SICKNESS IS NOT AN UNBEARABLE BURDEN

VATICAN CITY, FEB 16, 2001 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received forty-five Sisters Servants of Mary, Ministers of the Sick, who this year celebrate the 175th anniversary of the birth of their foundress, St. Maria Soledad Torres Acosta, the 150th anniversary of the foundation of their Institute, and the 125 years since their pontifical approval.

The Pope said to the religious: "The uniqueness of your primary mission, the free care of the sick in their homes, takes on new connotations in our day, in a society where the daily reality of sickness and death tends to be concealed. With your service, you demonstrate that sickness is not an unbearable burden for man, and that it does not deprive the patient of his dignity. On the contrary, it can be transformed into an experience of enrichment for the sick person and his entire family."

"Also consider," the Holy Father added, "the challenge of a humanity in which many of our brethren, who, in addition to sound assistance in the delicate moments of their life, need above all respect, closeness, and solidarity."

John Paul II exhorted the Sisters Servants of Mary to live the celebrations of this year "at the dawn of a new millennium, as a providential occasion to revitalize your personal commitment and your work, in Africa, in America, and in Europe."

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