Dear Catholic school Trustees, Directors of Education, Principals and Teachers, thank you for visiting our webpage. Here you will find lesson plans and resources related to World Day of the Sick. Please visit periodically for updates.
Each year on February 11, the Catholic Church marks the World Day of the Sick on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This is a time to offer prayers for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers.
We invite you to promote the Holy Father’s message for World Day of the Sick in your classrooms in the month of February. Below you will find prayers for the sick and suggested elementary and secondary classroom activities that can be used to teach students about the World Day of the Sick with a focus on this year's theme.
Pope Leo XIV has chosen the theme: “The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing the pain of the other.” In his Message for the 34th World Day of the Sick, the Pope encouraged renewed reflection on the figure of the Good Samaritan. He noted that this image "is always relevant and essential for rediscovering the beauty of charity and the social dimension of compassion" and helps further "direct our attention towards the needy and all those who suffer, especially the sick."
Archbishop Smith will celebrate a Mass for World Day of the Sick on Wednesday, February 11 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Vancouver. We also invite schools to pray for the sick and their caregivers on this day. Learn more about this day.
Suggested Classroom Activities
We invite you to use the following lesson plans to teach students about the World Day of the Sick:
- Suggested Elementary School Classroom Activity
- Suggested Secondary School Classroom Activity
- Prayer for World Day of the Sick
- Petitions for World Day of the Sick
Within the lesson plans, you will also find worksheets, teacher answer keys and a Powerpoint Presentation. These resources have been included below for quick reference:
- Slideshow Presentation (Elementary School)
- Good Samaritan Colouring Sheets (Elementary School)
- Parable Answer Key (Elementary School)
- Feeling Wheel Graphic
- Parable Worksheet (Secondary School)
- Parable Teacher Answer Key (Secondary School)
- Real Life Samaritan Stories
- Slideshow Presentation (Secondary School)
The Archdiocese of Vancouver would like to thank Natalie Chow, a secondary school teacher, for putting together these lesson plans and resources for World Day of the Sick. We hope that you will find them useful.
Prayers for World Day of the Sick
To mark World Day of the Sick, we invite schools to pray with us. Below is a prayer that can be prayed together by schools over the PA system or within the classroom:
Prayer for the Sick
Father of goodness and love, hear our prayers for the sick members of our community and for all who are in need. Amid mental and physical suffering may they find consolation in your healing presence. Show your mercy as you close wounds, cure illness, make broken bodies whole and free downcast spirits. May these special people find lasting health and deliverance, and so join us in thanking you for all your gifts. We ask this through the Lord Jesus who healed those who believed. Amen.
Our Father...
Hail Mary... (x3)
Glory be...
Source: Holy Family Parish, St. Albert, Alberta
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