International Day for the Sick
Every year on 11 February, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, World Day for the Sick is celebrated almost everywhere. except in Cameroon, where since 1961 the national youth day has prevailed, an important occasion dedicated to celebrating the potential, resilience and contribution of young people to nation building… So, when I arrived in Cameroon in 2023, having been accustomed in others countries to praying for and with the sick on 11 February, offering the sacrament of the sick to parishioners… I remember having been quite shocked that nobody even mentioned the sick, nor offered a prayer for them during the Eucharist…. Patience! This year, 11 February falls on Wednesday, which is a day of continuing education at the Sainte Jeanne Antide Thouret Hospital in Ngaoundal. Education in the broadest sense, and every month we offer staff a moment of human and spiritual formation, or to celebrate the Eucharist together, which our parish priest comes to celebrate for the occasion in the chapel of the hospital. I asked him if he could come and celebrate International Day for the Sick at the hospital this year, before the parades and speeches linked to Youth Day begin in the city. He agreed, even though attendance will certainly be lower since it is a public holiday… This year’s theme for this day chosen by Pope Leo XIV is: ‘The compassionate Samaritan: loving by bearing the pain of others’. It is therefore an invitation to concrete gestures of compassion and closeness...
The message encourages the smiles of healthcare providers, the attention of doctors and the presence of loved ones as lights of hope that give strength and meaning to life. This reminded me of Pope Francis’ address to the participants in the 2021 General Chapter: ‘… I am certain that if you truly succeed in living out your concern and listening, following the example of the holy sisters Martha and Mary, you will continue to make your valuable contribution to the journey of the whole Church… Always presence, always kindness, and always tenderness...’. Many years ago, while I was still in Europe, I used to pray on my way to the hospital and then to the nursing home where I worked, saying a prayer I had learned during a training course on accompanying the sick: ‘Lord, as you send me to the sick, grant me to be for each of them the face of Your tenderness, so that they may encounter You through me…’ But also to ask Jesus Christ, gentle and humble of heart, to make my heart become more and more alike to His!
Tenderness, kindness, compassion, a smile… a language that I believe can be universal, even if you don’t speak the local languages. Since I am no longer working directly in the healthcare sector, since 2023, sometimes I have to be careful “not to pass anyone by with an indifferent face, a cold heart, and hasty steps”, like the prayer of our Lazarist cousins says, because it’s easy to become overwhelmed by administrative, disciplinary, and financial concerns… and very often we have to convince ourselves that this work also contributes, even if indirectly, by rendering healthcare possible, guaranteeing it’s quality, hygiene, respect for the sick… Therefor, on 11th February, we invite you to demonstrate with His grace perhaps even more ‘always closeness, always compassion and always tenderness!’ to the sick and their families!
Sister Christine Richard, Ngaoundal, Cameroon