26 August – Feast of Salus Infirmorum / Our Lady, Health of the Sick – Saturday before the last Sunday in August:
Salus Infirmorum / Our Lady, Health of the Sick
By Cardinal Alexis Henri Marie Lepicier OSM (1863-1936)
Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious
“And I perfumed my dwelling as storax and galbanum and onyx and aloes and as the frankincense not cut and my odour is, as the purest balsam.“” (Ecclus 24:21)
The sin of our first parents not only deprived man of original justice and of all the gifts consequent thereon; it reduced him, furthermore, to a state of great weakness, so that it is impossible for us to accomplish works of supernatural value, without a special grace. Fallen man is like one sick, who has no relish for any nourishment, whatever. He is deficient in vital energy and his actions are wanting, in that vigour which naturally belongs to a healthy person. He is strongly inclined to vice and finds the practice of virtue tedious and difficult!
This natural incapacity regarding the performance of good works, is further increased, by actual sin, whether mortal or venial. The former, by depriving the soul of divine grace which is the principle of spiritual life, hinders man from doing anything pleasing to God, so as to merit eternal happiness. The latter, venial sin, by diminishing the fervour of charity, makes the practice of virtue labourious, since charity has for its effect, precisely to facilitate the performanc, of what is good. Sin is, therefore, a great evil because, if mortal, it saps altogetherthe spiritual energy of the soul and if venial, it notably weakens it. If, from individuals we pass onto nations, we perceive that sin, like a subtle poison, eats into the heart of them, weakening and preparing their ruin.
Divine bounty, which for bodily ailments, has procured us efficacious remedies, is not less industrious in providing the means to heal our spiritual maladies. With the Sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ, to restore our souls to grace or to augment it within us, God has also been pleased to grant us, in Mary’s aid, a potent remedy for our spiritual infirmities. In fact, Our Lady has not only given us Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Physician of our souls but, furthermore, she watches over us as a tender mother does, by the cradle of an ailing child.
Besides this, Our Lady’s example encourages us in our conflict with the devil. For she is the Immaculate Virgin, who never was defiled by sin. Her sweet soul was always filled with the perfume of the noblest virtues.
Mary never ceases also to hearken to the voice of our supplications and to present them before the throne of God, often anticipating our requests and obtaining for us, through her own merits and those of Jesus Christ, all the helps necessary to us in our spiritual needs.
And what Our Lady does for individuals, she also does for whole nations. As a pity-full Queen, she succours them in their distress; she raises them from their bed of sickness and is, for them, a bulwark of defence (Cant. 8:10).
Our Lady’s power and motherly care not only embrace spiritual miseries: they also extend to the ills of the body. How often do we see Our Lady restoring health to the sick, who have recourse to her with filial confidence!
In Our Lady’s readiness to alleviate bodily ailments, shines forth, most splendidly, God’s love for her. It seems as if the Most High had placed no limit to the efficacy of His Mother’s intercession. While other saints are invoked only in particular cases of corporal infirmity, Our Lady’s power, on the other hand, is exercised over every kind of malady. Hence, we may say that, at her word, as once at the word of Jesus, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear (Mt 11:5). The sole difference is that Jesus Christ, being God, wrought these miracles of His own personal authority, while Our Lady, obtains for us, of the Divine Clemency, the graces she asks, by virtue of the efficacy of her intercession with God.
However, although Our Lady is so powerful in curing all bodily ailments, yet, she does not always deliver her clients from every such trial because, God sees best to exercise them in patience that they may, thereby, win the reward prepared for them in Heaven. But when Our Lady does not restore bodily health, yet, for all that, she never ceases to act the part of a tender Mother toward us, watching over us and obtaining for us, in place of bodily strength, resignation to the divine will and interior peace – two sovereign means of sanctification and salvation!
Our Lady, Health of the Sick, Pray for Us! Amen
AnaStpaul 