Visit to Sick Pilgrims (15 August 1983)

On Monday, 15 August 1983, the Holy Father visited sick pilgrims, whom he encouraged to remember the oblation of their sufferings. “The offering made for the love of God and our brothers, allows us to reach a degree, sometimes very high, of theological charity, namely, to lose ourselves in the love of Christ and the Holy Trinity in favor of humanity.”

My dear sick, suffering members of the Lord Jesus

1. It would be necessary to remind you that Jesus of Nazareth — before going up to Jerusalem to consummate, in the almost total abandonment of his people, his mysterious sacrifice of universal Redemption — gave, during his years of itinerant preaching, priority to afflicted people by suffering, both physical and moral? And the history of Christianity, often very clearly, has done nothing but illustrate this service to the sick and the poorest, initiated by its divine Founder. In turn, your country, France, saw so many hospital congregations emerge! How can we not mention the Daughters of Charity, established by Vincent de Paul, born in Landes, very close to here? How can we forget that Bernadette Soubirous joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction of Nevers, founded in the 17th century for small schools, visits to the poor and the sick, and service in hospitals? And the city of Lourdes, isn't it the place par excellence where the sick truly feel at home, as well as those who are healthy, with services and organizations fully adapted to them?

2. Suffering is always a reality, a reality of a thousand expressions. I think of the miseries caused by certain very unpredictable geological phenomena, of the moral misfortunes that multiply in a society that believes it is coming to an end. I think of all illnesses and diseases: some curable over time, others curable over time, others, unfortunately, still incurable. If suffering is objective, it is even more subjective, unique, in the sense that each person, whether afflicted or sick, reacts to the same suffering differently, sometimes very differently. It is the mystery of each person's imponderable sensitivity. And there are cases — in the secret domain of conscience — of people suffering uneasiness or remorse without any real basis.

3. In the face of all suffering, those who are healthy have a first duty: respect, sometimes even silence. Was it not Cardinal Pierre Veuillot, Archbishop of Paris, so quickly seized some fifteen years ago by an implacable illness that he asked the priests who visited him to speak of his suffering with great circumspection? Neither fair nor unfair, suffering continues, despite partial explanations, difficult to understand and difficult to accept even by those who have faith. This does not eliminate the pain. It unites it in an invisible way to that of Christ the Redeemer, the spotless Lamb, to be in complete solidarity with it, to give it another meaning, to sanctify in advance all the trials and death itself that would oppress the flesh and hearts of men, your brothers. "And so, through Christ and in Christ, the enigma of pain and death is clarified, which, outside of his Gospel, crushes us." This statement is taken from the admirable Constitution on the Church in the modern world ( Gaudium et spes , n.22). The prophet Isaiah, who we have just read, was right when he said to the people of his time: "Take courage, do not be afraid! Look, your God... comes in person to save you" ( Is . 35, 4). And Jesus was able to say with all truth: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" ( Mt. 11, 28).

4. Dear patients, I would like to leave in your minds and hearts three small thoughts that seem precious to me.

Firstly, whatever your suffering, whether physical or moral, personal or family, apostolic or even ecclesiastical, it is important that you become aware of it in a lucid way, without minimizing or increasing it, and with all the disturbances it causes in your life. your human sensitivity: setbacks, the uselessness of your life, etc.

Secondly, it is essential to progress on the path of acceptance. Yes, accepting reality, not with a more or less blind resignation, but because faith assures us that the Lord can and wants to bring good out of evil. How many, present here, could testify that the ordeal, accepted with faith, revived in them serenity, hope...! If the Lord wants to bring good from evil, He invites you to be as active as you can, despite illness, and if you are disabled, to make use of yourself, with the strengths and talents you have available, despite the illness. Those who surround you with their affection and help, and also the associations in which you participate, such as the Fraternities of the sick, seek precisely to make you love life , and develop it within yourself, while this is possible, as a gift from God.

Finally, the most beautiful gesture remains to be done: that of oblation . The offering made for the love of God and our brothers, allows us to reach a degree, sometimes very high, of theological charity, namely, to lose ourselves in the love of Christ and the Holy Trinity in favor of humanity. These three stages experienced by each of those who suffer, according to their rhythm and grace, will give them admirable inner liberation. Isn't this the paradoxical teaching transmitted by the evangelists: "...he who loses his life for my sake will find it" ( Mt 16, 25)? Is this not the evangelical attitude of abandonment, so deeply experienced by Bernadette of Lourdes and Teresa of Lisieux, sick for almost their entire lives? Dear Brothers and Sisters who suffer: return strengthened and renewed for your "special mission"! You are Christ's precious collaborators in the application, in time and space, of the Redemption that He acquired once for all and for the benefit of all humanity through the historical mysteries of His incarnation, His passion and His resurrection. And Mary, his Mother and your Mother, will always be with you!

5. Finally, allow me, in your name, and in the name of the Church, to thank and encourage the "Hospitality" of Lourdes , as well as the diocesan "Hospitality" of France and the other nations represented here. I evaluate the evangelical work and the merits of the lay people and priests committed to helping suffering pilgrims. Some, I know, sacrifice part or even all of their annual holidays to be wholeheartedly at your disposal. Dear chaplains, men and women religious, doctors and nurses, stretcher bearers and other helpers, be grateful for the call you once heard to offer your life for those who suffer. In your diocesan or regional meetings, continually deepen the spirituality and practice of your mission in the Church. Propose to many young people that they join you. Always remain united among yourselves, with the Catholic Fraternities of the sick that exist in almost all Dioceses, and of course with your Bishops.

I assure all of you of my particular esteem and I invoke copious "graces of state" for all members of the "Hospitalities" of Lourdes, France and the world!

In a few minutes, it is the Lord Himself who will bless the sick, in the Blessed Sacrament, which makes His sacrifice, the gift of His life and all His love present!

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