Pope Pius XII

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 21 | Number 2 Article 15-1-1954A Message to the Sick: His Holiness Pope Pius XII:Radio Message on the "Day of the Sick," February14 the Marian YearPope Pius XIIFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationPope Pius XII (1954) "A Message to the Sick: His Holiness Pope Pius XII: Radio Message on the "Day of the Sick," February 14 theMarian Year," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 21 : No. 2 , Article 1.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol21/iss2/1THE LINACR . QUARTERLY ..................................... .. ........................... ·-·-···························· MA y I ?He.iut9e ta t� Ste-, -;;u �otueua 'Pope �uea XIIWHEN last �eptember, in res_Ponse to the inspirations of graWe proclaimed the celebration of the Marian Year, and shoi y after, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, We Oursel ·s wished to inaugurate it in a solemn way from the brilliant Liber· n Basilica, by going there to lay Our petitions at the feet of her who is e "Salvation of the Roman people" and of all peoples, even then We\\ e thinking of you, beloved sons and daughters who are ill, you who n lay special claim to be among those closest to Our heart and soul. The Mother of God, indeed, bends over you with loving tendern , . eager to dry the tears of the afflicted who run to her maternal breas· s to a secure haven in the tempests. So also the Vicar of Christ re s upon you, the precious jewels of the Church of God and her powe il source of spiritual energy, for the realization in this holy year of 1e many and sorely needed blessings envisaged in our Encyclical "Fulg ts Corona" for the well-being of humanity and of the Church herself. This lively hope moves Us to address you today, with the inteni. · ·n of gathering all of you under the loving protection of our comr. ,n Mother, Mary Immaculate, of surrounding you with Our charity , id that of all the faithful who are praying for you, and of reminding , ,u of the mission to which Divine Providence has destined you in ) :1r sickness. Thanks to modern technology We are able to speak directly to m.· ny who are ill and We hope that We shall be able to reach in other \\, vs those who cannot hear Our voice. Certainly We would wish to h ,ve the omnipresence of God: We· would wish to draw near to each om of you, beloved sons and daughters, languishing in hospitals large ,,,id small, in sanatoriums, clinics, rest-homes, prisons, barracks, under , he desolate roofs of the poorest, or in rooms set apart in your homes. Lit.lie children with pale faces like flowers which grew without the warmth of the sun; young people whose rare smile expresses strength of soul rather than the fresh bloom of youth; middle-aged people, cruelly taken away from their usual active lives; the aged, to whose natural weariness sick­ness has added discomfort and suffering. THE LINACRE QUARTERLY 33 We have always begged Jesus to make Our heart in some way like His: a good heart, a meek heart, a heart open to all sufferings, to all pains. But how greatly would We wish to have some reflection of the omnipotence that is His! How We would desire to pass in the midst of you, drying tears, bringing comfort, healing wounds, giving back again strength. and health! We must content Ourselves with being in the midst of you in spirit. We linger beside infants as a mother would, beside parents trembling at the thought of having, perhaps, to leave their children orphans. And to each one We give Our blessing, praying the all-powerful God, our Loving Father, to grant, by means of it, whatever He judges suitable to the special plan of providence He has chosen for each one of you. And may the Lord grant that when this brief visit with you in spirit is over, each one of you may feel the good effects, spiritual and material, of Our affectionate blessing, as well as the comfort of the words We address to you with all Our heart. ( 1) Behold, We seem to see there in that hospital ward a youngman who is suffering and in his suffering is cursing. Once he was strong and handsome; he was the pride and joy of his parents, whose hearts are now breaking because they fear losing him, wasted away by a relentless disease. And the youth feels as if life were slipping away from him: farewell to heal�h. farewell to strength, to the surgings of hope, farewell to the plans cherished with boyish enthusiasm; farewell to love. ·And the young man rebels: "Why, why? Haven't I too a right to life?And can a good God let me suffer so, let me die? What evil haveI done?"How many are you, sons and daughters, how many of you havecontorted your features and raged with anger in your hearts and curseson your lips? To you especially would We wish to approach, to placeOur hand gently on your brow burning with fever. We would wish, inall tenderness, to whisper to each of you: soul in anguish, why do yourebel? Let fall on this dark mystery of suffering the rays of light whichcome from the cross of Jesus: What evil had He done? Look, over yourbed, perhaps in the hospital ward, there is a picture of the Madonna.. What evil had she done? Soul