Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick


Today marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St. Bernadette) Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared eighteen times, and showed herself to St. Bernadette in the hollow of the rock at Lourdes. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

World Day of the Sick


The World Day of the Sick is celebrated every year on February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year the Holy Father requests Christian Communities to help the family of sick children.

The Holy Father's Message for the seventeenth World Day of the Sick:

"This year our attention turns particularly to children", the Pope writes in his Message, "and especially to sick and suffering children. There are young human beings whose bodies bear the consequences of incapacitating illnesses, and others who struggle against sicknesses that remain incurable even today, despite the progress in medical science".

"There are children who have been injured in body and mind by wars, and other innocent victims of the mindless hatred of adults. There are street children who are denied the warmth of family life and left to themselves, and minors profaned by sordid individuals who wish to violate their innocence, inflicting psychological wounds which will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Nor must we forget the countless minors who die of thirst, hunger and lack of healthcare, and the young exiles who emigrate from their own land with their parents in search of better living conditions. All these children raise a silent cry of pain that appeals to our conscience as human beings and believers.

"The Christian community, which cannot remain indifferent in the face of such dramatic situations, feels the pressing duty to intervene", adds the Pope. "My hope, then, is that the World Day of the Sick may give parish and diocesan communities the opportunity to become ever more aware of being the 'family of God', encouraging them ... to make manifest the love of the Lord Who asks that 'within the ecclesial family no member should suffer through being in need'".

Pope Benedict concluded his message with: "My very special greetings to you dear children who are sick and suffering. The Pope embraces you, your parents and your families with paternal affection, and assures you of a special mention in his prayer, inviting you to trust in the maternal assistance of Mary Immaculate".

Comments

  1. Please pray for our children who suffer a neuro-degenerative disease. Peyton Charles, age 11, and Kayla Marie, age 8
    on this World Sick of the Sick & Our Lady of Lourdes declared by Pope John Paul II.

    www.hadleyhope.com

    Prayer to implore the intercession of Servant of God John Paul II:

    O Blessed Trinity. We thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendour of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to you will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Many thanks, Jean, for linking to my blog. Blessings to you and your wonderful blog.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated and are published at the blogger's discretion.

Blog Archive

Show more

Popular posts from this blog

The Spirituality and Miracles of St. Clare of Assisi

Saint Michael de Sanctis: Patron of Cancer Patients

Saint Gerard of Brogne: Patron of Abbots