A HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN NARRATED TO ME HIS EXPERIENCE WITH A DYING man. He was paged to proceed to room 205 in order to administer the last sacrament and when possible to make himself available for confession. When he entered the room he saw that the man was still conscious but waiting for his final moment on earth. The chaplain slowly approached the person and whispered to his ears an invitation: “Tumawag ka sa Panginoon, Tumawag ka sa Panginoon (Call on the Lord)!” To the chaplain’s surprise, the dying man opened his eyes and looked at him as if he wanted to tell him something. So he bent down and placed his ears near the dying man to listen to what he wanted to say. The dying man mustered enough strength and asked the chaplain this question: “Anong number, Father (What number, Father)?”
This anecdote speaks about the fact that healing has both physical and spiritual dimensions. When the body has become so weak, the spirit groans to be connected to God even if it meant calling on Him in whatever way possible. The truth is that a human being is a unity of body and spirit. The body and spirit are co-principles in the total healing process of a human being. Thus when the spirit is well it impacts on the well being of the body and when the body is healthy it affects the spirit.
The witness of Scriptures shows us how Jesus approached people who were sick and dying.
1. Jesus Restored Dignity to the Sick and Dying
During the time of Jesus, sick people were considered unclean. They were outcasts in the community because the Jewish people believed that sickness was a punishment from God. So Jews avoided being in contact with sick people not so much because they feared to be contaminated by a disease but because they did not want to be made unclean. Jesus’ practice of approaching sick people was revolutionary and uncommon in his time. In fact, it was looked upon as a violation of the law. Jesus risked ridicule and even persecution to make a sick person feel that he is not excluded from God’s family. Thus when Jesus approached a dying person it was a divine act in which the Son of God restores to a sick man or a woman his or her dignity as a child of God. Jesus conveyed a powerful message that is ever new even today: God does not abandon a sick person for sickness is not a punishment but a way towards the fullness of life and the fullness of life is Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life.
We can learn from the way Jesus approached a sick person. Jesus did not see a sick person as an object of healing and compassion but as a person who needs to feel the loving presence of God. We can say that Jesus empowered the person’s spirit in order to bring about new life to the body.
I remember the story of a woman of faith who was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctor disclosed to her that she only had six months to one year left in her life. She was so devastated. But after a while she started to spend the remaining days of her life normally with a great bulk of her time spent for prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. To her surprise, she has lived past her prognosis and she is still alive today.
2. Jesus’ Presence Touched Peoples’ Lives
If approaching a sick person was difficult for a Jew, then touching was unthinkable because any physical contact with a sick person meant exclusion from the community and one has to avoid any further contact with anybody. When Jesus touched lepers, the lame, the blind, the paralytic and any sick person, he was actually going against the mentality of his time. The personal presence of Jesus in the lives of sick people he encountered touched them completely that they saw their lives in a new way even if they were terribly sick and unwanted.
We may not be able to change the physical condition of terminally ill people but our loving presence can actually give them hope and strengthen them to face the truth that death is certain but love is eternal.
When my younger sister was dying of leukemia at the hospital, I felt so much her pain and my family’s ordeal in accepting her fate because she was only in her late 20s. Even if it was difficult for me I had to visit her everyday, pray with her, bring her favorite food, and give her holy communion. When pain was unbearable, I would just be there in silence. I suggested to her to offer all her pain for priests and for those who needed God’s help. She would smile and nod her head as a sign of approval. She died peacefully with so much trust in God’s loving mercy.
More than a technique holistic healing is the way of Jesus. The Jesus-factor should never be wanting in the healing process. Jesus, in fact, stands for love, peace, hope, courage, patience, acceptance, and surrender in the midst of pain, sickness and death.