Good Saint John,
Lover of those who suffer
And special Patron of the Sick,
How patiently you bore the sufferings of your own disease!
Teach me to carry with cheerful resignation.
The cross that God has given me.
Let me never complain or lose courage.
Help me to understand that suffering is a very important means of sanctifying my soul, of atoning for my sins, and of reaping a
plentiful harvest of merit for Heaven.
I trust in your great love for the sick and in the power of your intercession to help them. Help me, good St John, and I beg the God whose name you bear to touch me as
He touched the sick while on earth, that through His almighty power health may
return to my body. And as you derived strength in your own sufferings from the crucifix, so may I be able to say what you did to Jesus Crucified:
‘Lord, Thy thorns are my roses and Thy
sufferings my paradise.
Columban Daily Prayer