Pope Francis: Hope is a gift from God that lifts up the faithful above challenges

During trials in life, the faithful can see his own weakness and the necessity for something that is more powerful, Pope Francis said in his message for the 33rd World Day of the Sick.

Every year on February 11, the liturgical celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes, people commemorate the World Day of the Sick.

“In these situations, we sense our need for a strength greater than our own,” he said. “We realize that we need God’s help, His grace, His Providence, and the strength that is the gift of His Spirit.”

The tests that a faithful goes through leads him to realize that hope is in God and given by Him, Pope Francis illustrated.

“More than anything else, suffering makes us aware that hope comes from the Lord, and it is thus, first and foremost, a gift to be received and cultivated, by remaining ‘faithful to the faithfulness of God,’” he said.

The Word of God walks with the faithful and tells: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial,” Pope Francis pointed out.

Those are comforting words, he said, that could not easily be understood, especially for people who are going through difficulties.

“How can we be strong, for example, when our bodies are prey to severe, debilitating illnesses that require costly treatment that we may not be able to afford,” he said. “How can we show strength when, in addition to our own sufferings, we see those of our loved ones who support us yet feel powerless to help us?”

These situations are proof that the faithful, in times of hardship and sickness, need hope, and that hope is from God, Pope Francis explained.

In times of illness the faithful rediscovers his physical, psychological, and spiritual weaknesses, he pointed out.

“Yet we also experience the closeness and compassion of God, who, in Jesus, shared in our human suffering,” Pope Francis said. “God does not abandon us and often amazes us by granting us a strength that we never expected, and would never have found on our own.”

Sickness is an experience that could transform the person and make him aware of a “solid rock” that could be depended on, he explained.

“Suffering always brings with it a mysterious promise of salvation, for it makes us experience the closeness and reality of God’s consoling presence,” Pope Francis said.

The places where people suffer are usually places where people share with each other, he noted.

“We realize that we are ‘angels’ of hope and messengers of God for one another, all of us together: whether patients, physicians, nurses, family members, friends, priests, men and women religious, no matter where we are, whether in the family or in clinics, nursing homes, hospitals or medical centres,” Pope Francis said.

People should value small and simple things that nurtures hope, like the gentle smile of a nurse, the appreciation and faith of a patient, the reflection of caring on the face of a doctor or volunteer, or the troubled look of a spouse, a child, or a friend, Pope Francis stated.

“All these are rays of light to be treasured; even amid the dark night of adversity, they give us strength, while at the same time teaching us the deeper meaning of life, in love and closeness,” he said.

“Dear brothers and sisters who are ill or who care for the suffering, in this Jubilee you play an especially important part,” the Pope said. “Your journey together is a sign for everyone: “a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope. Its strains are heard far beyond the rooms and beds of health facilities, and serve to elicit in charity ‘the choral participation of society as a whole’ in a harmony that is at times difficult to achieve, but for that very reason is so comforting and powerful, capable of bringing light and warmth wherever they are most needed.”

Due to the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis decided to postpone the solemn celebration of World Day of the Sick, which will normally take place this year, to 2026 at the Marian Sanctuary of the Virgin of Chapi of Arequipa in Peru.