SICK

95

In summary we might say that the individual is related to the community in two ways: 1) the individual is a representative of the sinful community; 2) the individual is a representative of the resurrected Christ conquering evil and extending the kingdom. The community, on the other hand, is Christ extending himself in time offering a further entrance into his paschal mystery. These relationships call for specific attitudes on the part of both the patient and the community. The patient should understand his representative role. It is not passive. As a representative of the community his should be an attitude of acceptance of God's will and a willingness to accept this burden of suffering so as to further the progress of God's kingdom. Practically this means an acceptance of the realities of the sin and sins of mankind. The patient's role is to conquer sickness and further the kingdom. The conquering of sickness is not only a cure of the body through the use of pi lis and surgery. One conquers the evil of sickness by bringing together the split between man and God, man and man, man and himself. This does not always necessitate the here and now bodily healing of a person, just as the bodily healing of a person does not always signify the advancement of the kingdom. Health must be seen more in the light of the total vocation of man. It is that state in which man is able to respond to the call of God with the fullness of his being. Our healing act (whether as patient or community) must be a participation in the action of the one who is the Divine Physician. The situation in which the community and the individual are involved is one of crisis. The giving a center or uniting the split between man, God and the person is a situation filled with suffering. Ultimately it is in the depths of suffering that the split is healed. This was the experience of Christ himself who through his suffering cured the ill of mankind. This conversion of the suffering of the cross to the glory of the resurrection has been called "The Law of the Cross," and it is this law that is basic to the faith of those in the crisis of sickness. II. PASTORAL SUGGESTIONS

In the light of the above theology we would like to make some