Cardinal Clancy's Homily The World Day of the Sick - 2001

We live, still, in the glow of the Great Jubilee, mingling now, however, with the dawning of the New Millennium. John Paul has reviewed the blessings of the Year of the Great Jubilee in his Apostolic Letter . In that Letter he recognizes the great flowering of Jubilee exercises and initiatives that took place in dioceses and parishes throughout the world, but he devotes his reflections to the events that took place in Rome, or of which he was personally and immediately involved. All of these, of course, had universal significance.

He recalls the apology on behalf of all the Church for the wrongs committed by her sons and daughters over the centuries – what he calls the purification of the Church’s memory. He recalls the witness given by so many martyrs in our own times; the pilgrim nature of the Jubilee Year as manifested by so many pilgrimages, especially of the youth, to Rome and the tombs of the Apostles; the Eucharistic Congress; the ecumenical occasions and events; and his own memorable pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He finds in the Holy Year; with all its activities the world-over, a dramatic expression of the presence, the mystery, the face of Christ. Calling to mind the words that certain Greek pilgrims addressed to the Apostle Philip, "We wish to see Christ", the Holy Father asks, "And is it not the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical person, to make his face shine also before the generations of the new millennium?" Christ is our all, he is "our way, our truth, and our life", all things are gathered together in him, we are all united with him and with one another as members of the one mystical body.

This total absorption and incorporation into Christ whereby he becomes our be-all and end-all, our alpha and omega, is the consistent theme of today’s readings. The prophet, Isaiah in the first reading speaks lyrically of the Savior who is to come: "The people that walked in darknesshas seen a great light;on those who live in a land of deep shadowa light has shone …For there is a child born for us,A son given to us…" (Is 9,1-6) To the words of Isaiah we find a beautiful echo in those of St. Paul writing to the Ephesians: "Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved" (1,1-6) In the Gospel Christ himself seizes the occasion to confirm this truth when reference is made to his mother and relatives: "Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother" (Mk 12,50)

Pope John Paul, having brought us, through his reflections on the Jubilee, face to face with Christ, now invites us with and in Christ to face the future and respond to its invitation and it challenge. He quotes the words of Christ to face the future and respond to its invitation and its challenge. He quotes the words of Christ in St, Matthew’s Gospel: " I am with you always, to the close of the age" (28,20). "This assurance, dear brothers and sisters", the Pope says, "has accompanied the Church for 2000 years, and has now been renewed in our hearts by the celebration of the Jubilee. From it we must gain a new impetus in Christian living, making it the force which inspires our journey of faith. Conscious of the risen Lord’s presence among us, we ask ourselves today the same question put to Peter in Jerusalem after his Pentecost speech, "What must we do?" (Acts 2,37)

The Holy Father points out that it is not a matter of inventing a new programme. There is in fact only one programme, and that is the programme of the Gospel and the Church’s tradition having its centre in Christ himself. "This is a programme", he says, "which does not change with shifts of times and cultures, even though it takes account of time and culture for the sake of true dialogue and effective communication. This programme for all times is our programme for the Third Millennium". What does await us, however, "is an exciting work of revitalization - a work involving all of us". He goes on to indicate certain priorities, such as holiness, prayer, the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, grace and the revealed Word of God. He places special emphasis on charity, especially that of koinonia or communion, and the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. Just as Christ bade Peter cast the net yet again where all night he had laboured without success, so, the Holy Father bids us with faith and courage, and not disconcerted by past disappointments, to undertake this new work of revitalizing the Church of the New Millennium. It is the Christ of the Great Jubilee who leads us.

The Pope stresses that all the baptized without exception are called upon to participate zealously in this new and blessed enterprise. In doing so he draws attention to St. Paul’s teaching about the unity and diversity of the Church as illustrated in the human body – one head but many members. "Therefore", the Pope says, "the Church of the Third Millennium will need to encourage all the Baptized and Confirmed to be aware of their active responsibility in the Church’s life".

The Pontifical World Day of the Sick at this point occasions us to ask where the sick and their carers stand in this new initiative of revitalization. By the sick and afflicted we mean all of those who suffer, either by reason of disease – be it physical or mental – or by reason of the frailties and incapacities of advancing years. We mean both those who are permanently afflicted and those who suffer periodically, those who suffer severely and those whose sufferings are perhaps slight.

