World Day of the Sick

February 11th was World Day of the Sick, the day the Catholic Church sets aside for specific prayers for the sick and dying. It is also a time to recognise the contribution of caregivers in tending to the needs of those who are hospitalised.

Every year Pope Francis offers a special message highlighting the importance of the role the church plays, in supporting those who are unwell, and in need of care. This year he reminds us that illness is part of our human condition, but if illness is experienced in isolation and abandonment, unaccompanied by care and compassion, it can become inhumane.

He writes, “When we go on a journey with others, it is not unusual for someone to feel sick, to have to stop because of fatigue or of some mishap along the way. It is precisely in such moments that we see how we are walking together. We are all fragile and vulnerable, and need the kind of compassion which knows how to pause, approach, heal, and raise up.”

Pope Francis reminds us of the story of the Good Samaritan, a parable that is deeply entrenched in the heritage in St John of God Health Care. In this parable the Samaritan asks the innkeeper to “take care of the injured man” and Jesus in his teaching challenges us to “go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37). On this World Day of the Sick, we are invited to reflect on the fact that it is through the experience of vulnerability and illness that we can learn to walk alongside others with closeness, compassion, and tenderness.

Thank you for the work you do every day in walking alongside and supporting the many patients who seek our care. Thank you for being Good Samaritans who see the needs of our patients and meet those needs with hospitality, respect, compassion, justice and excellence.