“To love one’s neighbor, whom Jesus identifies as anyone who has need of us, is within everyone’s reach,” Pope Francis wrote in his message for the 34th World Day of the Sick, observed by the Church on February 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
“The pain that moves us to compassion is not the pain of a stranger; it is the pain of a member of our own body, to whom Christ, our head, commands us to attend, for the good of all,” the pope continued in the message released on January 20.
The theme chosen for the 2026 observance draws inspiration from the parable of the Good Samaritan and Pope Francis’ encyclical on human fraternity, *Fratelli Tutti*. Titled “The compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by bearing the pain of the other,” the message emphasizes the importance of encountering and listening to others, being moved by compassion, and loving God through concrete action in solidarity with others.
While the message is traditionally addressed to Catholic healthcare and pastoral workers, this year it is offered to everyone, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said during a Vatican news conference presenting the message on January 20.
“This message is for everyone because we’re one body, one humanity of brothers and sisters,” the cardinal explained. “When someone’s sick and suffering, all the other categories which tend to divide fade away into insignificance.”
When asked how people in the United States should respond to witnessing violence toward immigrants, Cardinal Czerny admitted, “I don’t know what to say about the larger picture,” but encouraged focusing on “the underview” — what should or is happening on the ground.
“There are many situations in which the individual Christian, the individual citizen, can extend their hand or lend their support. And that’s extremely important,” he said. “I suppose we could all hope that those many gestures, many Samaritan gestures, can also translate into better politics.”
The cardinal emphasized that the Catholic “struggle for justice” gains “its real depth and its real meaning” from daily lived experiences helping real people. For example, advocacy work should “evolve out of real experience.”
“When, let’s say, your visits to the sick reveal, for example, the injustice of inaccessibility to health care, well then you take it up as an issue, but on the basis of your lived and indeed pastoral and Christian experience,” he explained.
The Good Samaritan parable illustrates that “we are all in a position to respond” to anyone in need, Cardinal Czerny added.
“The mystery, which you can discover whether you are a Christian or not, is that by responding, in a sense, your own suffering is also addressed. Since the major suffering for so many today, young and not so young, is loneliness and hopelessness, by worrying about it less and reaching out to someone who needs you, you will discover that there’s more life than you imagined,” he said.
In his message, Pope Leo reflected, “To serve one’s neighbor is to love God through deeds.”
He further explained that the “true meaning of loving ourselves” involves “setting aside any attempt to base our self-esteem or sense of dignity on worldly stereotypes such as success, career, status or family background and recovering our proper place before God and neighbor.”
“I genuinely hope that our Christian lifestyle will always reflect this fraternal, ‘Samaritan’ spirit—one that is welcoming, courageous, committed and supportive, rooted in our union with God and our faith in Jesus Christ,” Pope Leo wrote.
“Enkindled by this divine love, we will surely be able to give of ourselves for the good of all who suffer, especially our brothers and sisters who are sick, elderly, or afflicted,” he concluded.
https://themiscellany.org/pope-leo-says-everyone-can-be-good-samaritan
