From the Desk of Father Dave
In those who are sick we encounter Jesus
In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear a description of the Last Judgment. At the end of time, we hear Jesus say these words, “What you do to the least of my brethren, you did to me.”
These words are striking and form a foundation for our care and love of the sick and dying.
When we visit the sick; we visit Jesus himself.
When we care for the sick; we care for Jesus himself.
When we love the sick; we love Jesus himself.
We should think of time spent visiting the sick and suffering as time spent with the hidden Jesus. Our care for the sick finds deeper meaning in its connection with the Eucharist. When we come to the church to pray in silence and to visit Jesus in the tabernacle, we are renewed and refreshed. We don’t have to do anything special. We simply listen to him and he listens to us. When we visit Jesus in the Eucharist, we allow him to love us and we love him in return. If only we could appreciate that the same thing happens when we visit the sick. Spending time with the sick is spending time with Jesus. When we visit and minister to the sick, we don’t have to do anything special. We listen to them and they listen to us. We love them and allow them to love us. Our time with the sick and the dying is a beautiful and profound connection to Jesus. If you want to tell Jesus that you love him, then find a sick person and show him or her your love – to love those who are sick and in need – is to love Jesus himself. And so my brothers and sisters let us resolve to care for the sick and to love them because they are a meeting place between Jesus and ourselves.