Thought for the Day, Tuesday 11th February

Good morning.

I was thinking yesterday about Hansen’s disease, or leprosy.

It’s likely that leprosy originated in Asia many hundreds of years before Christ. It is a disease of the skin, but it damages structures close to the skin, in particular the nerves of the arms and legs and the bones of the nose. It is this damage that causes paralysis, and destruction of the nose.

As a result of the marks leprosy leaves on the bones, archaeologists have been able to follow the path of the disease over the centuries from Asia to the western edge of Europe. Five hundred years ago, leprosy was a terrible scourge of the people of Scotland. There were about twenty leprosy hospitals throughout the country, one or two near all the major towns.

Leprosy caused great fear. So much so, that it was discussed repeatedly by churchmen in the Middle Ages. In Scotland, people with leprosy had to leave their community and live apart in leper houses. There were harsh penalties for those who broke the law but, even so, there is evidence that compassion was shown to these poor souls. During excavation of the site of the Carmelite monastery in Aberdeen, archaeologists found the skeleton of a man with leprosy who had died there, over a mile away from the leprosy hospital of St Anne. 

The monks and nuns were following in the steps of Jesus, despite the fear, despite the stigma, and remembering the words of the Apostle Paul, that we should ‘be kind and tender-hearted to one another.’

Have a good day.

I am greatly indebted to Mairead McIver for her advice.

In memory of Donald John MacLeod. A faithful friend.