[Excerpts]
"This year, since the Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated in
the Holy Land, I wish to propose a meditation on the Gospel account of
the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2: 1-11), where Jesus performed his first miracle through the intervention of his Mother. The theme chosen - Entrusting Oneself to the Merciful Jesus like Mary: 'Do whatever he tells you' (Jn 2:5) is quite fitting in light of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
The main Eucharistic celebration of the Day will take place on 11
February 2016, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, in
Nazareth itself, where 'the Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us' (Jn 1:14). In Nazareth, Jesus began his salvific
mission, applying to himself the words of the Prophet Isaiah....Illness, above all grave illness, always places human existence in
crisis and brings with it questions that dig deep. Our first response
may at times be one of rebellion: Why has this happened to me? We can
feel desperate, thinking that all is lost, that things no longer have
meaning…
"In these situations, faith in God is on the one hand tested, yet at
the same time can reveal all of its positive resources. Not because
faith makes illness, pain, or the questions which they raise, disappear,
but because it offers a key by which we can discover the deepest
meaning of what we are experiencing; a key that helps us to see how
illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus who walks at our side,
weighed down by the Cross. And this key is given to us by Mary, our Mother, who has known this way at first hand.
"At the wedding feast of Cana, Mary is the thoughtful woman who sees a
serious problem for the spouses: the wine, the symbol of the joy of the
feast, has run out. Mary recognizes the difficulty, in some way makes
it her own, and acts swiftly and discreetly. She does not simply look
on, much less spend time in finding fault, but rather, she turns to
Jesus and presents him with the concrete problem....And when Jesus tells her that it is not yet the time for him to reveal
himself (cf. v. 4), she says to the servants: 'Do whatever He tells you'
(v. 5). Jesus then performs the miracle, turning water into
wine, a wine that immediately appears to be the best of the whole
celebration. What teaching can we draw from this mystery of the wedding
feast of Cana for the World Day of the Sick?
"The wedding feast of Cana is an image of the Church: at the centre
there is Jesus who in His mercy performs a sign; around Him are the
disciples, the first fruits of the new community; and
beside Jesus and the disciples is Mary, the provident and prayerful
Mother. Mary partakes of the joy of ordinary people and helps it to
increase; she intercedes with her Son on behalf of the spouses and all
the invited guests. Nor does Jesus refuse the request of his Mother. How
much hope there is in that event for all of us! We have a Mother with
benevolent and watchful eyes, like her Son; a heart that is maternal and
full of mercy, like Him; hands that want to help, like the hands of
Jesus Who broke bread for those who were hungry, touched the sick and
healed them....Mary is the 'comforted' Mother who comforts her children.
"At Cana the distinctive features of Jesus and His mission are clearly
seen: He comes to the help of those in difficulty and need....Mary’s
request at the wedding feast, suggested by the Holy Spirit to her
maternal heart, clearly shows not only Jesus’ messianic power but also
His mercy.
"In Mary’s concern we see reflected the tenderness of God. This same
tenderness is present in the lives of all those persons who attend the
sick and understand their needs, even the most imperceptible ones,
because they look upon them with eyes full of love. How many times has a
mother at the bedside of her sick child, or a child caring for an
elderly parent, or a grandchild concerned for a grandparent, placed his
or her prayer in the hands of Our Lady! For our loved ones who suffer
because of illness we ask first for their health. Jesus himself showed
the presence of the Kingdom of God specifically through His healings:
'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them' (Mt 11:4-5).
But love animated by faith makes us ask for them something greater than
physical health: we ask for peace, a serenity in life that comes from
the heart and is God’s gift, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, a gift which
the Father never denies to those who ask Him for it with trust.
"In the scene of Cana, in addition to Jesus and his Mother, there are
the 'servants', whom she tells: 'Do whatever he tells you' (Jn2:5).
Naturally, the miracle takes place as the work of Christ; however, he
wants to employ human assistance in performing this miracle. He could
have made the wine appear directly in the jars. But He wants to rely
upon human cooperation, and so He asks the servants to fill them with
water. How wonderful and pleasing to God it is to be servants of others!
This more than anything else makes us like Jesus....
"On this World Day of the Sick let us ask Jesus in His mercy, through
the intercession of Mary, his Mother and ours, to grant to all of us
this same readiness to be serve those in need, and, in
particular, our infirm brothers and sisters....By quietly helping those who suffer, as in
illness itself, we take our daily cross upon our shoulders and follow
the Master (cf. Lk 9:23). Even though the experience of suffering will always remain a mystery, Jesus helps us to reveal its meaning.
"If we can learn to obey the words of Mary, who says: 'Do whatever he
tells you', Jesus will always change the water of our lives into
precious wine....Every hospital and nursing home can be a visible sign and setting
in which to promote the culture of encounter and peace, where the
experience of illness and suffering, along with professional and
fraternal assistance, helps to overcome every limitation and division'....
To all those who assist the sick and the suffering I express my
confident hope that they will draw inspiration from Mary, the Mother of
Mercy....Let us beg her to turn her eyes of mercy
towards us, especially in times of pain, and make us worthy of
beholding, today and always, the merciful face of her Son Jesus!" (Pope Francis, 9/15/15, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows)
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- Abortifacients & Catholic Hospitals....Under no circumstances should Catholic hospitals jeopardize the Catholic witness by providing abortifacients or contraceptives.
- Ads in parish bulletins....this is an appeal for parishes to forego ads for providers of abortifacients and contraceptives.
- AFA (Tell "AMA: Taxpayers should [NOT] subsidize trans reproductive surgeries")
- C-Fam
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- NJ Family Policy Center (Petition to Attorney General Matt Platkin)
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- Tell your bishop to prohibit the “blessing” of sinful unions in your diocese
- USCCB (re: Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act)
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- USCCB (re: Letters to Pharmaceutical Companies ["to protest the use of abortion-derived cell lines and advocate for the development of vaccines with no connection to abortion."])
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