Loving and gracious God,
Good Shepherd, Gentle Jesus,
Source of all Life and Healer of Body and Soul,
we ask your blessing and tender mercy
on all who suffer illness in mind, in heart or spirit..
We implore you to walk with them on their journey
as you once did with the disciples on the way to Emmaus;
may their hearts burn with the fire of your loving presence.
May they feel your healing touch as did the man
with the withered hand in the synagogue.
Raise them up, Healer Jesus,
as you did the daughter of Jairus
and the son of the widow of Naim,
as you did for your friend Lazarus whose suffering made you weep.
Drive from her any demons of anxiety
or isolation or despair that might assail them
as you once did for the man in the synagogue of Capernaum,
or the daughter of the Canaanite woman,
or the suffering Gadarene.
May they sense your love embracing him in the tender care
of their carers and friends and family,
in the constancy and prayers of their friends and our community,
in the skill and determination of their doctors and caregivers
as did the sick who sought you out
and felt the touch of your healing hand.
May you, Lord Jesus,
who knew the anguish of pain and suffering
be with them always, awake and alert,
as you asked your friends to be with you in Gethsemane
especially when their days are long and burdensome.
If it be your will, we pray that they may be renewed in strength
and healed of all that ails them.
Above all, dearest faithful Jesus, stand beside them
through the worry and anxiety of these days of illness,
as Mary, your Mother, whom we honour today as Our Lady of Lourdes,
did for you in your hour of anguish.
We make this prayer inspired by your Son,
who came that we might have life
and have it to the full.
Amen.
© Donald Senior C.P.