World Day of the Sick

Pope St. John Paul II initiated the World Day of the Sick in 1992 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and designated February 11th, the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes,  as the day of its annual celebration, because of the long history of pilgrimages to the shrine, and the large number of miraculous healings.  The gospel passage chosen for today, Mark 6: 53-56, depicts Jesus at Gennesaret healing the sick who were brought to him there and in all the villages and market places he visited.
It has become the custom to dedicate the day to a person known for tending the ill, and this year we honor St. Teresa of Kolkata (now the name of Calcutta) because of her renowned care of the sick, poor and destitute. Linking Mother Teresa with Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick leaves us little excuse not to examine our own attitude toward illness and the many people in our circles who are bearing some illness, pain, disability or addiction. We can pray for them and if, possible, visit or call them.  Jesus paid special attention to them and the millions of visitors to Lourdes indicate that as with the poor, the sick we will always have with us. As Jesus gave them so much of his time, can we not give them some of ours?
Bro. Rene