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| His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI World Day of the Sick 2010 |
On the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, which we celebrate on 11 February 2012, the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, I wish to renew my spiritual closeness to all sick people who are in places of care or are looked after in their families, expressing to each one of them the solicitude and the affection of the whole Church. In the generous and loving welcoming of every human life, above all of weak and sick life, a Christian expresses an important aspect of his or her Gospel witness, following the example of Christ, who bent down before the material and spiritual sufferings of man in order to heal them….
The theme of this Message for the Twentieth World Day of the Sick, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you”, also looks forward to the forthcoming Year of Faith which will begin on 11 October 2012, a propitious and valuable occasion to rediscover the strength and beauty of faith, to examine its contents, and to bear witness to it in daily life (cf. Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, 11 October 2011). I wish to encourage sick people and the suffering always to find a safe anchor in faith, nourished by listening to the Word of God, by personal prayer and by the sacraments, while I invite pastors to be increasingly ready to celebrate them for the sick. Following the example of the Good Shepherd and as guides of the flocks entrusted to them, priests should be full of joy, attentive to the weakest, the simple and sinners, expressing the infinite mercy of God with reassuring words of hope (cf. Saint Augustine, Letter 95, 1: PL 33, 351-352).
To all those who work in the field of health, and to the families who see in their relatives the suffering face of the Lord Jesus, I renew my thanks and that of the Church, because, in their professional expertise and in silence, often without even mentioning the name of Christ, they manifest him in a concrete way (cf. Homily, Chrism Mass, 21 April 2011).
To Mary, Mother of Mercy and Health of the Sick, we raise our trusting gaze and our prayer; may her maternal compassion, manifested as she stood beside her dying Son on the Cross, accompany and sustain the faith and the hope of every sick and suffering person on the journey of healing for the wounds of body and spirit!
I assure you all of a remembrance in my prayers, and I bestow upon each one of you a special Apostolic Blessing.
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Message for the World Day of the Sick 2012For the complete text please visit: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/sick/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20111120_world-day-of-the-sick-2012_en.html
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| Reliquary of Saint Bernadette in Saint Peter's Basilica World Day of the Sick 2010 |
… On the Memorial of the apparitions in Lourdes, where Mary chose to manifest her maternal solicitude for the sick, the Liturgy appropriately echoes the Magnificat, the canticle of the Virgin who exalts the wonders of God throughout salvation history: the humble and the poor, like all who fear God, experience his mercy which overturns earthly destinies, thus showing the holiness of the Creator and Redeemer. The Magnificat is not the canticle of one upon whom fortune smiles, who has always had "the wind in her sails"; rather it is the thanksgiving of one who knows the hardships of life but trusts in God's redemptive work. It is a hymn that expresses the faith tested by generations of men and women who placed their hope in God and were personally committed, like Mary, to helping their brothers and sisters in need…. Those who spend a long time beside the suffering know anguish and tears, but also the miracle of joy, the fruit of love….
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Homily, World Day of the Sick 2010For the complete text please visit: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20100211_giornata-malato_en.html#
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| His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI World Day of the Sick Mass 2010 |
It was a joy to participate in the 18th World Day of the Sick which was celebrated in Saint Peter’s Basilica on 11 February 2010, the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Carried in the Entrance Procession were the relics of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the devout young girl to whom Blessed Mother Mary appeared in 1858. As it was also the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers the day brought together those who work in the field of health, as well as sick and suffering people, caregivers and family members from around the world. It was a beautiful witness of faith and the compassion of Christ.
Later, as darkness descended on Saint Peter’s Square, the participants gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil joined by our Holy Father who was at the window of his office. Imagine if you will, joining the pilgrims in singing the refrain of the Lourdes Hymn, “Immaculate Mary”:
Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria;
Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria.
As His Holiness bid everyone a “good night” a fireworks display lit up the sky over Rome.
See photos of the Mass at:
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/photogallery/2010/20100211/index.htmlVisit the web site of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France:
http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?contexte=en&id=405+
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