in desolation, because overwhelmed withsuffering, listen to this: Jesus and His Mother have suffered, certainlynot through their own fault, but willingly and in complete conformitywith the divine plan. Have you ever asked yourself why?It may be that you have done evil. Think back. Perhaps you haveoff ended God many times, in many ways. You know that a serious sinmerits for the soul eternal damnation; and you instead are still alive34 THE Ll:-IACRE QUARTERLY under the' merciful gaze of God, in the loving arms of Mary. If, the1 , the Lord is now punishing some sin of yours, you should not on the : account curse and debase yourself; you are not a slave, as it wer, punished by a cruel master, but a child of God, a Father Who wishe; not to take revenge, but to correct you. He wants you to say to Hirr : "I have sinned," in order to pardon you and restore to you the life c: the soul. Even if you had done no wrong, if you were innocent, still yo. should not rebel. As a matter of fact, the idea of punishment does no always explain suffering and human woes. Do you remember what i written in the Gospel? One day Jesus came upon a man born blind, anc after His disciples had slSked Him whether that man or his parents hac sinned, He replied: "Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, bu the works of God were to be made manifest in him." (John, 9,2-3) Even the misfortunes of the innocent, therefore, are a mysterious mani festation of the divine glory. Lest you be wearied by long reflections look at the Holy and Immaculate Mother: she holds in her lap tht lifeless body of her Divine Son. Could you possibly imagine that th( Sorrowful Mother would curse God? That she would ask the reasom for such suffering? We would not have been redeemed if that Mothe1 had not seen her Son die in torment, and there would not have been fo1 us any possibility of salvation. For all of you, dear children, who do not yet k�ow how to pronounce the "So be it" of resignation and patience, We invoke God's blessing, asking that He send a ray of His light into your souls, and that you may cease to contradict with your will His plan, His will, His work, that you may become convinced that His Divine Fatherhood is still loving and benevolent, even when He judges it necessary to make use of the bitter chalice of suffering. ( 2) Yet, it is not always thus, dear children. Not always do soulsrebel and curse under the weight of pain. There are, thanks to God, souls resigned to the divine will, serene, joyous souls; souls even that have positively sought out suffering. The story of one in particular We heard during the glorious Holy Year when Our children came to Us in extraordinary numbers from all parts of the world. There was a young woman, twenty years old, of humble origin, to · whom Our Lord had given great charm as well as innocence. Everyone felt her attractiveness, for about her radiated the fragrance of an unsullied life. But one day she grew fearful lest she become an occasion of sin, and becoming interiorly convinced of this, she went to re�eive Our Lord an1 in a burst of generosity asked Him to take away all her THE LINACRE QUARTERLY 35 beauty and even her health. God granted her prayer and accepted her offer for the salvation of souls. We know that she is still living, though burning and being consumed like a living flame before God's throne of justice and love. She does not curse, does not murmur. She does not ask God, "Why?" There is always a smile on her lips and within her soul she treasures abiding peace and joy. One should ask her why she accepts suffering, why she is happy in it, why she looked for sufferings. And the same question should be asked of thousands of other souls who offer themselves to God in silent holocaust. ( 3) Beloved sons and daughters! If to your eyes, wearied withsickness, the whole universe, gloomy and oppressive, is confined within the narrow space of a little room, let in the light of faith, and at once it regains its limitless dimensions. Faith will certainly not make you love suffering for its own sake, but it will give you an insight into the many noble reasons for whch sickness can be serenely accepted and even desired. Here is a man who has many sins to expiate, or at least he has stains on his soul: suffering will purify him. Here is a young woman who was once good, but did not possess a strong character, so necessary for one who has to be a wife and mother: suffering has been for her like a fire which has tempered her and given her great strength. You, perhaps. have desired martyrdom: you have dreamed that the chance might be bffered to you also to suffer for Jesus. Thank God for it: your bodily affliction is like shedding blood, a real form of martyrdom. And you, do you want to be like Jesus? Do you want to transform yourself into Him? Do you want to be a channel of life for Him? In sickness you can find the cross and be nailed to it and thus die to yourself so that He may live and make use of you. How many of you, beloved children, would like to help Jesus save souls: Then offer Him your sufferings according to .all the intentions for which He continually offers Himself on the altars of our