By David Kerr Vatican City, Jan 3, 2012 / 06:40 pm ( CNA/EWTN News ) .- The suffering people experience when they are sick can help them grow closer to Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI said in his message for next month’s World Day of the Sick. “God, indeed, in his Son, does not abandon us to our anguish and sufferings, but is close to us, helps us to bear them, and wishes to heal us in the depths of our hearts,” the Pope said on Jan. 3. He placed a particular emphasis on the Church’s three “sacraments of healing,” which are Reconciliation, the Anointing of the Sick, and the Eucharist. The theme of this year’s Day of the Sick – which will be observed on Feb. 11 – is “stand up and go; your faith has saved you,” a quotation taken from Christ’s command to the only leper out of 10 who were cured that returned to thank him. Pope Benedict said that Jesus’ command to the leper should raise awareness of the “importance of faith for those who, burdened by suffering and ...