CHE Prayer Booklet

Catholic Health East (CHE) is a multi-institutional Catholic health system, co-sponsored by nine religious congregations and Hope Ministries, a Public

Juridic Person. Based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, CHE’s health ministries are located in 11 eastern states from Maine to Florida. The System

includes 34 acute care hospitals, four long-term acute care hospitals, 25 freestanding and hospital-based long-term care facilities, 14 assisted living

facilities, four continuing care retirement communities, eight behavioral health and rehabilitation facilities, 37 home health/hospice agencies, and

numerous ambulatory and community-based health agencies.

Our MissiOn

Catholic Health East is a community of persons committed to being a transforming, healing presence within the communities we serve.

Our PrOfessiOnal ChaPlains ...Support patients and their families spiritually as they cope with illness

and hospitalization.Represent the ‘presence of the sacred’ to the hospital and local community.

Calm situations of chaos and crisis.Guide and support patients and families as they face difficult

health care decisions.Minister to those in crisis, especially those facing death.

ask fOr a ChaPlain When ...You need pastoral support and comfort.

You are facing surgery or a complicated medical procedure.You have a long-term or life-threatening illness.

Your way of life must change following an illness.You or your family have major health care decisions to make.

When personal, cultural or faith tradition systems need to be integrated into end-of-life decisions.

You need support in saying ‘goodbye’ to a loved one.You have lost a loved one.

We have done our best to obtain permission and trace sources for prayers in this booklet, some of which have been passed down over centuries. To the best of our knowledge, all prayers without specific copyright acknowledgement reside in the public domain. We apologize for any copyright protocol we may have overlooked.

IndexPrayer on Entering the Hospital 1Prayer While Waiting 1Prayer for Healing 2For Courage 2Healing Reflection 3Prayer to the Great Physician for Relief 3Prayer of Thanks 4Prayer to the Invisible but Ever Present God 4For Coping 5When in Pain 5Before Surgery 6Morning Prayer 7The Lord’s Prayer 7Evening Prayer 8St. Augustine’s Evening Prayer 8Prayer of Thanksgiving for All God’s Benefits 9A Patient’s Prayer 10A Prayer of St. Francis 11Psalm 23 12Psalm 100 12Prayer That Everything May Lead Us to God 13Hail Mary 14Memorare 14Prayer to the Mother of Mercy 15Hindu Prayer 15Mi Sheberakh: May the One Who Blessed ... 16Jewish Healing Prayer 17Surah Al-Fatiha 18Du’a for the Sick 18Traditional Buddhist Blessing and Healing Chant 19Native American Prayer 20What a Friend We Have in Jesus 21Prayer Before Going Home 21

Notes

21

Lord, as I am about to leave for home,I offer my thanks for all who have cared for me,

and made my stay more pleasant.I thank you for the healing that I have experienced,

and I offer heartfelt thanks to You, O God, for your unwavering presence.As I am about to go home, grant me the wisdom and strength

to choose what is best for me in the days ahead,so that my healing will continue. Amen.

Prayer Before Going Home

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Lord, I ask you to take my hand in yours. Walk with me to healing through my illness.

Calm my heart and take away my fears. Impart Your strength that I, with clear vision,

will experience your presence with me,may I trust in You and Your unfailing love. Amen.

Gracious God, so much is strange and different that sometimes I do not understand what it is all about;

then I become anxious and afraid.Please take away my anxieties, my doubts and my fears.

Enable me to trust You, Lord, that I may relax into Your love,grow calm and peaceful even in the face of difficulties.

Lord, You are my constant source of hope and strength. Amen.

1

Prayer on Entering the Hospital

Prayer While Waiting

O Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds and whosebreath gives life to all the world, hear me!

I am small and weak. I need Your strength and wisdom.Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the sunset.

Make my hands respect the things You have madeand my ears sharp to hear Your voice.Make me wise so that I understand

the things You have taught my people.Let me learn the lessons You have hidden in every rock and leaf.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,but to fight my greatest enemy—myself.Make me always ready to come to You

with clean hands and straight eyes.So when life fades, as the fading sunset,

my spirit may come to You without shame.

20

Native American Prayer

2

Almighty God, teach me, I humbly ask You,the secret of casting fear out of my mind.

With deep regret, I confess to You, that I am often afraid.Life’s challenges overwhelm me.

Some days are too much for me to bearwith my tiny store of courage and strength. I need help.

Remind me that You are always there for me.May I hear over and over deep within my soul,

Your voice and Your words: “Be not afraid.”In hearing, may I trust You, and in trusting

may I find strength and courage in Your love. Amen.

Most merciful God, look upon me with the eyes of Your compassion.Let Your healing hand rest upon me.

