Now I have to convince my pastor to let me attend that blessed occassion...
This prayer comes from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts:
God of mercy,
We thank you for Damien, brother to all,
father to lepers, child of the Sacred Hearts.
You inspired in him a passionate love for the life,
health and dignityof those he found fallen
by the side of the road.
Thank you, for like Jesus
he knew how to love until the end.
Thank you, for like Mary
he knew how to give himself without reserve.
Thank you Father, for through Damien
you still inspire holiness and passion for your kingdom. Amen
Damien, brother on the journey,
happy and generous missionary,
who loved the Gospel more than your own life,
who for love of Jesus left your family, your homeland,
your security and your dreams,
Teach us to give our lives with a joy like yours,
to be lepers with the lepers of our world,
to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist
as the source of our own commitment.
Help us to love to the very end and,
in the strength of the Spirit,
to persevere in compassion
for the poor and forgotten
so that we might be good disciples of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.
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