Blessed Michael McGivney, Comforter of the Sick and Dying, pray for us.
Heal me, LORD, that I may be healed; save me, that I may be saved, for you are my praise.
Intention
For those who save lives and those who are wounded, may the Heavenly Doctor bless them with wisdom and grace, healing all wounds.
Reflection
Putting their own lives at risk, wartime doctors and nurses bear witness to great human suffering, while still bringing hope to those who desperately need it. They are present at people’s most vulnerable, fear-filled moments, offering great sacrifices to make the impossible possible: to evacuate the wounded in the middle of the night, or to find a way to rush someone to surgery in a bombed-out city.
Picture the tired eyes of emergency responders during their long searches for victims in bombarded buildings. They call out to survivors under concrete rubble and come to burning homes at any time of day, hoping to find someone alive. Those eyes hold out hope amid devastation — they remind us of our humanity, of our loyalty to one another and willingness to sacrifice for each other.
Then there are those who have so far survived war’s violence but carry wounds both visible and invisible: bombing victims, those injured or suffering frostbite on the winter battlefield, those in captivity who need medical attention, and all experiencing the psychological effects of trauma. Others have conditions that leave them especially vulnerable to harm: the homebound elderly, sick or disabled who cannot evacuate from the front lines; patients in rehabilitation centers or waiting in hospitals for operations; people who only home now is a crowded bomb shelter, with nowhere left to go. May all these people feel the Lord’s comforting presence.
Petitions
May medical workers and emergency responders have strength and endurance to continue to serve those in their care with love. Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
May the sick and wounded receive quick help, so that they experience complete healing. Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
Daily Prayers
A Prayer for Peace in Ukraine
O Lord God of powers and God of our salvation, O God who alone works wonders: look down with mercy and compassion on your humble servants, and out of love for mankind listen and have mercy on us and on the land of Ukraine.
Visit your mercies and compassions upon your humble servants, those who protect Ukraine and her much-suffering people, and hear us who fall down before your deep compassion.
For you are the health, victory and salvation of them who put their hope in you, and unto you do we send up glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory be …
(“A prayer for Peace in Ukraine” is adapted from the Byzantine Iiturgical tradition, “Prayer Service Sung in Times of War,” in “Trebnyk, Book of Needs.”)
This novena is shared with the permission of the Knights of Columbus. Visit KOFC.ORG/UKRAINE for more information about the Knights’ humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