Let Your life-giving power flow throughout my bodyand into the very depths of my being.

Cleanse, purify and restore me to wholeness.Strengthen me so that I might continue to love and serve You,

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,for I have taken refuge in You; in the shadow of Your wings

will I take refuge until this time of trouble has gone by. Amen.

Prayer for Healing

For Courage

Just as the soft rains fill the streams, pour into the riversand join together in the oceans,

so may the power of every moment of Your goodnessflow forth to awaken and heal all beings, those here now,

those gone before, those yet to come.By the power of every moment of Your goodness

may Your heart’s wishes be soon fulfilledas completely shining as the bright full moon,

as magically as by a wish-fulfilling gem.By the power of every moment of Your goodness

may all dangers be averted and all disease be gone.May no obstacle come across Your way.May You enjoy fulfillment and long life.For all in whose heart dwells respect,

who follow the wisdom and compassion, of the way,may Your life prosper in the four blessings of old age,

beauty, happiness and strength.

19

Traditional Buddhist Blessing and Healing Chant

3

Cleanse the thoughts of your mind and heartand invite the peace of God’s spirit to dwell in you.

Take a deep breath and inhale God’s peace;exhale all that has burdened your heart and mind.

Slow and deepen your breathingand take in God’s peace with every breath.

Surround yourself in His divine healing presence andrest in His love for a few peaceful moments.

O most blessed and gracious God,who alone can heal a wounded spirit and quiet a troubled mind:

to You do I cry for help.O great physician of body and soul,

uphold and comfort my weak and dejected spirit.Since You alone can relieve me, to You do I call for relief.

O hear my most earnest supplication, and make me possessan easy, quiet and cheerful spirit, for my trust is in You.

–John Wesley (1703-1791) Evangelist and Founder of Methodism

Healing Reflection

Prayer to the Great Physician for Relief

18

Praise be to Allah, the cherisher and sustainer of the worlds,most gracious, most merciful, master of the day of judgment,

Thee do we worship and Thine aid we seek.Show us the straight way;

the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy grace,those whose (portion) is not wrath

and who go not astray.

Surah Al-Fatiha

Du’a for the Sick

4

God, You know how relieved and grateful I amfor the good news I have received!

Naturally, I was apprehensive—hoping for the best,but often worrying and imagining the worst.

Thank You for being with me and enabling meto handle the tension and anxiety that were mine.

With the question marks behind,may I now devote my thoughts and energy

to becoming healthier and stronger each day.

O God, You are my hope—how can I be disappointed!You are my trust—how can I ever despair!

Our eyes cannot discern You,hidden as You are in the cloak of Your glory.

But our hearts perceive Your majesty,visible as it is in the perfection of Your splendor.You are ever manifest—how can You be hidden!

You are ever present and constantly watch over—how can You be absent!

Prayer of Thanks

Prayer to the Invisible but Ever Present God

17

God, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You.Do not hide from me in the day of my distress.

Turn to me and speedily answer my prayer.Eternal God, source of healing,

out of my distress I call upon You.Help me sense Your presence at this difficult time.

Grant me patience when the hours are heavy;in hurt or disappointment give me courage.

Keep me trustful in Your love.Give me strength for today, and hope for tomorrow.

To Your loving hands I commit my spiritwhen asleep and when awake.

You are with me; I shall not fear.

Jewish Healing Prayer

5

Eternal and loving God, hear me, when in the midst of pain,my heart cries out to You for ease.

Give me thoughts of You and Your love.Strengthen me, comfort me.

Enable me to hold on with courage, until I find relief.Let me never lose sight of Your unfailing love for me. Amen.

God You know my feelings.You know that I want to feel better;

I want to have my health back again.The hours of testing, the days of diagnosing,

and the fear of the unknown concerning my futureseem nearly more than I can take!

Grant me, O gracious God, the strengthto face each hour of this day and every day.

And, Lord, when it seems that I cannot face even this hour,fill me with sufficient strength to face the next few minutes.

Stay with me, I pray. Amen.

For Coping

When in Pain

May the One who blessed our ancestors—patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah—bless and heal the one who is ill:

____________ son/daughter of ____________.May the Holy Blessed One

overflow with compassion upon him/her,to restore him/her,

to heal him/her,to strengthen him/her,

to enliven him/herthe One who will send him/her, speedily,

a complete healing—healing of the soul and healing of the body—

along with all the illamong the people of Israel and all human kind,

soon,speedily,

without delay,and let us all say: Amen!

16

Mi Sheberakh: May the One Who Blessed ...

6

Dear Lord, the source of all healing,I surrender myself into Your creative, healing hands,

knowing with certainty that nothingcan ever separate me from Your eternal love.

