God our Father, your Son accepted our sufferings to teach us the virtue of patience in human illness. Hear the prayers we offer for our sick brother/sister. May all who suffer pain, illness, or disease realize that they have been chosen to be saints and know that they are joined to Christ in His suffering for the salvation of the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Father in heaven, grant N. comfort in his/her suffering. Give him/her courage when afraid, patience when afflicted, hope when dejected, and when alone assure him/her of the prayerful support of Your holy people. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Both prayers are from Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum, the Church’s ritual book for the sick.
Our Lady appeared in Lourdes, France, in 1858 to a humble peasant girl, St. Bernadette. Mary asked for prayer and sacrifice for the conversion of sinners. Pilgrims still come to the spring at the grotto to pray for healing of body and soul. By means of this prayer, ask Our Lady for her prayers for healing and/or other blessings you desire!
O ever-Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy,
health of the sick, refuge of sinners,
comforter of the afflicted,
you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings.
Look with mercy on me.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence you dispense your favors;
and already many sufferers have obtained
the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.
I come, therefore, with complete confidence
to implore your maternal intercession.
Obtain, O loving Mother, the granting of my requests
(mention your intentions).
Through gratitude for your favors,
I will endeavor to imitate your virtues,
that I may one day share your glory.
Amen.
Traditional prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes.
Pray for them by name, every day if you can, and let them know you are praying. Offer a Rosary or a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for them. Ask a priest to offer a Mass for their intention. If they are seriously ill, tell your parish so a priest can visit and bring Holy Communion. You are always welcome to send their name to the brothers through the prayer request form below.
The Church gives the sick a sacrament of their own: the Anointing of the Sick. It is not only for those at the point of death. “As soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1514). It may also be received before a serious operation, by the elderly as their strength fails, and again if an illness grows worse (CCC 1515). Through it the Holy Spirit gives strength, peace and courage, unites the sick person to the Passion of Christ, and forgives sins if the person could not go to confession (CCC 1520–1523, 1532). If someone you love is seriously ill, call your parish and ask for a priest.
Although Our Lord opened up the gates of Heaven for us by his death on the cross, this fallen world is a valley of tears. To some degree, we all experience pain and suffering. There is no easy answer to pain and suffering in the world, but “[w]e know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). In his apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris, St. John Paul II explores the “Christian meaning of human suffering,” as its subtitle states.
“Christ’s compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that ‘God has visited his people’ and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins; he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: ‘I was sick and you visited me.’ His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1503).
“Moved by so much suffering, Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’ But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the ‘sin of the world,’ of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross, Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion” (paragraph 1505).
If you are caring for someone who is ill, see our Prayer for Caregivers. For someone near death, see our Catholic Prayer for the Dying.
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Please know that every prayer request shared here is kept strictly confidential. Your request will go to the Brothers, who will intercede for you. We will place your intentions before our Eucharistic King during our daily hours of adoration.