churches. Your sacrifice, united to the sacrifice of Jesus, will bring many sinners back to the Father; many without faith will find the true Faith; many weak Christians will receive the strength to live fully the teaching and the law of Christ. And on the day on which the mystery of Providence in the economy of salvation will be revealed in Heaven, you will finally see to what extent the world of the healthy is your debtor. And now, beloved sons and daughters, We leave you. We pray to Jesus, friend of the suffering, to remain with you. to remain in you. We pray to the Immaculate Virgin, your most affectionate Mother. to com-fort you with her smile and to protect you beneath her mantle. ... Radio Message on the "Day of the Sick" February 14 in the Marian Year 86 THE LINACRE QUARTERLY ========================= In recent year.s moralists and Catholic writers have been careful , ) point out and condemn certain practices which are followed in mat: I fertility clinics. It is well understood now by Catholic doctors and t I most Catholic couples that some of the methods of making tests ac : forbidden by the Natural Law. However, we have done little on ti � positit�e side to give constructive assistance to those childless coupl, , who are anxious to have children. It is easy to condemn practices, but it is frequently more difficult t , off er solutions to the problems of people who want to cooperate wit · God's plan for the kingdom of Heaven. We have not yet matched th' zeal of those who promote the limitation of births among our America people. It is with considerable satisfaction, therefore that LIN ACRl · QUARTERLY presents the following series of articles by zealous anc learned Catholic doctors who are contributing" to a positive, Catholic and scientific solution of a perplexing problem which has been the caus of much unhappiness to many good Catholic people. THE EDITOR A Plan For Parenthood THE OPERATION OF AN INFERTILITY CLINIC IN ONE CATHOLIC HOSPITAL General Administration-John J. Carty, M.D. The Role of the Gynecologist-Joseph B. Doyle, M.D. The Function of the Internist-Francis W. Drinan, M.D. Urological Aspects-Richard E. Stiles, M.D. Psychiatric Problems-Philip Quinn, M.D. Some Moral Phases of Infertility Problems-John J. Lynch, S.J. The doctors are members of The Guild of St .. Luke of BostonTHE LINACRE QUARTERLY 87 General Administration· J. J. CARTY, M.D. I T is axiomatic among gynecologists that there is no investigation more rewarding for both patient and physician than that of infer­tility problems. In response to a patent need for sterility investiga­tion under Catholic auspices, a clinic for that purpose was established in 1948 at St. Elizabeth· s Hospital. Boston, Mass. Prior to that time, many Catholic patients attended clinics in other hospitals with the obvious consequent moral risks. Many other patients had adopted a "laissez-faire" attitude with regard to their infertility. This was due either to reluctance to attend a non-Catholic clinic or to financial inabil­.ity to seek the help of a private physician. The response to the clinic was, therefore, quite gratifying. The infertility clinic at St. Elizabeth's Hospital was established as a separate entity. Since the service is located in the Out-Patient Depart­·rpent of the hospital, urological, medical and psychiatric consultants areimmediately available. Hence, a thorough investigation of both thepatient and her husband is assured. The proximity of the laboratoriesand roentgenological departments is also of obvious advantage in ourinvestigations. The laboratories are accessible not only for routineblood counts and urinalysis, but for all blood chemistries, pregnancytests, etc. The facilities in the radiology department for hystero-salping­ography are likewise at our disposal. as is also a room in the operatingsuite equipped for the same procedure.The routine investigation of each patient with an infertility problemis undertaken by the house staff under the close supervision of thevisiting staff. The clinic meets weekly. At the first visit, a completehistory is taken. While emphasis is, of course, placed on menstrual.marital and endocrinological reviews, the history of previous illnesses oroperations is also investigated. If there is some doubt as to the diagnosisin a previous medical or surgical hospitalization, transcripts of recordsare obtained. We consider this especially valuable where previousabdominal surgery has been performed. A complete physical examina­tion is then undertaken, with .especial attention pai,d to evidences ofendocrinopathy or chronic infection. The pelvic examination findingsare corroborated by the members of the visiting staff present.After the examination, a brief outline of the patient's positive find­ings are discussed with lier and an outline of our investigation of her

A Message to the Sick: His Holiness Pope Pius XII: Radio Message on the  Day of the Sick,  February 14 the Marian Year

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A Message to the Sick: His Holiness Pope Pius XII: Radio Message on the Day of the Sick, February 14 the Marian Year

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