COVID UPDATE 10-FEB 2021

PILGRIMAGE & MASS OF THE SICK –

UPDATES ON RESTRICTIONS currently in force due to COVID-19.

MASS IS GOING AHEAD AS PLANNED ON SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY AT 11.00 A.M

*** MASK WEARING, REGISTRATION AT THE DOOR, SANITISATION AND SAFE DISTANCING POLICY ARE MANDATORY AT ALL TIMES.

There will be no fellowship after mass but you are more than welcome to bring your own

– NO FOOD AND DRINK SHARING PLEASE…

CELEBRATING THE 29th WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

February 11 is World Day of the Sick, an observation started by Pope John Paul II as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses. The day coincides with the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes.
People around the world take the time to pray for the sick and for those who work very hard to alleviate the sufferings of the sick on this day. Faith organisations mark this day especially to provide the sick with medicines, food, and spiritual guidance.
Pope John Paul II initiated the day in 1992 to encourage people to pray for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers. The Pope himself had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a year before, in 1991, and it is considered that his own illness was impetus for his designation of the day.
Pope Benedict XVI also declared his decision to resign from his post as the Pope on this day in 2013. He cited his failing health as the reason behind his decision.

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.

“Yes” to life and human person

In serving the ill, Pope Francis urges healthcare professionals that “the noun ‘person’ takes priority over the adjective ‘sick’. He urges them to “always strive to promote the dignity and life of each person, and reject any compromise in the direction of euthanasia, assisted suicide or suppression of life, even in the case of terminal illness.”
“Let us remember that life is sacred and belongs to God,” he says; “hence it is inviolable and no one can claim the right to dispose of it freely.” “Life must be welcomed, protected, respected and served from its beginning to its end: both human reason and faith in God, the author of life, require this.”

This year’s World Day of the Sick will be starting at Ta Pinu Marian Shrine (Aust) with a novena to Our Lady of Lourdes on February 2 TO February 11th .

Our Celebration will culminate on February 13  with Holy Mass at 11.00A.M  During mass, those who are sick as well as those providing care to them will be anointed together.

I wish to invite all the faithful to join me on this special day so that we may together pray that we may be heal of our ailments both physical as well as spiritual

God Bless You All

Mgr Benedict Camilleri