O Lord,
illness has knocked at the door of my life
and uprooted me from my work
and transplanted me into another world—
the world of the sick.
A hard trial, Lord,
a reality difficult to accept.
And yet, Lord, I thank you
for this very illness:
it has made me touch with my own hands
the fragility and precariousness of life,
it has freed me from so many illusions.
Now I see with different eyes:
what I have and what I am
do not belong to me—they are Your gift.
I have learned what it means to depend,
to need everything and everyone,
to do nothing by myself.
I have tasted loneliness, anguish, despair—
but also the affection, love, and friendship of so many.
Lord, though it is hard for me,
I say to you: Your will be done.
I offer you my sufferings and unite them to the sufferings of Christ.
I ask you: bless those who care for me
and all those who suffer with me.
If you will it, grant healing to me and to all others.
Amen.