MEDICAL,NURSING AND THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND TO THE WORLD DAY OF THE SICK 

Sunday  11^th   February 2007  ,  the  liturgical  feast day  of  Our Lady  of Lourdes will also be the fifteenth   World Day  of  the  Sick  of  the  Catholic Church.  Each year, since the institution of the World  Day of the  Sick by Pope  John  Paul II  in 1992 , a papal message has been delivered and a country and  an  appropriate  theme has been selected to host the event for the universal Catholic Church internationally. In  2007 the World Day of the Sick will be hosted by Seoul, Korea  focusing on ‘The Spiritual and Pastoral Care of the Patients with Incurable Illnesses’.

The World Day of the Sick recognizes that we are physical, psychological, emotional and  spiritual beings and that our spirituality is of significant importance to our whole being or state of health. .A definition of Spirituality by the Royal College of Psychiatrists states:

'In healthcare ,spirituality is identified with experiencing a deep seated sense of meaning and purpose in life,together with a sense of belonging.It is about acceptance,integration and wholeness' 

'According to one definition "The spiritual dimension tries to be in harmony with the universe,strives for answers about the infinite, and comes especially into focus in times of emotional stress, physical and mental illness, loss, bereavement and death" This desire for wholeness of being is not an intellectual attainment ,for it is no less present in people with learning disability, but lies in the essence of what it means to be human .'

From the spiritual perspective, a distinction can be made between cure, or relief of symptoms, and healing of the whole person. Life  is a perpetual journey of discovery and development, during which maturity is often gained through adversity.The relief of suffering  remains a primary aim of health care,but it is by no means the whole story'

(http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk) 

Anyone who has been to Lourdes must have some appreciation that illness is not just a physical event –that physical illness in fact   also affects us psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. Mental Illness likewise can psychosomatically produce signs and symptoms of physical ill health –the body  , mind and soul in fact function as one. To be at Lourdes is to recognize that   people of many languages, colours and cultural backgrounds can be united in a singular belief in the existence of God and the power of Our Lady to care and intervene where human suffering exists. Miracles may be performed or there may be an inner conversion to accept what cannot be changed or as St Augustine of Hippo is quoted to have said ’Thou has made us for Thyself’ to learn to recognize the existence of God and to come face to face with one’s own spirituality at a deeper level. The manifestation of faith at Lourdes reflects spiritual belief of the global Church  body of people and supports recognition that St Augustine’s belief in the  innateness of spiritual belief has not been not erased by the scientific enlightenment of recent centuries or contemporary existentialism or post modern destructuralism. The 20^th century  molecular geneticist Dean Hamer in ‘The God Gene:How Faith is Hardwired into our Genes’ 2005 states confidently that ‘spirituality is one of our basic human inheritances’.

 Pope John Paul stated in his first message for the World Day of the Sick hosted at the shrine of Our Lady in Lourdes ‘The Christian community has always paid particular attention to the sick and the world of suffering in its multiple manifestations.. This day, which, beginning in February 1993, will be celebrated every year on the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes, for all believers .’.to be ‘a special time of prayer and sharing, .....On the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes, ….in spiritual communion with the whole Church’ Pope John Pauls inaugural letter for the First World Day of the Sick reached out to those afflicted or suffering ill health ,to health care workers and chaplains of spiritual care to the sick::

‘To you, dear sick people all over the world, the main actors of this World Day, may this event bring the announcement of the living and comforting presence of the Lord. Your sufferings, accepted and borne with unshakeable faith, when joined to those of Christ take on extraordinary value for the life of the Church and the good of humanity.

For you, health-care workers called to the highest, most meritorious and exemplary testimony of justice and love, may this Day be a renewed spur to continue in your delicate service with generous openness to the profound values of the person, to respect for human dignity, and to defence of life, from its beginning to its natural close.

For you, Pastors of the Christian people, and to all the different members of the Church community, for volunteers, and particularly for those engaged in the health-care ministry, may this World Day of the Sick offer stimulus and encouragement to go forward with fresh dedication on the way of service to tried, suffering humanity.’

Subsequent World Days of the Sick have been hosted in 1994 Czestochowa, Poland, 1995 Cote D’Ivoire  Africa, 1996 Mexico City, Mexico, 1997 Fatima ,Portugal, 1998 Loreto, Italy, 1999 Beirut, Lebanon, 2000  Rome, Italy, 2001Sydney ,Australia, 2002VailanKanny, India , 2003Washington DC,USA,  2004 Lourdes,France 2005 Yaounde, Cameroon,Africa, and 2006 Adelaide Australia.

Pope Benedict XVI has continued the World Day of the Sick established by his predecessor and in his  message for the World Day of the Sick 2006 in Adelaide focusing on ‘Mental health and human dignity ‘states ‘ I would here like to address myself to you, dear brothers and sisters burdened by illness, so as to invite you to offer your condition of suffering, together with Christ, to the Father, certain that every ordeal received with resignation is meritorious and draws the benevolence of God upon the whole of mankind. I express my appreciation to those who help and care for you in residential centres, day hospitals and wards providing diagnosis and treatment, and I exhort them to strive to ensure that medical, social and pastoral assistance for those in need which respects the dignity specific to every human being is never absent. The Church, in particular through the work of chaplains, will not fail to offer you her own help, being well aware that she is called to express the love and care of Christ for those who suffer and for those who look after them. I commend pastoral workers and voluntary associations and organisations to support – in practical forms and through practical initiatives’.

Much contemporary nursing and medicine is historically rooted in the corporal works of mercy administered by religious institutions to those in need .Scientific advances improve the quality of life and life expectancy but do so in a  move to more secularised healthcare care within a fragmented individualistic society where religious belief still exists but is often ignored.If healthcare delivery is not responsive to spiritual needs  the service provided will never recognize or completely heal the holistic needs of the person..  Pope John Paul’s final World Day of the Sick Message in 2005 stated the ‘"World Day of the Sick aims to stimulate reflection on the subject of health". This message is still relevant if we are to influence the type of health care we practice or expect to receive-The World Day of the Sick is not only for those working in healthcare ministries –it is relevant to all Catholics.    

                                             Mary Farnan Archdiocese of Birmingham Catholic Today February  2007