Message of Asian bishops’
president for World Day of the Sick in Calcutta
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| Mother Teresa of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) |
Cardinal Charles Bo of Myanmar, the president of the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), has issued a message for the
special celebration of World Day of the Sick in Kolkata, the city of St. Mother
Teresa of Calcutta.
By Robin Gomes
The Asian bishops’ president is urging believers in the
continent to continue upholding the sacred duty and tradition of caring and
respecting the elderly, the infirm and the helpless, saying it is a barometer of
society’s health.
Cardinal Charles Bo, the president of the Federation
of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), made the exhortation in a
message he released on Sunday in view of the upcoming international celebration
of the Catholic Church’s World Day of the Sick.
The annual day was instituted by St. John Paul II on
13 May 1992, designating its celebration to the feast of Our Lady of
Lourdes, February 11 each year. The purpose is to draw
attention to the sick and their caregivers and the redemptive act of human
suffering.
Kolkata - city of Mother Teresa
Each year, the day is marked in a special way in a place
chosen by the Pope who issues a message for the occasion. The 27th World
Day of the Sick will be celebrated in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata (formerly
Calcutta), the city of St. Mother Teresa.
In his message for this year’s observance, Pope Francis
urges believers to promote a culture of generosity, noting that the joy of
generous giving is a barometer of the health of a Christian.
The theme of this year’s World Day of the Sick has as its
theme, “You received without payment; give without payment”. (Mt 10:8).
Recalling Kolkata as the “karma bhumi” (workplace) of St.Teresa
of Calcutta, Card. Bo says that this year’s theme was the mantra that Jesus
gave His disciples “before sending them forth to spread the good news of the
kingdom of God.”
Caring for sick, infirm - a sacred duty
“Allow me to remind myself and encourage all believers to
uphold the traditional values embedded in the psyche of our varied ethnic
groups in this vast Asian continent which considers caring for the elderly and
infirm as a sacred duty of respect and devotion," explains the cardinal,
the Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar.
“Our traditional customs of reaching out in solidarity to
those in need especially those who are sick, helpless or fall victims to
accidents of calamitous emergencies,” he says, “must continue to be embraced as
a culture of generosity - a barometer denoting societal health.”
Card. Bo, who assumed his leadership of the FABC on Jan. 1,
holds Mary as a model, saying she set out to be at the side of
her cousin Elizabeth in her hour of need. He wishes that she be an
inspiration and example to us “to reach out as visible signs of God’s love for
the poor and the sick.”
He wishes that Mother Teresa, who showed what it means “give
till it hurts”, also be an inspiration and model in giving our time and talents
in caring for the sick.
The 70-year old cardinal expressed his gratitude and
encouragement to volunteers and associations who help the sick, and all those
organize campaigns for blood, tissue and organ donation.
Pope Francis on Dec. 11 appointed Bangladeshi Cardinal Patrick
D’Rozario as his envoy to the special celebration of the World Day of
the Sick in Kolkata.
This year’s World Day of the Sick will be a 3-day event,
starting in Kolkata on February 9 and will culminate on February 11 at the
historical Marian Shrine at Bandel on the banks of the Hooghly River some
60 kms north of Kolkata.
The first World Day of the Sick was marked in 1993 at the
shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France, one of the world’s most
famous Marian shrines. Since then, the day has been observed all over the
world with a special celebration in a particular place each year.
According to Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Prefect
of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, that
organizes the World Day of the Sick, Kolkata was chosen as a venue mainly “in
light of the experience of St. Teresa of Calcutta”.
This is only the second time a place in India has been
chosen. The first was Vailankanni in 2003.
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