APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

GREETINGS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO THE SICK

Seminary of Quigley South, Chicago
Friday, 5 October 1979

Dear brothers and sisters,

I have desired to address a heartfelt greeting to all the sick, bedridden and handicapped in the name of the Lord Jesus, who was himself "a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity" (Is 53 :3).

I would like to greet you, one by one, to bless you all individually, and to speak to you—to each one of you individually— about Jesus Christ, the one who took upon himself all human suffering so that he could bring salvation to the whole world. God loves you as his privileged children. For two reasons you are in a very special way my brothers and sisters : because of the love of Christ that binds us together, and particularly because you share so profoundly in the Mystery of the Cross and the Redemption of Jesus.

Thank you for the suffering you bear in your bodies and your hearts. Thank you for your example of acceptance, of patience and of union with the suffering Christ. Thank you for filling up "what is lacking in the suffering of Christ for the sake of his body, the Church" (Col 1:24).

May the peace and the joy of the Lord Jesus be always with you.

© Copyright 1979 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana