A hymn to human dignity

For this Jubilee Year, the church has been given a beautiful, multilingual hymn entitled Pilgrims of Hope. If you participate in any Jubilee events, whether local or international, you will no doubt hear the uplifting melody and inspiring lyrics of this hymn.
But Pope Francis has suggested that there is another, quite unexpected hymn at the heart of the Jubilee. In the Bull for the Holy Year, he spoke about the sick, the disabled and those experiencing weaknesses and limitations, calling for the faithful to give them “inclusive” attention.

“Care given to them,” he wrote, “is a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope that calls for the choral participation of society as a whole.”

How can we participate in this hymn of human dignity, this song of hope?

Lucky for us, advanced musicality is not required – it’s much simpler than that. We can lend our voices to this great Jubilee choir, while obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence, by visiting our brothers and sisters in need – the sick, prisoners, lonely seniors and the disabled – “in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them (cf. Mt 25, 34-36).”

Let’s allow Pope Francis to inspire us as we join this Jubilee choir of hope.

“Signs of hope should be shown to the sick, at home or in hospital” he wrote. “Their sufferings can be allayed by the closeness and affection of those who visit them.”

Naturally, he included the elderly in his thoughts for this year,

“The elderly, who frequently feel lonely and abandoned, also deserve signs of hope” he wrote. “Esteem for the treasure that they are, their life experiences, their accumulated wisdom and the contribution that they can still make, is incumbent on the Christian community and civil society, which are called to cooperate in strengthening the covenant between generations.”

Pope Francis also encourages us to remember care givers.

He said, “Gratitude should likewise be shown to all those healthcare workers who, often in precarious conditions, carry out their mission with constant care and concern for the sick and for those who are most vulnerable.”

The upcoming celebration of the World Day of the Sick on February 11, whose theme is “Hope does not disappoint (Rm 5:5), but strengthens us in times of trial,” is a wonderful opportunity to begin “singing” in the Jubilee choir of dignity and hope. 

In his message for the World Day of the Sick, the pope reflects on three ways in which God remains close to those who are suffering: through encounter, gift and sharing. 

First, the concept of encounter invites the sick to see their infirmity as an opportunity to encounter our compassionate Lord and appreciate his closeness.

Second, suffering reminds us that hope comes from the Lord as a gift to be received and cultivated.

Third, and this is where we can make our voices heard, places of suffering often become places of sharing and mutual enrichment.

“How often, at the bedside of the sick, do we learn to hope!” the pope writes. “How often, by our closeness to those who suffer, do we learn to have faith! How often, when we care for those in need, do we discover love! We realize that we are ‘angels’ of hope and messengers of God for one another, all of us together: whether patients, physicians, nurses, family members, friends, priests, men and women religious, no matter where we are, whether in the family or in clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, or medical centers.”

Whether we are ill or we care for those who are, we have an important part to play in “singing” this year’s Jubilee hymn.

As our Holy Father said, “Your journey together is a sign for everyone: ‘a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope.’ Its strains are heard far beyond the rooms and beds of health facilities and serve to elicit in charity ‘the choral participation of society as a whole’ in a harmony … capable of bringing light and warmth wherever they are most needed.”

So, let’s get started and lend our voices to this symphony through our charity to the sick and the elderly on the World Day of the Sick!
 
Sister Constance Veit is the communications director for the Little Sisters of the Poor in the United States and an occupational therapist.