My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This year, the Church celebrates the 15th annual World Day of the Sick; it always coincides with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on Feb. 11. Observed in different countries throughout the world, the day is officially commemorated this year in Seoul, South Korea. The Church takes the issue of human suffering seriously, especially that of illness, which goes to the very heart of our human existence.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his message for the World Day of the Sick, said:
“Sickness inevitably brings with it a moment of crisis and sober confrontation with one’s own personal situation. Advances in the health sciences often provide the means necessary to meet this challenge, at least with regard to its physical aspects. Human life, however, has intrinsic limitations, and sooner or later it ends in death. This is an experience to which each human being is called, and one for which he or she must be prepared. Despite the advances of science, a cure cannot be found for every illness, and thus, in hospitals, hospices and homes throughout the world we encounter the sufferings of our many brothers and sisters who are incurably and often terminally ill. ...Trust that your sufferings, united to those of Christ, will prove fruitful for the needs of the Church and the world.”
The consoling message of the World Day of the Sick is that we use the occasion to pray for those in ill health---those in our Diocese and all whom we know--- and also to pray that they will understand how they can join their sufferings to those of Jesus Christ to find the true meaning and the redemptive power of suffering.
As we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, I wish to announce a Diocesan Pilgrimage to take place in 2008, the 150th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes. I myself was present at the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1958. Only 14 years of age, I was on a pilgrimage to Lourdes and Rome organized by the Boy Scouts of my home diocese. It truly was a life-changing experience, one that I will never forget. I credit the confirmation of my vocation to the priesthood to that pilgrimage, especially at Lourdes, where I reaffirmed the vows of my Baptism in the waters of its baths. It was like being baptized in the experience of the early Church.
I have already announced the diocesan pilgrimage to the Boy Scouts of the Diocese, and I have pledged to subsidize passage for as many scouts as is possible so that they too may have the same kind of experience that I had, one that was life-changing and led me to the full recognition of a priestly vocation.
The dates of next year’s pilgrimage will be April 14-21. It will begin at Lourdes and end in Paris with its pilgrimage sites at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal and the Shrine of the Sacred Heart on Montmarte. We have not finalized details; we are, however, trying to make the trip as affordable as possible so that many may join me, and perhaps some of our Auxiliary Bishops, on this wonderful pilgrimage. We are also trying to make arrangements for extending the pilgrimage with a trip for some to Rome and for others to Fatima.
If you wish more details in the coming months, you may contact Father Gerard Sauer, director of the Diocesan Pilgrimage Office, by phone at (718) 965-7313 or by e-mail at pilgrimages@rcdob.org. Making your early reservations would be a good idea.
Whenever we experience illness, especially when it is life threatening, it is like putting out into the deep, since we know not where this will lead us. Our faith tells us that no human suffering is without purpose and that there is meaning in every human suffering if it can be joined to the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
Join me on Feb. 11 in praying for the sick of the Diocese of Brooklyn and all whom we know. Let us also pray for the sick of the world, that the Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, might teach those afflicted with illness the true meaning of human suffering and the purpose which it contains.
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