This can be prayed long after the pandemic is over.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.”
In conclusion the pontiff wished “That he constantly enlightens you in the dignity of your profession and suggests to you in all circumstance these attitudes and steps that a linear coherence of faith shows and demands.”
Eighteen years later, on the occasion of the World Congress of Catholic doctors, he composed a prayer that all members of the medical profession can recite and ask God to help them in their work:
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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