While people suffering with drug addiction and/or mental illness may break the hearts of their loved ones, much mercy and compassion is also often present.

To mark the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, Bishop Michael Bransfield of the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese in West Virginia wrote a pastoral letter titled “Hearts Made Whole: A Pastoral Response to Behavioral Health in West Virginia.”

The words of the former Philadelphia priest are directed to the members of his local church, but they speak to us in this Archdiocese and challenge us all to reach out like the good Samaritan in compassion to our brothers and sisters who suffer greatly in spirit. Read the letter online at dwc.org.