God
Does Not Abandon the Sick in their Suffering
VATICAN
CITY, Feb. 11, 2001 -- At
4 p.m. today, memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes and Ninth World Day of the
Sick, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, His Holiness' vicar general for the diocese
of Rome, presided over the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Basilica
for the sick and the pilgrims who accompanied them. At the
conclusion of the Mass, John Paul II arrived in the basilica and gave a
discourse to the sick, their care-givers, and the members of the National
Italian Union of Transport of the Sick to Lourdes and International
Shrines ...
"This
afternoon," the Holy Father said, "in the meaningful framework
of this encounter, we wish to feel in communion with our brothers and
sisters who are meeting in Sydney, Australia, for the World Day of the
Sick. The theme which I have chosen this year for the occasion is:
'The New Evangelization and the Dignity of the Suffering Person.'"
The
Holy Father said, "You above all, sick friends, understand how much
the Cross is paradoxical, because it has been given to you to feel the
mystery of pain in your own flesh ... To physical suffering is often added
that of a spiritual nature, caused by a sense of solitude which seizes the
person. In today's society, a certain culture considers sick people
as synonymous with a bothersome obstacle, not recognizing the precious
contribution which they bring, on the spiritual level, to the community.
It is necessary and urgent to rediscover the value of the Cross shared
with Christ."
The
Pope continued his discourse, saying: "In sickness you can be for
many, if you submissively welcome the divine will, a word of hope and even
of joy, in order that you say to the men of today, often restless and
unable to give a meaning to pain, that God has not abandoned us. Living
your situation with faith, you witness that God is near. You
proclaim that this tender and loving closeness of the Lord affirms that
there is not a season of life that is not worth living. Sickness and
death are not realities from which to flee, or to censure, as useless;
rather both are stages in a journey."
