Religious quotes and news – February 16, 2025
Snippets of religious statements and highlights of events from around the world
Medical care and prayer
Fr Jean de Dieu Belembaongo, explained in La Croix International the significance of the World Day of the Sick, celebrated February 11:
“Both medical care and prayer should be embraced together – never one without the other. It is crucial to dissuade people from believing that prayer alone can heal. The Book of Sirach, 38, states: ‘Honour physicians for their services, for the Lord created them; for their gift of healing comes from the Most High, and they are rewarded by the king. The skill of physicians makes them distinguished, and in the presence of the great they are admired.’ That said, alongside medical science, we must not forget God, the ultimate healer. It is essential to pray for doctors so they perform their duties well, and for the sick so they do not lose faith in God.”
Peace, justice, charity
At a conference as part of the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Agents, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher said: “Peace requires the construction of an order based on justice and charity. It is the result of solidarity, the safeguarding of our common home, and the promotion of the common good. Seeking and rediscovering the meaning of human dignity and the moral principles that underpin our human community and unite us beyond political, cultural, or religious differences, and adhering to them requires courage, and this is also a condition for building true peace and creating a harmonious international order.”
‘Jubilee in exile’
Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Myanmar is celebrating the Jubilee ‘in exile’ in a parish, not in his cathedral that is occupied by the army. He said: “The Lord is with us, he supports us, he is the source of our hope. Moreover, hope comes from solidarity and mutual charity in this time of desert, darkness, suffering, displacement… a time of exile when everyone longs to return home but cannot because of the widespread violence.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)