Vatican City, Dec 3, 2009 / 08:26 am
Benedict XVI has announced that the World Day of the Sick will be celebrated this liturgical year on February 11, the 25th anniversary of the institution of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers. The Pontiff drew attention to the essential nature of pastoral service for the sick and asked those who are ill "to pray and offer up their sufferings for priests" in this Year of the Priest.
For February 11, the Pope said, the Church would like to "raise awareness in the ecclesial community of the importance of pastoral service in the vast world of health..." It's a service, that plays an integral part in healthcare's mission following "the same saving mission of Christ."
"Through the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection, human suffering obtains sense and fullness of light."
Benedict quoted the words of his predecessor to "illuminate" this mystery. John Paul II wrote that in Christ's death, human suffering reached it's culmination and also entered into a new dimension of love, obtained through suffering.