VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 229   
   DATE 30-12-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Wisdom of the heart to recognise the image of God in the sick   
   - Pope Francis' prayer intentions for January   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
   - Notice   
      
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    Wisdom of the heart to recognise the image of God in the sick   
    Vatican City, 30 December 2014 (VIS) - The Pope's message for the 23rd World   
   Day of the Sick 2015 begins with a phrase from the Book of Job: "I was eyes to   
   the blind, and feet to the lame", explained from the perspective of "sapientia   
   cordis", the wisdom of the heart that "is not theoretical, abstract knowledge,   
   the product of reasoning", Pope Francis remarked, but rather "a way of seeing   
   things infused by the Holy Spirit in the minds and hearts of those who are   
   sensitive to the sufferings of their brothers and sisters and who can see in   
   them the image of God".   
    World Day of the Sick, instituted by St. John Paul II in 1992, is held on 11   
   February, feast day of the Virgin of Lourdes. The full text of the Message is   
   published below:   
    "Dear Brothers and Sisters,   
    On this, the twenty-third World Day of the Sick, begun by Saint John Paul II,   
   I turn to all of you who are burdened by illness and are united in various   
   ways to the flesh of the suffering Christ, as well as to you, professionals   
   and volunteers in the field of health care.   
    This year's theme invites us to reflect on a phrase from the Book of Job: 'I   
   was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame'. I would like to consider this   
   phrase from the perspective of 'sapientia cordis' - the wisdom of the heart.   
    1. This 'wisdom' is not theoretical, abstract knowledge, the product of   
   reasoning. Rather, it is, as Saint James describes it in his Letter, 'pure,   
   then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without   
   uncertainty or insincerity'. It is a way of seeing things infused by the Holy   
   Spirit in the minds and the hearts of those who are sensitive to the   
   sufferings of their brothers and sisters and who can see in them the image of   
   God. So let us take up the prayer of the Psalmist: 'Teach us to number our   
   days that we may gain a heart of wisdom'. This 'sapientia cordis', which is a   
   gift of God, is a compendium of the fruits of the World Day of the Sick.   
    2. Wisdom of the heart means serving our brothers and sisters. Job's words:   
   'I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame', point to the service which   
   this just man, who enjoyed a certain authority and a position of importance   
   amongst the elders of his city, offered to those in need. His moral grandeur   
   found expression in the help he gave to the poor who sought his help and in   
   his care for orphans and widows.   
    Today too, how many Christians show, not by their words but by lives rooted   
   in a genuine faith, that they are 'eyes to the blind' and 'feet to the lame'!   
   They are close to the sick in need of constant care and help in washing,   
   dressing and eating. This service, especially when it is protracted, can   
   become tiring and burdensome. It is relatively easy to help someone for a few   
   days but it is difficult to look after a person for months or even years, in   
   some cases when he or she is no longer capable of expressing gratitude. And   
   yet, what a great path of sanctification this is! In those difficult moments   
   we can rely in a special way on the closeness of the Lord, and we become a   
   special means of support for the Church's mission.   
    3. Wisdom of the heart means being with our brothers and sisters. Time spent   
   with the sick is holy time. It is a way of praising God who conforms us to the   
   image of his Son, who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his   
   life as a ransom for many'. Jesus himself said: 'I am among you as one who   
   serves'.   
    With lively faith let us ask the Holy Spirit to grant us the grace to   
   appreciate the value of our often unspoken willingness to spend time with   
   these sisters and brothers who, thanks to our closeness and affection, feel   
   more loved and comforted. How great a lie, on the other hand, lurks behind   
   certain phrases which so insist on the importance of 'quality of life' that   
   they make people think that lives affected by grave illness are not worth   
   living!   
    4. Wisdom of the heart means going forth from ourselves towards our brothers   
   and sisters. Occasionally our world forgets the special value of time spent at   
   the bedside of the sick, since we are in such a rush; caught up as we are in a   
   frenzy of doing, of producing, we forget about giving ourselves freely, taking   
   care of others, being responsible for others. Behind this attitude there is   
   often a lukewarm faith which has forgotten the Lord's words: 'You did it unto   
   me'.   
    For this reason, I would like once again to stress 'the absolute priority of   
   "going forth from ourselves toward our brothers and sisters" as one of the two   
   great commandments which ground every moral norm and as the clearest sign for   
   discerning spiritual growth in response to God's completely free gift'. The   
   missionary nature of the Church is the wellspring of an 'effective charity and   
   a compassion which understands, assists and promotes'.   
    5. Wisdom of the heart means showing solidarity with our brothers and sisters   
   while not judging them. Charity takes time. Time to care for the sick and time   
   to visit them. Time to be at their side like Job's friends: 'And they sat with   
   him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him,   
   for they saw that his suffering was very great'. Yet Job's friends harboured a   
   judgement against him: they thought that Job's misfortune was a punishment   
   from God for his sins. True charity is a sharing which does not judge, which   
   does not demand the conversion of others; it is free of that false humility   
   which, deep down, seeks praise and is self-satisfied about whatever good it   
   does.   
    Job's experience of suffering finds its genuine response only in the cross of   
   Jesus, the supreme act of God's solidarity with us, completely free and   
   abounding in mercy. This response of love to the drama of human pain,   
   especially innocent suffering, remains for ever impressed on the body of the   
   risen Christ; his glorious wounds are a scandal for faith but also the proof   
   of faith.   
    Even when illness, loneliness and inability make it hard for us to reach out   
   to others, the experience of suffering can become a privileged means of   
   transmitting grace and a source for gaining and growing in "sapientia cordis".   
   We come to understand how Job, at the end of his experience, could say to God:   
   'I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you'.   
   People immersed in the mystery of suffering and pain, when they accept these   
   in faith, can themselves become living witnesses of a faith capable of   
   embracing suffering, even without being able to understand its full meaning.   
    6. I entrust this World Day of the Sick to the maternal protection of Mary,   
   who conceived and gave birth to Wisdom incarnate: Jesus Christ, our Lord.   
    O Mary, Seat of Wisdom, intercede as our Mother for all the sick and for   
   those who care for them! Grant that, through our service of our suffering   
   neighbours, and through the experience of suffering itself, we may receive and   
   cultivate true wisdom of heart!   
    With this prayer for all of you, I impart my Apostolic Blessing".   
      
