Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

Fr. Platt on World Day of the Sick

Father William F. Platt, pastor of the Parish of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes, delivered the following talk to members of the Order of Malta to prepare them for the World Day of the Sick, which this year is observed on February 11. The observance was introduced by Pope John Paul II as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses.

When first asked to share my thoughts on the topic of “What can I do as an individual to participate in the World Day of the Sick beyond attending Mass?” I, of course, went to the obvious, “visit the sick.” As a corporal work of mercy, it is familiar to us as members of the Order of Malta. It is part of our culture, everything from referring to our “beloved malades,” to the very nature of the order to “care for the poor and the sick. It is what motivates and sustains us. We often speak of having received more from caring for the ill, than we feel we have given. It is especially true for those of us who have had the blessing to make the Lourdes Pilgrimage.

Things have changed during the age of COVID. Even our ability to visit freely in hospitals and nursing homes has changed. Many institutions are not permitting visitation by Eucharistic Ministers, or other pastoral visiting. Without this ability, my thoughts went back to the topic, “what then can I do on the World Day of the Sick?” if the obvious isn’t possible.

Perhaps what we can do for the World Day of the Sick, is to pray for our own wounded hearts as well as the hearts of others. To seek out spiritual companions to bring healing to our souls. We in the Order tend to be very comfortable in giving to those in need, being the strength for others, are we willing to admit our own deep and profound vulnerability and weakness, allowing God to be our only strength. Are we willing to allow others, our spiritual companions, to minister to us?

One of my favorite biblical passages is from the Gospel of Mark. Mark 2:1-12. “When Jesus returned some days later to Capernaum, the word quickly spread that he was at home. Such large multitudes gathered there, that no longer was any space available, even in front of the door, and he was preaching to them. Some people arrived, bringing to him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. Since they were unable to bring him near Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above him and then lowered the bed on which the paralyzed man was lying. On perceiving their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man,” Son, your sins are forgiven.” Further on in the passage Jesus also heals the paralytic of his physical infirmity.

Imagine witnessing this event. Men carrying their paralyzed friend to a roof top, opening the roof and carefully lowering him down in front of the Lord. And the scripture tells us that when “Jesus perceived THEIR faith,” he both forgave his sins and healed his paralysis. It doesn’t say, “His Faith,” it says “Their Faith.”

Sometimes our hearts may be so very wounded by hardship or trauma that we become paralyzed with fear. We need others to lower us to the feet of the Lord for healing. We can’t do it for ourselves, we need others to do it for us. We need them to be our Faith, when our Faith is bruised and battered. And our friends will open the roof, and lower us for healing.

At the time of 9/11, I was a hospital chaplain at Greenwich Hospital, in Greenwich. The chaplains did a course of study called CISM—Critical Incident Stress Management. It teaches how to debrief people after a traumatic event. Trauma is considered any event that calls into question our commonly held beliefs, dramatically and suddenly changing our lives. The hope is that in debriefing people, they may avoid Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A key element is that the one doing the debriefing was not involved in the traumatic event itself.

What then with the effects of the pandemic? We thank God for heroic men and women who have served and continue to serve on the front lines of this traumatic event. They have put their own psychic, and physical wellness “on the line,” for us. We thank God for the strength he provides when our own spiritual resources may be slim. And finally we thank God for our spiritual companions who “open the roof,” for us to experience the healing love of God.

However, the whole world has been traumatized by the last two years—people dying long before what would be expected, supply chains disrupted, economies shaken, travel limited, long periods of isolation, political acrimony, uncertainty about the future. Most commonly held beliefs were thrown into question quickly, suddenly changing our lives. No one was exempted the world over—whether in China, or Italy, the Philippines or Ecuador, the United States or Russia—the entire world over. Christian and Moslem, Jew and Buddhist, all have known this cross. No one untouched.

This shared cross can be a profound entryway to global solidarity, religious unity and racial equality. We all have walked a similar path. It is also a gift to us as members of the Order of Malta as we approach the World Day of the Sick. Together, we have experienced the isolation and fear that accompanies illness. We can now minister to and pray for the sick with an entirely different perspective—as Jesus called his disciples to have “new eyes and new ears.” Pious encounters, though beautiful and necessary, pale in comparison to truly journeying with our brothers and sisters experiencing illness and disease. We have walked a similar path. Answers to suffering seem less important than truly suffering with another human being—regardless of national citizenship, religious faith or racial identity. We have become more fully Catholic—universal.

This World Day of the Sick, we ask God to be the balm for our wounds, we ask our brothers and sisters to be the ones to carry us when paralyzed by fear or doubt, and pray that a shared cross may lead to world peace. Perhaps this is what we may do on this World Day of the Sick in addition to attending Mass.

Hail holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then most gracious advocate thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us.