Bengaluru: Bangalore Archbishop Most Rev. Dr. Peter Machado comforted the diseased and the sick as he celebrated the Holy Eucharist this morning at St. Philomena’s Hospital on the occasion of the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes also observed as the World Day of the Sick.
Many sick people were ushered to the Holy Mass at the premises of the Hospital. Along with the sick, a number of nurses, attendants of the patients, sisters of JMJ congregation participated in the Eucharist devoutly. The Archbishop lauded the service of all the nurses and caretakers in the hospital towards people with various infirmities.
Speaking in his homily the prelate said, “We are all sick in one or the other way. But Jesus is our comfort and refuge. Jesus invites all of us to rest in His hands,” The Archbishop also emphasized the passage of suffering servant from the book of Isaiah and pointed out the importance of endurance in suffering. “Sickness, old age, and death are the inevitable aspects of our lives,” he added.
At the culmination of the Holy Eucharist, His Grace the Archbishop anointed the sick with oil on their foreheads and also a magazine called “Presence” was unveiled during the celebration.
The practice of observing World Day of the Sick instituted on May 13, 1992, by Pope Saint John Paul II. He chose the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes for the date of the observance because many pilgrims and visitors to Lourdes, France, have been reported to have been healed at the Marian Sanctuary there through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. Even though it is not a liturgical celebration, but it seeks to be for all believers “a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one’s suffering,”