May 20 Wed
What should I do when I fall sick?
St Josemaría was seriously ill. He, faithful to God's grace, rose to the occasion, cultivating an abandonment into the hands of God. “Night would come, and I used to say: ‘Lord, I don't know whether I'll get up tomorrow. I thank you for whatever remaining span of life you may want to give me, and I am happy to die in your arms; I hope in your mercy.’ In the morning, upon awakening, the first thought would be the same.”
Then, on a feast of the Blessed Virgin of Montserrat, our Lord took away a large part of that cross from his shoulders.
On one occasion, someone noticed the discomfort that the continual injections must have been causing him. St. Josemaría answered: “Don't worry, I have offered up these discomforts for the souls in Purgatory."
With this supernatural outlook and a total abandonment in God, he lived on. The prolonged physical pain, along with the moral suffering he underwent from the time of his youth, all served to draw him closer to God.
At times, years of suffering should be for us a school on how to accept an illness, when our Lord allows it in our lives to purify us and make us worthier of his love. If, at some time, physical pain comes our way, we should recognize in it the loving hand of Jesus.
To draw all the fruit our Lord expects from these periods of suffering, we need to receive them with supernatural outlook. “The sick people are our jewels, the treasure of the house. With what joy they bear their illnesses! When our turn comes, if we have been humble, God will help us, and we won't be troublesome. We will be the joy of the place where we are. We will be the strength of the other. We will be a great manifestation of the Love of God and of love for God."
It's always necessary to be sincere, also at those times. “To be unwell and to be silent is not good spirit. You have to talk about it so that the appropriate remedies may be applied quickly. Speak up straightaway, my children. That's the right way to go."
The teaching is clear. We should never lose our joy in the face of illness. Rather, these situations must lead us to increase our trust in our Father God, to abandon ourselves in his hands in the certainty that, come what may in our lives, it is for our spiritual and eternal good: Omnia in bonum! As St Josemaría wrote: “Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism; nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right.”
It is an optimism that sinks its roots in an awareness of our freedom, and in the sure knowledge of the power of grace. It is an optimism that leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God's calls.