Sickness (Illness)
- Michael Haldas
- 15 minutes ago
- 5 min read
“Life itself is a form of ascesis. People just don’t recognize it, and lose heart.”…The fact [life], is ascetic in nature means it necessarily involves ascetic disciplines—including voluntary self-discipline and refraining from self-indulgence and excessive pleasure-seeking (because these things strengthen the selfishness of the ego, and weaken our love for others). It also involves involuntary “difficulties”—trials, afflictions, and suffering (such as illness)—which we are called to experience with the proper attitude.” (Dr. Mary S. Ford)
“At first I was simply staring at the sky in silence. Yes, there were moments when I was thinking: I can't stand it anymore, I’ve no strength left at all. But then I began to realize that the cross isn’t given to break you down, but to build and develop you. The cross isn’t a punishment, but a path. That’s when I began to look at pain and suffering as teachers. I also looked at fear as a shadow, a cooling shade, yet no longer an enemy. Yes, illness separates you from friends, peers, and school—in short, from life. But one day, when the pain was particularly overpowering, suddenly a thought came in a flash, like fire: you’ve got to fight. Not to fall into despair, but to fight, no matter what. But how? By working. So as not to perish in this deafening silence. I must say that this thought, I guess, didn’t become established in my heart right away; it took time, quite a lot of time. And it came with a lot of pain, contemplation and hope. I realized with my heart that pain is not the end, but a threshold, a beginning of something truly deep, joyful and mysterious.” (Maria Vasic, Filip Stanisic)
“Nothing just happens in our lives—every event has meaning…God doesn’t allow us to suffer meaninglessly. Either we suffer to cleanse our sins, so as not to suffer in eternal life, or sorrows are sent to us to protect us from falling into sin and other dangers. Another meaning of sorrows is the cleansing effect they have on our soul. Suffering (if we approach it properly) makes us better, purer, kinder. It makes us look at ourselves differently, help others and feel compassion for them. Any priest can tell you how many of his parishioners came to the Church through the trials and tribulations of life: relatives dying, serious illnesses, losing their job, and so on…Sorrows—both our own and those of others—make us think about the most important issues: the meaning of life, the salvation of the soul, sympathy for someone else’s grief.” (Archpriest Pavel Gumerov)
“Difficulties by their nature present challenges to which we may respond in a Christlike way or according to our passions. He offered up Himself fully upon the Cross and refused to respond in kind to those who hated and rejected Him. Likewise, we may unite ourselves to Him in every dimension and circumstance of our lives, including those in which we are sorely tempted not to respond as He did. Illness..and even the worst losses imaginable present opportunities to grow in “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-24) (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“So above all we must again Thank God for Our Lord Jesus Christ who has the ability to heal us not only of our physical but of our spiritual sicknesses…..to raise us from our beds. Since He is the source of healing, each of us has to find new ways throughout our life to take new inspiration and power from His presence. We are called to look for new ways to bring Christ into our lives. One might do this by taking on the practice of reading one chapter from the gospels daily. Another might do this by spending more time in prayer at some point in the day. Another does this by serving the poor and the needy. Another does this by serving the Church. These along with the keeping of His commandments and the participation in the sacraments, are potent ways to bring ourselves into the presence of Christ.” (Fr. James Guirguis)
“What does the life of the Much-Suffering Job teach us? —It teaches us steadfast endurance in suffering, love for Christ, faithfulness to God, and hope and trust that even in the darkest circumstances—in apparent abandonment by God, in imprisonment, in sickness, in the death of our loved ones—the Lord loves us, the Lord is with us, always ready to help, to comfort, and to grant us boundless and everlasting blessings. For some even in this life; but above all, for all in the life to come. Job is an image of suffering, and an image of hope—hope that is born through suffering.” (Petr Malkov)
“Healing is fostered when we are able to interpret our experience in the light of our relationship to God. Or, to put it another way, when our experience becomes consciously anchored in some archetype of ultimate value, then we begin to see the eternal significance of what we have suffered. Until we can glimpse how our life relates to God’s own life, we have a crisis of meaning.” (Timothy G. Patitsas)
“Zacchaeus was so transformed by the mercy of Christ that he became an epiphany, a living icon of the restoration of the human person in God’s image and likeness. This formerly corrupt and money-hungry man resolved to show his neighbors a measure of the grace that He had received, for he gave half of what he owned to the poor and restored all that he had stolen four-fold. In response to the gracious blessing he had received from Christ, he blessed others abundantly in a way that bore witness to the healing of his soul.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“Again, suffering is not to be sought for its own sake. However, it has a sacramental quality that is inherent to the gospel. When Christ spoke of His abiding presence among us, His examples included the sick, the naked, the hungry, the thirsty, those in prison – the least of these. There is a deep spiritual delusion that treasures Christ in the elements of the Eucharist while ignoring His presence in the least of these. They, too, are His “Body broken for you.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Life after transplantation—I’d never say it is somewhat akin to a magic. But it is already another kind of life. Diets, medicine, thorough checkups in search of any specific symptoms… I can’t live like the rest of us, but I do live—and this fact transforms it all. You realize that every drink of water, a single breath you make, or every step—are possible because of the mercy of God. You also begin to look at people differently, as you are no longer fixated on yourself. I get to have daily encounters with kids, yes, kids, who chose to keep on fighting. I see a permanent battle of the light and the dark and I know deep inside that the light will win, and it will break through the gloomy clouds. I admit it’s been dark in the past, but this helped me to see life in a bright and lighter way. So today, I no longer race after some “cozy” comforts of life in order to “have it all”—no! I seek a righteous life, which brings out a genuine smile, a whole-hearted willingness to help your neighbor, where your heart isn’t racing from fear, but it throbs from love for people and God.” (Maria Vasic, Filip Stanisic)
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