This year's theme focuses on the experience of vulnerability and illness and how we can learn to walk together according to the style of God, which is closeness, compassion, and tenderness. This is Pope Francis' invitation to us to reflect on these things.

In his encyclical letter, Fratelli Tutti, Chapter Two: "We cannot be indifferent to suffering" (68), it speaks of an aspect of our common humanity that we often forget: we were created for a fulfillment that can only be found in love. We opt to ignore the reality on the ground, the sickness in the world, and the outcasts of society. We are out of touch with what is really happening around us.

We are once again encouraged by the situation of today to leave our comfort zones and help the sick, carry the injured, and take care of them there. Luke 10:25–37, which Pope Francis also invites us to read in the Good Samaritan narrative, has these messages.

As we also commemorate the occasion, let us not forget to pray for them, participate, and be involved in any humanitarian cause, as we are called to have a "face-to-face" encounter with the sick. In these ways, we are walking together as one community, promoting the essential aspect of humanity, which is love.

The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is also observed today. A peasant girl named St. Bernadette Soubirous saw the Virgin when she appeared to her, and she gave her the order to till the earth so that it might one day become a healing spring. The Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette, inspiring us to help, carry, and care for the sick. This encounter serves as a reminder to be "present" in the most trying of circumstances.

Arvin Valencia | OLA Social Communications