Vatican
City, 8 January 2013
(VIS) - "Go and do likewise" is the theme chosen by the
Holy Father for his message on the 21st World Day of the Sick to be
celebrated 11 February, the liturgical feast of the Blessed Virgin
Mary of Lourdes, which will take place this year at the Marian Shrine
of Altotting, Germany. In the message the Pope writes that "this
Day represents for the sick, for health care workers, for the
faithful and for all people of goodwill 'a privileged time of prayer,
of sharing, of offering one’s sufferings for the good of the
Church, and a call for all to recognize in the features of their
suffering brothers and sisters the Holy Face of Christ, who, by
suffering, dying and rising has brought about the salvation of
mankind'.”
"On
this occasion," the pontiff continues, "I feel especially
close to you, dear friends, who in health care centres or at home,
are undergoing a time of trial due to illness and suffering. May all
of you be sustained by the comforting words of the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council: 'You are not alone, separated, abandoned or
useless. You have been called by Christ and are his living and
transparent image'.”
"So
as to keep you company on the spiritual pilgrimage that leads us from
Lourdes, a place which symbolizes hope and grace, to the Shrine of
Altotting, I would like to propose for your reflection the exemplary
figure of the Good Samaritan. The Gospel parable recounted by Saint
Luke is part of a series of scenes and events taken from daily life
by which Jesus helps us to understand the deep love of God for every
human being, especially those afflicted by sickness or pain. With the
concluding words of the parable of the Good Samaritan, “Go and do
likewise”, the Lord also indicates the attitude that each of his
disciples should have towards others, especially those in need. We
need to draw from the infinite love of God, through an intense
relationship with him in prayer, the strength to live day by day with
concrete concern, like that of the Good Samaritan, for those
suffering in body and spirit who ask for our help, whether or not we
know them and however poor they may be".
"This
is true, not only for pastoral or health care workers, but for
everyone, even for the sick themselves, who can experience this
condition from a perspective of faith: 'It is not by sidestepping or
fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity
for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through
union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love', Benedict XVI
counsels, citing his encyclical "Spe Salvi".
"Various
Fathers of the Church saw Jesus himself in the Good Samaritan; and in
the man who fell among thieves they saw Adam, our very humanity
wounded and disoriented on account of its sins. Jesus is the Son of
God, the one who makes present the Father’s love, a love which is
faithful, eternal and without boundaries. But Jesus is also the one
who sheds the garment of his divinity, who leaves his divine
condition to assume the likeness of men, drawing near to human
suffering, even to the point of descending into hell, as we recite in
the Creed, in order to bring hope and light. He does not jealously
guard his equality with God but, filled with compassion, he looks
into the abyss of human suffering so as to pour out the oil of
consolation and the wine of hope".
"The
Year of Faith which we are celebrating is a fitting occasion for
intensifying the service of charity in our ecclesial communities, so
that each one of us can be a good Samaritan for others, for those
close to us. Here I would like to recall the innumerable figures in
the history of the Church who helped the sick to appreciate the human
and spiritual value of their suffering, so that they might serve as
an example and an encouragement. Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and
the Holy Face, 'an expert in the scientia amoris', was able to
experience 'in deep union with the Passion of Jesus' the illness that
brought her 'to death through great suffering'."
Also,
"the Venerable Luigi Novarese, who still lives in the memory of
many, throughout his ministry realized the special importance of
praying for and with the sick and suffering, and he would often
accompany them to Marian shrines, especially to the Grotto of
Lourdes. Raoul Follereau, moved by love of neighbour, dedicated his
life to caring for people afflicted by Hansen’s disease, even at
the world’s farthest reaches, promoting, among other initiatives,
World Leprosy Day. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would always begin her
day with an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and then she would
go out into the streets, rosary in hand, to find and serve the Lord
in the sick, especially in those 'unwanted, unloved, uncared for'."
"Saint
Anna Schaffer of Mindelstetten, too, was able to unite in an
exemplary way her sufferings to those of Christ: 'her sick-bed became
her cloister cell and her suffering a missionary service.
Strengthened by daily communion, she became an untiring intercessor
in prayer and a mirror of God’s love for the many who sought her
counsel'. In the Gospel the Blessed Virgin Mary stands out as one who
follows her suffering Son to the supreme sacrifice on Golgotha. She
does not lose hope in God’s victory over evil, pain and death, and
she knows how to accept in one embrace of faith and love, the Son of
God who was born in the stable of Bethlehem and died on the Cross.
Her steadfast trust in the power of God was illuminated by Christ’s
resurrection, which offers hope to the suffering and renews the
certainty of the Lord’s closeness and consolation".
The
Pope offers "a word of warm gratitude and encouragement to
Catholic health care institutions and to civil society, to Dioceses
and Christian communities, to religious congregations engaged in the
pastoral care of the sick, to health care workers’ associations and
to volunteers. May all realize ever more fully that 'the Church today
lives a fundamental aspect of her mission in lovingly and generously
accepting every human being, especially those who are weak and
sick'."
Benedict
XVI then concludes, entrusting the 21st World Day of the Sick "to
the intercession of Our Lady of Graces, venerated at Altotting, that
she may always accompany those who suffer in their search for comfort
and firm hope. May she assist all who are involved in the apostolate
of mercy, so that they may become good Samaritans to their brothers
and sisters afflicted by illness and suffering".