Prayers

  • Prayer for a doctor – Pope John Paul II
  • The Consecration of Catholic Physicians throughout the World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Prayer for a doctor – Pope John Paul II

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.

John Paul II
The Vatican, 29 June 2000

The Consecration of Catholic Physicians throughout the World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,

Who from all eternity dwells in the heart of the Father,

You who, in the womb of the virgin, has let yourself be modeled a heart like ours, 

You, the beloved Son of the Father, who loved us with a human heart,

You who have poured out you heart to the misery of men and women, suffering in their body and in their soul,

You who have come not for the healthy, but for the sick, 

You who have listened to the afflicted hearts,

You who have welcomed those who labor and are burdened, 

You who have relieved them with your meek and humble heart,

You who have changed the heart of stone into a heart of flesh,

You who have allowed the beloved disciple to rest on your heart, 

You who have allowed him to hear the beating of your heart,

You who call us to love as you love us,

You who have suffered in your heart and in your flesh outrages and spitting, flogging and humiliations, the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion,

You whose heart was pierced, 

You who loved us to the end,

You, the risen One, who, in the wound of your side, introduces us to a new life, 

You who spread by the gift of the Spirit your love in the hearts of believers,

You who give rise to witnesses of your love all over the earth, 

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
We doctors from all over the world want to learn from you:
to take you as our model and as our guide, as our master and our friend, as our Lord and our God,
We want to draw from your heart the grace to love as you love and to serve our brothers as you have served them.

Heart of Jesus, heart that beats deep in our hearts and every human life created in your image and your likeness,
Grant us to recognize the dignity of all human life, to protect and care for it, to relieve it and to heal it.

Heart of Jesus, heart which has let itself be modeled in the heart of Mary,
Grant us a heart of wisdom and intelligence that draws on the word of God discernment and virtue to love and serve.

Heart of Jesus, who worked with human hands, loved with a human heart, 
Grant us to put at your service and those of our brothers the skills, to seek with a sincere heart the progress adjusted to take care of those who suffer.

Heart of Jesus, heart that bends over our heart,
Give us a heart of compassion not to turn away from the misery of our suffering brethren and to give the joy of serving before being served.

Heart of Jesus, near whom we find rest,
Give us a prayerful heart to draw in your love meekness and peace, the strength to courageously pursue our mission, and wisdom to accept our human limitations.

Heart of Jesus, pierced on the cross,
Give us a heart of humility: that from our own wounds and weaknesses we can accept the fragility of those around us and the proper attitudes to relieve them. Give us recognition of our mistakes and accept the help of our families and spouses, our children and our patients, the caregivers. Allow us to pursue together the search for the common good.

Heart of Jesus, from which spring blood and water,
Give us a heart of wisdom and strength to display all our talents and skills in the service of eternal life and the good news of salvation.

Heart of Jesus, sign of the love of the Father, source from which springs the Spirit,
pour out charity into our hearts so that by our actions and words we can respond to your call to love, care for and serve our sick brothers and sisters, encourage, lead and strengthen the members of our care teams and families as you have served them, cared for and loved.

Through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we, doctors of all the earth, dedicate ourselves to your Heart to love and serve you.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like yours.

Prayer of consecration of Catholic doctors to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, written by Father Benoît Guédas, Rector of the Sanctuary of Paray le Monial, and proclaimed in Rome on June 21, 2019.