What does it mean to truly see someone who is suffering?

This World Day of the Sick invites each of us to reflect on how we live this call. We all pray for our sick loved ones, and those who care for them. We pray for others we know; a fellow parishioners; a friend’s child; a coworker’s spouse. Many of us are or have been caretakers in our lives as well.  

Yet, in a world that moves quickly—where it’s easy to scroll past pain or walk around it—the Church pauses each year on February 11 for the World Day of the Sick, inviting us to stop, notice, and draw near.

For the 34th World Day of the Sick, Pope Leo XIV turns our attention to one of Jesus’ most challenging parables: the Good Samaritan, and the call to love by bearing another’s pain.

This message lies at the heart of the mission of Mission Doctors Association.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells of a man beaten and left for dead on the road. Others pass by—but one person stops. The Samaritan sees, draws near, and takes responsibility for the wounded man’s care.

Pope Leo reminds us that compassion is never passive. To be a neighbor is not about proximity or convenience—it is a decision to love.  Mission Doctors live this decision every day, choosing to stop and serve patients in places where healthcare is limited and suffering is great.

Care for the sick, the Holy Father teaches, is not only a personal act of charity but a shared mission of the Church. Families, healthcare workers, missionaries, and supporters each offer what they can.

Mission Doctors never serve alone. Their work is sustained by a community of prayer and generosity that makes compassionate care possible.

At the heart of the Good Samaritan story is the command to love God and love our neighbor. Pope Leo reminds us that love of neighbor is the clearest sign of love for God—love expressed through action.

Thank you for walking alongside Mission Doctors. 

Through your prayers and generosity, you help bring healing, dignity, and hope to our brothers and sisters around the world—loving by bearing another’s pain.

If you would like to share the name of someone who is ill, we want to join you in praying these loved ones today too.  Please submit their names and they will be added to the altar at the chapel at our Mission House for the World Day of the Sick. 

Share the name of someone who is ill by emailing info@missiondoctors.org