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    Pope Francis' prayer intentions for January   
    Vatican City, 30 December 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father's universal prayer   
   intention for January 2015 is: "That those from diverse religious traditions   
   and all people of good will may work together for peace".   
    His intention for evangelisation is: "That in this year dedicated to   
   consecrated life, religious men and women may rediscover the joy of following   
   Christ and strive to serve the poor with zeal".   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts Vatican City, 30 December 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father   
   has appointed Fr. John Saw Yaw Han as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Yangon   
   (area 47,192, population 14,620,000, Catholics 69,120, priests 102, religious   
   438), Myanmar. The bishop-elect was born in Homalim, Myanmar in 1968 and was   
   ordained a priest in 1995. He studied philosophy and theology at the St.   
   Joseph national major seminary, and has served in a number of roles, including   
   missionary "fidei donum" in the diocese of Kentung, lecturer in philosophy at   
   the national major seminary in Mandalay; assistant at the St. Lazarus Church   
   in Insein and St. Mary's Cathedral in Yangon; lecturer in theology at the   
   national major seminary in Yangon; and rector at the minor seminary of Bago.   
   He is currently rector of the national major seminary in Yangon.   
      
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    Notice   
    Vatican City, 30 December 2014 (VIS) - The Vatican Information Service wishes   
   all its readers a happy New Year. The next bulletin will be transmitted on   
   Friday 2 January 2015.   
      
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