Jan 31 Fri
As a Christian, should I take care of my health?
We have the duty of looking after our health to serve God. Life is a gift from God, that we want to spend in his service. And the same goes for our health. Thus, good health is something to be appreciated. But at the same time, we should not be over-concerned about our health. And we obey the physician’s indications.
We should use all available means to prevent anyone from becoming physically exhausted due to work or other causes. Such physical exhaustion often leads to a psychological breakdown and saps the vital energy necessary for the interior struggle. God's grace ordinarily counts on our natural strength.
We must look after ourselves in all the ways dictated by common sense. However, we are also called to exercise detachment as to bodily health. If we fulfill the norms of prudence and nevertheless fall ill, then we offer that illness up to God. We must always be ready to bear what He wants, with all patience and joy. In the end, only God gives healing, life, and blessing.
Besides taking care of ourselves we must also ask God for good health. St Augustine writes: “If God knows that it is useful for you, He will grant it to you. If He does not give it to you, it is because it is better for you not to have it."
If God permits an illness - whether prolonged or merely passing - we must accept it and be thankful, because it is a means of purification. As St Gregory the Great says: “Illness shows us our weakness and restores the soul; it purifies it from sins committed in the past and keeps us from sins we could commit. Physical suffering makes us silent and patient, reminds us of our guilt, and draws our attention to all the evil we have done. And so, when we suffer in our body, we have even greater sorrow for our sins. Through the wound of the body, the hidden wound of the heart is purified all the more."
St. Josemaría: “When physical pain can be removed, it should be. There are enough sufferings in life! And when we cannot get rid of it, we offer it up."
“We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of being sick. What I ask of God is that he keeps me in good health until half an hour before I die. There is so much to be done; we need to be fit and well to work for God. That is why you must look after yourselves, so that you die very old, squeezed out like a lemon, accepting God's will as of now."
When we are sick, what a marvelous opportunity it gives us to accept all the care that others offer us, and doing whatever they tell us to do. And what a chance to be grateful for their love. They never hesitate to go out of their way to look after someone who is ill, since they know that a sick person is the treasure of the house.
Illness is another chance to abandon and give ourselves into God’s loving hands.
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