One thing is certain. In the providential scheme of things, the sick are not just an unfortunate minority, the legacy of Original Sin and something of a burden to a Church striving, not withstanding, to build up the Kingdom of God. They are not to be thought of as negative factor in the Church’s mission. This can be deduced simply from the numbers of people involved. And who, after all, is not sick at least sometimes? More importantly, however, it can be deducted from the prominence of the sick and afflicted in the earthly mission of Jesus. Much of his time was spent in curing the sick. "His fame spread throughout Syria, and those who were suffering from diseases and painful complaints of one kind or another, the possessed, epileptics, the paralysed, were all brought to him, and he cured them." (Mt. 4,24)

Suffering is the key to the significance of the sick in the works of redemption and salvation. Christ’s work in relieving suffering was symbolic of his forgiveness of sin. "He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases for us." (Is 53,4) But, more than that, he chose suffering for himself as the means of our redemption. Those who patiently suffer are united with Christ our Savior in a unique and privileged way. St. Paul was well aware of this: "It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that still needs to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church" (Col 1,24). Speaking of those who suffer, in his message for this Day, the Holy Father says: "I invite them to contemplate with faith the mystery of Christ crucified and risen, in order to discover God’s loving plan in their own experience of pain. Only by looking at Jesus, ‘a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief’ (Is 53,3), is it possible to find serenity and trust.’" The sick and the suffering, intimately united as they are with Christ, are, through their suffering, active and, indeed, key ministers of the new evangelization. Suffering is sanctified in faith.

And if those who suffer become one with Christ, so do their carers. They continue Christ’s mission in bringing solace, compassion, relief and encouragement to the sick, and sometimes working human miracles by their skill. Above all does it fall to them in this technological age to bring that personal warmth and love that embraces fellow human beings as children of God and heirs to the kingdom of heaven, and recognizes Christ himself in the sick. "I was sick", Jesus said, "and you visited me" (Mt 25,35)

Suffering, and caring for the suffering, are two parallel and mutually dependent apostolates that draw their nourishment directly from the Gospel, and make Christ present in our world as do few others. They are both destined to play a central role in breathing new life into the Church of the new millennium.

The Church in Australia enjoys an enviable record in terms of the health care apostolate. Very early after white settlement, and following the lifting of restrictions on the , Catholic hospitals began to appear in the major centres of population. This was mainly the initiative of the Religious Congregations. The excellence of the Church’s hospitals and other health care facilities has always been recognized by the wider community, and Australia’s doctors and nurses have been, and still are, among the best in the world. In recent years, however, the Church’s health care services have had to face problems of increasing magnitude – as have hospitals the world over. There has been a staggering increase in costs, fewer young people are taking up the nursing profession as a religious vocation, new life- threatening illnesses are taxing available resources, and the medical profession finds itself confronted with complex medico-moral problems on an almost daily basis. Such are the challenges that we have been discussing during these days.

With this Mass we address ourselves to God in prayer, thanking him, in the first place, for the divine assistance that has been our assurance in the past. We also pray that he will enlighten, strengthen and guide us as we meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities that now face us. Especially must we pray for religious vocations to the health care apostolate, for they will always have a major role to play. The Holy Father has stressed the priority of fervent prayer and close union with Christ as we move purposefully into the new millennium.

In our Catholic tradition Mary has always been recognized as the friend and patroness of the sick and the suffering in whom, especially, she sees the clear image of her divine son. Mother of us all, she has a special compassion for her children who are sick. We invoke her as Health of the Sick and Comforter of the Afflicted in the Litany of Loreto, and Mary has herself demonstrated her special compassion for the sick and afflicted at such places as Lourdes and Fatima. It follows that those who care for the sick also have a special place in her heart. It is entirely appropriate, therefore, that the World Day of the Sick should always be celebrated in association with a Marian shrine. Hence our Mass this afternoon in this beautiful Mother Church of Australia dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians.

Mindful that this Day is dedicated, not just to the sick in Australia, but to the sick throughout the world, we on this the Feast of entrust all sick people, together with their carers, to her maternal heart.