{"id":483195,"date":"2024-06-05T17:22:19","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T14:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=483195"},"modified":"2024-06-05T17:22:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T14:22:19","slug":"patriarch-daniels-message-to-bucharest-clergy-pastoral-care-of-the-sick-is-a-fulfilment-of-the-lords-word-and-a-missionary-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/patriarch-daniels-message-to-bucharest-clergy-pastoral-care-of-the-sick-is-a-fulfilment-of-the-lords-word-and-a-missionary-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriarch Daniel’s message to Bucharest clergy: Pastoral care of the sick is a fulfilment of the Lord’s word and a missionary priority"},"content":{"rendered":"

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel delivered a speech on Monday at the opening of the Pastoral-Missionary Conference of the clergy in the Archdiocese of Bucharest, titled “Pastoral Care and Assistance of the Sick is a Fulfillment of the Lord’s Word and a Missionary Priority.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

His Beatitude highlighted the main aspects concerning the pastoral care of those suffering, stating that “it is not merely social assistance for the sick, but also a collaborative effort of the Church members with God towards the complete healing of the sufferer.”<\/p>\n

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Pastoral care and assistance of the sick is a fulfilment of the Lord’s word and a missionary priority<\/h1>\n

\u201cGo and do likewise!\u201d (Luke 24:37)<\/p>\n

Christ is Risen!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has proclaimed the year 2024 as the Solemn Year of Pastoral Care and Assistance of the Sick. Every year, we focus more deeply, spiritually, theologically, and practically on one of the priority themes for the Church’s pastoral care, as we <\/span>are already accustomed<\/span> to. <\/span><\/p>\n

If last year we dedicated ourselves to cultural-social and missionary concerns regarding the pastoral care of the elderly, it is natural that this year we continue this work, deepening more and more, both through words and deeds, the pastoral care and assistance of the sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although illness is <\/span>an<\/span> integral <\/span>part of<\/span> the human experience, humans cannot become accustomed to it.<\/span> This<\/span> is not only because it can sometimes become <\/span>extremely difficult<\/span> and <\/span>severe<\/span>\u00a0but also because humans <\/span>are created<\/span> for life, for an increasingly fuller life, to which the Risen Christ calls us: “I am\u00a0the bread of life.\u00a0Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes\u00a0in me will never be thirsty\u201d (John 6:35).<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ is the Lord of life, who frees us from all evil and suffering.<\/strong> When a person faces illness and suffering personally, the words of the Lord resonate even more strongly in their soul: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/sup>For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d (John 6:54-55), food and drink for immortality or, as Saint Ignatius of Antioch writes, \u201cthe medicine of immortality and the antidote so that we should not die but live forever in Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ Himself is the medicine, the Holy Eucharist being a remedy not only for the healing of the soul and body but also for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life (see John 6:54).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The healings that the Lord Christ performs are signs of His infinite love. Through these healings, He shows that the Kingdom of God is near to people. <\/span>These healings <\/span>are signs that<\/span> help us understand that the true and deepest disease of humanity is the absence of communion with God, the Source of love.<\/strong><\/span> Only communion with God can offer us true healing and authentic life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Therefore, Christ’s teachings and healings are always united in the most profound form, forming a single message of hope and salvation in His Word from the Holy Scriptures. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this sense, Saint John Chrysostom writes: \u201cThe divine words are a treasury of all kinds of medicines\u201d because the Lord Jesus Christ is the Physician of souls and bodies. He is both a Physician and a medicine (medicus et medicamentus), as Blessed Augustine says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The priestly ministry has always included the duty of clergy<\/strong> to care for the sick<\/strong> as a <\/span>fulfilment<\/span> of the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ given to His disciples sent to preach: \u201cHeal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give\u201d (Matthew 10:8). <\/span><\/p>\n

Following the example of the Good Shepherd, as guides of the communities entrusted to them, priests must be<\/strong>, as Blessed Augustine emphasizes in a letter, attentive with great joy to the weak, the simple, and sinners, expressing the infinite mercy of God through comforting and hopeful words<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same Church Father emphasizes, commenting on Psalm 103, that: \u201cGod heals all your diseases. Therefore, do not be afraid; all your diseases will be healed […]. You only need to allow Him to heal you and not reject His hands.<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Church servants must care for the soul of any believer, especially when they are suffering or ill. However, pastoral care and assistance of the sick in contemporary society face a series of <\/span>challenges<\/span>\u00a0to which we must find appropriate solutions and implement them within the parishes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let us not forget this fundamental truth of our existence:<\/span><\/p>\n