“It is not good that man should be alone—Healing the Sick by Healing Relationships,” is the theme of Pope Francis' message for the 2024 commemoration of the World Day of the Sick, held on 11 February.
February 11 also coincides with the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. It is the anniversary of when Our Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. Our Blessed Mother's many visitations to St. Bernadette resulted in the miraculous waters from the springs at Lourdes where thousands of faith-filled sick have been healed.
World Day of the Sick is held every year on this date and as a theme for this year, Pope Francis uses the words from Genesis that God spoke after creating the first human, "It is not good that man should be alone."
Unsplash: Laura Vinck
We are encouraged to seek healing by healing relationships—something our world needs to heed when so many wars are the result of humans not believing that we can live peacefully, together on Earth.
The operative word is LOVE; not like, or tolerate, or endure, or accept but LOVE where one's focus is on the good of the other.
To learn more about this year's theme you can read or listen to the message from Rome here.
-Sister Elaine Cole, csj
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.”