The 30th World Day of the Sick will be celebrated on 11 February 2022. In keeping with tradition, Pope Francis has sent a message of consolation, support and closeness on the occasion of this day. "Be merciful, as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36). Standing beside those who suffer on a path of charity, this is the theme proposed for reflection and deepening.

In the difficult health situation, the number of people suffering physically, spiritually and mentally has increased. Physical suffering can be alleviated by medical treatment; spiritual suffering can be alleviated by the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and psychological suffering can be alleviated by psychological therapies.

Sickness and the sick have always been seen as weaknesses, as vulnerability. However, if we use the image of the "Mystical Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12-31), referring to the weak or diseased limbs, we discover that the other limbs contribute to the healing of the sufferer. The most apt example is that of a blind person, who perfects his other senses to compensate his lack of sight.

The disease, if treated in time, does not worsen either for the sufferer or for those responsible for his care. The motto "better to prevent than to treat" is the driving force for a healthy life in all three spheres: physical, spiritual and mental.

On the last day of the course, before graduation, a professor took the stage to teach a final lesson he called a vital lesson on the power of perspective and mindset. As he raised a glass of water over his head, the professor asked the crowd: "- How heavy do you think this glass of water is in my hand?" The students shouted out a few answers - from a few grams to a few pounds. After a few moments of choral responses in which the professor shook his head at them all, he tried to be quiet and continued, "- From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass is irrelevant. It depends on how much I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it's pretty light. If I hold it for an hour straight, the weight of it might numb my arm. If I hold it for a whole day, my arm will probably "collapse", feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to put the glass down. In each of these cases, the absolute weight of the glass bottle doesn't change, but the longer I hold the glass, the heavier it feels to me. Worries, frustrations, disappointments and stressful thoughts are very similar to this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing drastic happens. Think about them for longer and you will feel to feel pain. Think about them all day and you feel completely numb and paralyzed, unable to do anything else until you get rid of them.

If traumas, disorders, problems, illnesses are allowed to develop, without taking action against them, numbness of body, soul and psyche will result, and methods of recovery will take longer. If, on the other hand, concrete steps are taken to prevent and manage them correctly, the effects will be beneficial in the long run.

«One twentieth-century philosopher suggests a reason for this: “Pain isolates in an absolute way, and absolute isolation gives rise to the need to appeal to the other, to call out to the other” (E. Lévinas, "Une éthique de la souffrance", in Souffrances. Corps et ame, épreuves partagées, edited by J.-M. von Kaenel, Autrement, Paris 1994, pp. 133-135). When individuals experience frailty and suffering in their own flesh as a result of illness, their hearts become heavy, fear spreads, uncertainties multiply, and questions about the meaning of what is happening in their lives become all the more urgent. »  In each of the above areas we have capable people to ask the right questions, to present the crisis we are going through, to expect answers and help from.

Author: Gr. Gabriel Cochiorca, Cathedral “Divine Providence”, Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova