St. Clement of Rome on Virginity, XII, 2.4.6. In reality, the letter is not his, since it dates from the third century. But in any case it retains great testimonial value.

[12] He mentions the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate in this context, who “wrote that the sole aspect of Christianity which had impressed him was the Church's charitable activity. He thus considered it essential for his new pagan religion that, alongside the system of the Church's charity, an equivalent activity of its own be established. According to him, this was the reason for the popularity of the ‘Galileans.’ They needed now to be imitated and outdone. In this way, then, the Emperor confirmed that charity was a decisive feature of the Christian community, the Church” (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus caritas est, no. 24).

[13] It is interesting to note that when Spain began its task of evangelization in the newly discovered lands of America, it very soon began to establish universities and hospitals, convinced of the importance of these services.

Between 1500 and 1550, some 25 hospitals were built in the new lands, following the mandate of Queen Isabella: “Build hospitals in the towns where you see it necessary, so that both Christians and Indians may be cared for and healed” (cf. Roca Barea, M.E., Imperiofobia y leyenda negra, Ed. Siruela, León 2021, 30th ed., p. 306).

[14] We can also point to the recent examples of so many priests and nuns who died in 2020-21 from COVID-19, infected while caring for the sick.

[15] John Paul II, Motu proprio Dolentium hominum, February 11, 1985, no.1.

[16] Francis, Message for World Day of the Sick, 2025.

[17] Cf. Fabricio Liborio, Alle origini della bioetica. La medicina pastorale: autori, testi e principali temi, Cittadella Editrice, Assisi 2020.

[18] In 1985, Pope Saint John Paul II created the Pontifical Commission for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, and in 1992 he established the celebration of the World Day of the Sick for the whole Church. These initiatives have gradually taken root in local churches, giving pastoral care in health a distinctive character. Reflecting this concern are, since 1985, the journal Dolentium hominum, published in the Vatican (until 2016), as well as the international conferences that began to be held in Rome in 1986 and that address, in an interdisciplinary manner and at the highest scientific level, the pastoral challenges that bioethics poses to the Magisterium of the Church (AIDS, depression, cancer, palliative care, drug addiction, alcoholism, etc.). Cf. Monge, M.A., Enfermos, Pastoral de los, in Diccionario General de Derecho canónico, by Otaduy – Viana – Sedano, Ed. Thomson Aranzadi, Pamplona 2013.

[19] It should be noted that St. Josemaría lived with various illnesses, but never considered himself a sick person. This is an interesting distinction: the sick person is the one who is bedridden, the one who needs help. We all have illnesses and treatments, and we go about our lives more or less normally, without needing special help. St. Josemaría did not consider these people to be sick, nor did he consider himself to be sick.

In any case, regarding his medical history, cf. Javier Echevarría, Memoria del beato Josemaría, Rialp, Madrid 2000, pp. 27-42; Martínez Caro, D. and Cantero Fariña, A., ¡Santificado sea el dolor! Aspectos médicos de la biografía de san Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer: in Monge, M.A., San Josemaría y los enfermos, Palabra, Madrid 2004, pp. 17-48.

[20] We have discussed this in Monge, M.A., El encuentro con el dolor en la enseñanza de san Josemaría Escrivá, in AA. VV ,El cristiano en el mundo. En el centenario del nacimiento del Beato Josemaría Escrivá (1902-2002), Eunsa, Pamplona 2003, pp. 535-544.

[21] Cf. Vázquez de Prada, A., The Founder of Opus Dei, II, p. 648. That is why he recommended: “When you are ill, offer up your sufferings with love, and they will turn into incense rising up in God’s honor and making you holy” (The Forge, no. 791).

[22] Cf. the entry on Enfermedad (Illness) by Monge, M. A., in Diccionario de san Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, Ed. Monte Carmelo, Burgos 2013, pp. 372-376.

[23] Words taken from a family gathering, in Crónica 1973, p. 341, in AGP, Library T01.

[24] Words taken from a family gathering, March 19, 1975, in Crónica 1999-I, p. 203, in AGP, Library T01.

[25] The Way, 98.

[26] Intimate Notes, no. 731, dated May 20, 1932, cf. Vázquez de Prada, A., The Founder of Opus Dei, I, p. 324.

[27] The Way, no. 419.

[28] See Las visitas de san Josemaría a los enfermos, realizadas desde el Patronato de Enfermos: San Josemaría Escrivá entre los enfermos de Madrid (1927-1931), published in Studia et Documenta, Rome, 2008, vol. 2, pp. 147-203.

[29] Intimate Notes, no. 360, October 29, 1931: quoted in Vázquez de Prada, V., The Founder of Opus Dei, I, p. 324.

