El Padre J.C. Aguirre

The Fruits of our Illnesses

 At the beginning of Lent, many of our faithful received the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick during all weekend masses. Though the Anointing is ordinarily administered in the homes, hospitals and care centers where the sick are present, it is important that as family we gather at least twice a year to humbly witness those who seek for our intercession and support in their illness.

 We pray for and with those who are sick at mass, home and in any opportunity we have. We visit and contact our loved ones, especially those who are sick. When we are ill we enjoy the love, support and prayers of those around us.

 When we are sick, we might feel useless. However, our faith teaches us that it is then that we are speaking the words of the Gospel with our whole being. Jesus came to bring comfort to the sick and in them he showed the Father’s Glory. But I have been thinking about the importance of “being sick” in our faith experience. Sickness and illness have an important value in the life of the Christian.

 During his Message for the World Day of the Sick 2007, Pope Benedict XVI said, “I encourage you to contemplate the sufferings of Christ crucified, and, in union with him, to turn to the Father with complete trust that all life, and your lives in particular, are in his hands. Trust that your sufferings, united to those of Christ, will prove fruitful for the needs of the Church and the world. I ask the Lord to strengthen your faith in his love, especially during these trials that you are experiencing. It is my hope that, wherever you are, you will always find the spiritual encouragement and strength needed to nourish your faith and bring you closer to the Father of Life. Through her priests and pastoral workers, the Church wishes to assist you and stand at your side, helping you in your hour of need, and thus making present Christ’s own loving mercy towards those who suffer.”

 I was moved by these words then as I am moved by these words now. The important thing for us to reflect upon is that the Holy Father encourages those who are extremely ill to “Trust that their sufferings, united to those of Christ, will prove fruitful for the needs of the Church and the world.” We usually do not associate “fruitfulness” with “illness.” The reason why our sufferings are fruitful is because, united to Christ on the Cross, our sufferings become his. If the Church’s work is to unite people to Christ, then the Church seeks to prepare those who are already united to Christ in suffering be cared for and by the Church to sustain them in that union.  When we suffer, we are as united as we can get to Jesus on the Cross.

 What makes illness most valuable is that for the most part is an “unfair” experience: Nobody deserves to be sick. When we are ill, we are innocent. When Jesus suffered on the Cross He was innocent and did not deserve it either.

 Every week in our parish bulletin we include a list of those who are sick, serving in the military or in need of prayer. I encourage you to pray for the sick and those in need. Not only should we pray for their prompt recovery, but we should also pray that they may see how Christ is at work with them during those moments of suffering. Whether we suffer a grave illness or are taken hostage by the flu; we should not waste such opportunity to experience in our lives a little bit of the Love of Christ. We can think about it this way: “God the Father has allowed me to be ill that I may experience in my flesh and mind, what His only Son Experience in his. Praise be the Lord for such love that we finds us worthy to share in his life.

 Fr. J.C. Aguirre