The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/A Daily Prayer in Time of Sickness
A Daily Prayer in Time of Sickness.
O MY God, I consider this sickness with which thou art pleased to visit me, as a favour from thy fatherly hand. I accept of all its circumstances and consequences in satisfaction for my sins. Thou hast given me health and strength, O Lord, and taken them away; may thy holy name be blessed for ever. I bow down my whole soul to adore thee in all thy appointments. I resign myself entirely into the hands of thy providence, and acknowledge that thou dost treat me with too much indulgence. I know I deserve greater evils than those I now endure, and that my sins have merited pains infinitely greater than those of hell, where I would long since have been, had not thy mercy interposed between my soul and thy justice. Alas! how many are now suffering therein for crimes considerably less than mine. My pains are nothing in comparison to theirs. I have no reason to complain. May thy holy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I offer myself with entire submission to suffer whatever thou pleasest — as long as thou pleasest — and in what manner thou pleasest. May this sickness be to the honour of thy holy name, and the good of my soul. O Lord, have pity on my weakness, and deal not with me according to my sins, but have compassion on me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. Confirm my soul with strength from above, that I may patiently suffer all the pains, uneasiness, and difficulties of my illness. Grant that I may cheerfully submit to them as just punishments of my manifold offences, and duly offer them in union with the sufferings and death of my blessed Redeemer on the cross, through whose merits I look for mercy, and hope to obtain eternal life> Have pity on me, O most loving Father! Clothe me with thy grace, and receive me into the arms of thy mercy. "Create a clean heart in me, O God! and renew a right spirit within my bowels." ( Psalm 1. 12.) Cast out from thence whatever profanes or defiles thy temple. Eradicate from my heart whatever is displeasing to thee, and lay in me the foundation of a new life. I am heartily sorry for having ever offended thy infinite goodness, either in thought, word, deed, or omission. I most humbly implore the pardon of all my sins, I now firmly purpose never to offend thee more, but to avoid everything that may be to me an occasion of sin. I resolve to make restitution and satisfaction for the injuries I have committed; for the love of thee I sincerely forgive all those who have in the least injured me: I beseech thee to pardon them, and to grant them the same blessings I desire for my own soul. With the utmost humility, I also heartily beg pardon of all those to whom I have given any offence, whether by bad example, words, deeds, or any other way, deliberately or indeliberately. Thou knowest, O Lord, my frailty, being nothing but dust and ashes; preserve me from all temptations, and be thou my defence against all the assaults of the evil spirit, that in this sickness I may no ways offend thee; and if it is to be my last, I beg of thee so to direct me by thy grace, that I may not neglect the necessary means of salvation, nor be deprived of any of those powerful helps which thou hast, in thy mercy, ordained for the good of my soul. Prepare me, O Lord, for my passage to eternity, that being perfectly cleansed from all my iniquities, I may be admitted one day into the kingdom of thy glory, there to love and praise thee for ever in the company of thy blessed angels and saints. Amen.