[30] Vázquez de Prada, A., The Founder of Opus Dei, III, p. 470. This predilection for the sick appears frequently in his writings, which also reflects how he meditated on the Gospel: “You spoke about the scenes in the life of Jesus which moved you most: when he met men suffering greatly… when he brought peace and health to those whose bodies and souls were racked with pain… You were inspired — you went on — seeing him cure leprosy, restore sight to the blind, heal the paralytic at the pool: the poor beggar forgotten by everybody. You are able to contemplate Him as He was, so profoundly human, so close at hand! —Well… Jesus continues being the same as then.” (Furrow, 233).

[31] St. Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, 3, 12.

[32] Vázquez de Prada, A., op. cit., I, p. 336. Bishop Javier Echevarría recalled some words he heard directly from St. Josemaría, which, in my opinion, summarize what we are trying to say here: “Suffering in Opus Dei, if we live the spirit that our Lord has wanted for us, becomes love, and a love with joy. Don’t forget this, when time passes, and I will have gone to give an account to God. You will be able tell your brothers that you heard me say that when suffering comes, we love it, we bless it, and we turn it into a means of giving glory to God, always with joy, which does not mean it isn’t hard. When illness comes, we must love it, and we must know how to sanctify it because it is the ‘professional work’ that our Lord places in our hands at such times” (Javier Echevarría, Memoria del Beato Josemaría, Rialp, Madrid 2000, p. 39).

[33] “The sick are our jewels, the treasure of the Work.” Words of St. Josemaría in a family gathering on March 17, 1972: in Crónica 1999-I, p. 204.

[34] Sastre, A, Tiempo de caminar, Rialp, Madrid 2002, p. 127.

[35] Cf. Rodríguez, P., The Way. Critical-historical edition, commentary on point 99.

[36] Words taken from a get-together, March 17, 1972, in Crónica, VII 1973, p. 13, in AGP, Library T01.

[37] Sastre, A., o. c., p. 110.

[38] St. Gregory Nazianzen, Epistle 36. That is why “the Church encompasses with love all who are afflicted with human suffering and in the poor and afflicted sees the image of its poor and suffering Founder. It does all it can to relieve their need and in them it strives to serve Christ” (Vatican II, Const. Lumen Gentium, no. 8).

[39] In Ioannis Evangelium tractatu, 7, 12.

[40] The Way, 706.

[41] Friends of God, no. 124.

[42] This is stated, for example, in a contract signed in 2025 by the University of Navarra with the science and technology company Merck, and the Humana Foundation, for the launch of a program to make healthcare more human. In this vein, it may be interesting to note the reason for the name change of the Food, Cleaning, and Laundry Service of the University of Navarra Hospital to the Hospitality Service. As the head of that department explained: “The Hospitality Service seeks to welcome and care for everyone, setting an example that serves as inspiration to humanize everyone’s work, which in turn has a cascading effect on the patient. For this reason, the name Hospitality more fully reflects what this service does” (cf. Noticias CUN, June 4, 2025).

[43] Life of St. Camillus, in Liturgy of the Hours, III, p. 1376.

[44] Words taken from a family gathering, November 1, 1964, in Cronica, January 1966, VII, p. 12, in AGP Library T01.

[45] Words taken from a family gathering, March 17, 1972, in Cronica, 1973, VII, p. 13, in AGP, Library T01.

[46] “Such closeness is a precious balm that provides support and consolation to the sick in their suffering. As Christians, we experience that closeness as a sign of the love of Jesus Christ, the Good Samaritan, who draws near with compassion to every man and woman wounded by sin. United to Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be merciful like the Father and to love in particular our frail, infirm and suffering brothers and sisters (cf. Jn 13:34-35)” (Francis, Message for the 29th World Day of the Sick, February 11, 2021.

[47] Herranz, G., Sin miedo a la vida y sin miedo a la muerte, in Monge, M.A., San Josemaría y los enfermos, Palabra, Madrid, p. 104.

[48] Words taken from a meditation, February 28, 1963, published in Crónica, 1967-I, p. 72, in AGP, Library T01.

[49] Urbano, Pilar, El hombre de Villa Tevere, pp. 235-36.

[50] As Karl Barth, a Protestant theologian, once said: “Man is a relational being, with the other (the world), others (men and women) and the OTHER (God),” And when a person falls sick, that openness is even more accentuated. Therefore illness, although it carries the risk of egocentrism and tyranny over others, can also be a wonderful opportunity to discover with gratitude our need for others and to value this relationship and help.

[51] On March 15, 2025, Pope Francis, after being admitted to the Gemelli Hospital, sent this text for the Angelus the following day: “I am going through a period of trial and I join many brothers and sisters who are sick and fragile at this moment, like me. Our bodies are weak, but even so, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being there for one another, in faith, as shining signs of hope.”

[52] Friends of God, no. 124.

[53] Francis, Message for the XXIV World Day of the Sick, 2016.