By Fr. Dwight Longenecker, March 10th, 2020
In the ancient world it was commonplace to regard sickness as a punishment or a curse. If you were sick you must have done something to deserve it or someone must have cursed you. People did not understand the pathology of different diseases so, with a superstitious mindset they blamed the person who was sick, or if that person didn’t seem to be a bad individual they blamed his parents, they blamed the gods, they blamed bad karma…whatever.
While we look on such ideas now as silly superstition, in some ways it’s not that far off. There are indeed many illnesses for which the person who is sick can be blamed. If you smoke four packs of cigarettes a day don’t be surprised if you get lung cancer. If you gorge on junk foods and get no exercise you’ll be prone to heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses associated with poor diet and obesity. If you guzzle booze you will destroy your liver. If you do drugs you will sizzle your brain. ….
Read more here: https://dwightlongenecker.com/seeing-sickness-as-a-symbol-of-sin/