19th World Day of the Sick

By his wounds you have been healed. ~1 Pt 2:24

Ave Maria! Today, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Church celebrates the 19th World Day of the Sick. This is, Pope Benedict XVI said in his Angelus message of February 6, "a favorable opportunity on which to reflect, to pray and to increase the sensitivity that the ecclesial communities and civil society show to our sick brothers and sisters." It is also a time to contemplate our Lord Jesus Christ in His passion and death, who "took upon himself the passion of man, of every time and place, even our sufferings, our difficulties, our sins, (and)… whose wounds (have) become the sign of our redemption, of forgiveness and reconciliation with the Father."

And if we tremble before our suffering Lord – and who of us doesn't? -- we can find strength and hope in Christ risen from the dead. As the Holy Father reminds us in his message for the 19th World Day of the Sick, "Often the Passion, the Cross of Jesus, generate fear because they seem to be the negation of life. In reality, it is exactly the contrary! The Cross is God’s 'yes' to mankind, the highest and most intense expression of his love and the source from which flows eternal life. From the pierced heart of Jesus this divine life flowed. He alone is capable of liberating the world from evil and making his Kingdom of justice, peace and love, to which we all aspire, grow."

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world!