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O my God, you alone can perceive the depths of our weakness;
and you alone can heal us.
Turn our eyes continually to you, our all powerful Father,
and to your Son, our example in courageous suffering.
He was nailed to the cross,
so we might learn that suffering can be turned into a blessing.
We long for physical comfort and bodily pleasure;
so when we gaze in your Son,
his body wracked with pain,
we shudder at such a terrifying sight.
Yet when we see him rise again in glory,
we know that the nails which fixed him to the cross
were also used to fashion the gate of eternal life.
Help us never again to fear suffering,
but only to fear sin.
Give us the courage to embrace such suffering as you send us,
in the sure and certain knowledge of your eternal bliss.
François Fénelon, 1651-1715, French author and archbishop
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Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
prayer & verse 