On October
23, 1982, at the World Congress of Catholic doctors, St. John Paul II called on healthcare professionals to model their
conduct on “Christ who was the doctor of the soul and often of the body of
those He met on the roads of His earthly pilgrimage. This prayer is most appropriate,
almost 40 years later, for our present day situation.
Lord Jesus,
Divine Physician, who in your earthly life showed special concern for those who
suffer and entrusted to your disciples the ministry of healing, make us ever
ready to alleviate the trials of our brethren. Make each one of us, aware of
the great mission that is entrusted to him, strive always to be, in the
performance of daily service, an instrument of your merciful love.
Enlighten
our minds, guide our hands, make our hearts diligent and compassionate.
Ensure that in every patient we know how to
discern the features of your divine Face. You who are the Way, provide us with
the gift of knowing how to imitate you every day as medical doctors not only of
the body but of the whole person, helping those who are sick to tread with
trust their own earthly path until the moment of their encounter with You.
You who are
the Truth, provide us with the gift of wisdom and science in order to penetrate
the mystery of the human person and their transcendent destiny as we draw near
to them in order to discover the causes of their maladies and find suitable
remedies.
You who are
the Life, provide us with the gift of preaching and bearing witness to the ‘Gospel
of life’ in our profession, committing ourselves to defending it always, from
conception to its natural end, and to respect the dignity of every human being,
and especially the dignity of the weakest and the most in need.
Make us, O
Lord, Good Samaritans, ready to welcome, treat, and console those we encounter
in our work. Following the example of the holy medical doctors who have
preceded us, help us to offer our generous contribution to the constant renewal
of health care structures.
Bless our
studies and our profession, enlighten our research and our teaching.
Lastly, grant to us, having constantly loved
and served You in our suffering brethren, that at the end of our earthly
pilgrimage we may contemplate your glorious countenance and experience the joy
of the encounter with You in your Kingdom of joy and everlasting peace.
Amen.
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