Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 242 - Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 242 - Part I. Why should the Church take special care of the sick?

(Youcat answer) Jesus shows us: Heaven suffers with us when we suffer. God even wants to be rediscovered in “the least of these my brethren” (Mt 25:40). That is why Jesus designated care of the sick as a central task for his disciples. He commands them, “Heal the sick” (Mt 10:8), and he promises them divine authority: “In my name they will cast out demons; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mk 16:17-18).

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 1506) Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in their turn (Cf. Mt 10:38). By following him they acquire a new outlook on illness and the sick. Jesus associates them with his own life of poverty and service. He makes them share in his ministry of compassion and healing: "So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them" (Mk 6:12-13). (CCC 1507) The risen Lord renews this mission ("In my name… They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover" Mk 16:17-18.) and confirms it through the signs that the Church performs by invoking his name (Cf. Acts 9:34; 14:3). These signs demonstrate in a special way that Jesus is truly "God who saves" (Cf. Mt 1:21; Acts 4:12).

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) One of the distinctive characteristics of Christianity has always been that the elderly, the sick, and the needy are central to it. Mother Teresa, who cared for those who were dying in the gutters of Calcutta, is only one in a long series of Christian women and men who have discovered Christ precisely in those who were marginalized and avoided by others. When Christians are really Christian, a healing influence goes out from them. Some even have the gift of healing others physically in the power of the Holy Spirit (the charism of healing, charism).

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 1508) The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing (Cf. 1 Cor 12:9, 28, 30) so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church" (2 Cor 12:9; Col 1:24).

(This question: Why should the Church take special care of the sick? is continued)