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Monday, February 12, 2007

DO NOT ABANDON PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM SERIOUS ILLNESSES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 11, 2007 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 4.30 p.m. today, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the 15th World Day of the Sick, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, celebrated Mass for the sick and for pilgrims of UNITALSI (Italian National Union for Transport of the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines), and of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi. The theme of this year's World Day is: "Pastoral and spiritual attention to the incurably ill."

  At the end of Mass, Benedict XVI arrived in the basilica where he blessed the sick and made some brief remarks.

  "Mary," said the Pope, "who with her faith accompanied her Son even to the foot of the cross, she who was associated by mysterious design with the sufferings of Christ, never tires of exhorting us to live and to share with serene trust the experience of pain and illness, offering it faithfully to the Father and thus completing what is lacking in our flesh for the afflictions of Christ."

  Going on to refer specifically to the seriously ill, the Holy Father called for them to be made aware "of the material and spiritual closeness of the entire Christian community. It is important not to leave them abandoned and alone as they find themselves facing such a delicate moment in their lives." In this context, Pope Benedict praised the work of doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, volunteers, religious and priests "who dedicate all their energy to the sick, concerned, like the Good Samaritan, not for their social status, the color of their skin or their religious belief, but only for their needs. In the face of each human being, and even more so if tried and disfigured by illness, shines forth the face of Christ."

  In the grotto of Massabielle "human suffering and hope, fear and trust, come together. How many pilgrims, comforted by the gaze of the Mother, find in Lourdes the strength to put the will of God into effect more easily, even at the cost of sacrifice and pain. ... May no one, especially people undergoing harsh suffering, ever feel alone and abandoned."
AC/WORLD DAY SICK/...                        VIS 20070212 (370)


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