The Theme of Health
in the life of Bruno Lanteri
Presentazione
Health is not simply the absence of illness.
It is the integral well-being of the human person at all levels – physical, emotional, mental, social, moral, and spiritual. 1
A sick spirit will negatively affect the body at some point.
To value, safeguard and improve health as a gift of God, for the glory of God and the sanctification of man, one’s health and that of others, is essential to true Christian asceticism.
Disdain of one’s good health has never been recommended by the Church, although exaggerations in this field even from notable persons and saints are far from lacking.
One might say, that some were canonized despite such disdain based on a literal understanding of certain words of the Gospel.
Bruno Lanteri arrives in history at a time when in mainstream Christian spirituality the body was looked upon negatively and thus neglected, despised, and chastised.
The nefarious Jansenist heresy was a result of this attitude and penetrated the hearts of many of the faithful with its moral rigorism.
Its influence led to a conscious avoidance of the sacraments, especially confession and communion.
But it was not only a “spiritual” problem, since the body is inescapably connected to the soul.
“This is how you can know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God.” (1 Jn 4,2).
How Bruno treated his body and behaved in respect of his own health, as well as the balanced counsel he would give others, tells how much he overcame Jansenism in his own person and spirituality.
His father being a medical doctor and a very pious man was surely a good influence enabling him to reconcile the needs of soul and body.
With this short treatise, I wish to show
1) Bruno’s state of health
2) What resources he used regarding health
3) What were the determining factors of his integral health and how he controlled these
4) His trust in God in matters concerning health
5) The role of others, especially friends in health, and
6) How his understanding of health affected his ministry.
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