I give heartfelt thanks to Youfor Your goodness and loving kindness to me,for those whom I love and who care for me,

and for all that I possess and enjoy.Increase my confidence in Your love for me,

that I may rejoice gratefully in Your forgiving acceptance of meand pledge the renewal of my commitment

to You and to those around me,even as I now ask for renewal of my ailing body.

Guide now, I pray, the minds, hearts and hands of the physicians,surgeons and staff who minister to me,

that the blessing of health, of body, mind and soulmay be restored to me. Amen.

Before Surgery

15

Mary, Mother of Mercy intercede for us.Ask the Father in Jesus’ name

to grant health to the sick, strength to the weak,comfort to the sorrowing, grace to all souls,

love to all hearts, peace to all families, justice to all nations,and heaven to each of us as life’s final goal. Amen.

Prayer to the Mother of Mercy

Lead me from the unreal to the real.From darkness lead me to light

From death lead me to immortality.O thou shining one, thou knowest all our ways, we utter praise of thee!

Thou art woman, thou art man;thou art youth, thou art maiden ...

thou art the dark blue bee,thou art the green parrot with red eyes,

thou art the thunder cloud, the seasons, the seas. Thou art father. Thou art mother. Thou art beloved friend.

Hindu Prayer

Oh my God, I thank You for having brought me safely through the nightto the beginning of another day.

Help me to spend it in such a way as to be pleasing to You.I offer You this day all my thoughts, words and deeds,

and especially my sufferings and inconveniencesin reparation for my sins and for the salvation of all humankind.

Oh my God, I believe in You, I hope in You, I love You above all other things,

and I am sorry for ever having offended You.

7

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

Morning Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Hail Mary,full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.Blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.Holy Mary, mother of God,pray for us sinners now,

and at the hour of death. Amen.

14

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided.

Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O virgin of virgins, my Mother;

to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,

but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Hail Mary

Memorare

8

Before I go to sleep, O Lord, I want to say this prayer;that You will always keep me, in Your kind and loving care.

That You will let my body rest, and let my mind relax,and fill my dreams with holy thoughts, instead of worldly facts.

I ask that You forgive me, for my failures of today.And give me all the grace I need, to live a better way.Watch over me tonight, O Lord, and in my heart instill

the fervor and the constancy, to do Your holy will.I want to follow You and grow more worthy in Your sight.

O Lord, please listen to my prayer and hear me say goodnight.

–James J. Metcalfe (1906 -1960)

Watch, dear Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your angels charge over those who sleep.

Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Jesus Christ.Rest Your weary ones. Bless Your dying ones.

Soothe Your suffering ones. Pity Your afflicted ones. Shield Your joyous ones. And all for Your love’s sake. Amen.

Evening Prayer

St. Augustine’s Evening Prayer

13

O Lord, by all Your dealings with us,whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness

let us be brought to You.Let us value no treatment of Your grace

simply because it makes us happyor because it makes us sad,

or because it gives us or denies us what we want.But may all that You send us

bring us to You, that knowing Your loving kindnesswe may be sure in every disappointment

that You are still loving us,and in every darkness that You are still enlightening us,

and in every infirmity that You are still using us.Yes, even in death, that You are giving us life.

Prayer That Everything May Lead Us to God

O Lord our God,We give You praise and honor for all Your kind merciesthat You have bestowed on us through another week.

We offer You continual gratitudefor creating us after Your own likeness …

for Your help and care in our needs,for Your protection in countless dangers of body and soul,

for Your consolation in our sorrows,for sparing us life, and for giving us time to repent.

O most merciful Father, we thank You for all the benefitswhich we have received from Your goodness alone.And we beg You to grant us always Your Holy Spirit

that we may grow in grace, in unshakable faith,and in perseverance in all good works.

–John Knox (1505-1572) Minister and Reformer

9

Prayer of Thanksgiving for All God’s Benefits

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all ye lands!Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God.It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

12

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul:He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

Psalm 100

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son,and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

11

A Prayer of St. FrancisEternal God, source of my healing, out of my distress I call upon You.

Help me to sense Your presence at this difficult time.You have already sent me gifts of Your goodness:

the skill of my physician, the concern of others who help me,the compassion of those I love.

I pray that I may be worthy of all these, today and in the days to come.Help me to banish all bitterness, let not despair overcome me.

Grant me patience when the hours are heavy;Give me courage whenever there is hurt or disappointment.

Keep me trustful in Your love, O God.Give me strength for today, and hope for tomorrow.

To Your loving hands I commit my spirit—when asleep and awake.You are with me; I shall not fear.

Help me, O God, in my time of need.

10

A Patient’s Prayer