"The Church – as a Mother to all her children, especially the infirm – reminds us that generous gestures like that of the Good Samaritan are the most credible means of evangelization". These are the words of Pope Francis in his Message for the XXVII World Day of the Sick «You received without payment; give without payment (Mt 10:8)» to be solemny held in Calcutta, India, on February the 11th 2019.
In the Message published today, the Holy Father quotes St. Paul afferming that “Precisely because it is a gift, human life cannot be reduced to a personal possession or private property, especially in the light of medical and biotechnological advances that could tempt us to manipulate the “tree of life.” (cf. Gen 3:24).
He remindes also that “with joy and admiration, the figure of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta – a model of charity who made visible God’s love for the poor and sick.” “Mother Teresa – added the Holy Father mentioning his homily on the occasion of the canonisation on September the 4th, 2016–She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity; […] Her mission to the urban and existential peripheries remains for us today an eloquent witness to God’s closeness to the poorest of the poor”.
HERE read the Message.