Sickness shows us the limits of human satisfaction

In his short and profound book, On the Body: A Contemporary Theology of the Human Person, Cardinal Martini, the archbishop emeritus of Milan, in a section of the first chapter entitled "Sickness is part of life," observed: "Sickness is part of life, not like growth or gratification, but more like an interruption, a suspension, a burden, a nuisance even. Far from being an accident, it reveals to us the normal, limited condition of all human satisfaction. Sickness defines me as a fragile, weak, uncertain, and needy being."

"Sickness clearly reveals what is hidden in me even when I am healthy, and I fear it because I am loath to see my limitations and my [weaknesses] revealed." In this way sickness comes to the aid of our desire because, as Cardinal Martini noted, "it reveals to us the normal and limited condition of all human satisfaction."