The “Prayer for Protection from Sudden Death” draws inspiration from St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, who taught believers to “keep death before our eyes” while trusting completely in God’s mercy. This prayer asks for the grace to live each day prepared to meet God, to receive the sacraments frequently, and to practice daily “dying to self” so that death may come as a friend rather than a stranger. It invokes the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph (patron of a happy death), and our guardian angels, while begging for the grace of final perseverance and a death precious in God’s sight, whenever and however it may come.
Most loving Father, You who know the hour of my death, though I do not, grant me the grace to live each day as if it were my last, yet without anxiety or fear.
Through the intercession of St. Francis de Sales, who taught us to keep death always before our eyes while trusting entirely in Your mercy, I beg You to preserve me from sudden and unprepared death.
Grant that I may frequently receive the sacraments with devotion, especially Holy Communion and Confession, that I may always be ready to meet You.
Help me to practice that “little death” of self-will each day, dying to my own desires and living for You alone, so that when my final hour comes, death may find me as a friend rather than a stranger.
Should You call me suddenly, may the Holy Name of Jesus be on my lips and in my heart. May Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death, and my guardian angel assist me in that hour.
Above all, O Lord, grant me the grace of final perseverance and a death precious in Your sight, whenever and however it may come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Prayer to St. Benedict for a Happy Death should be prayed daily, as the prayer itself states. Placing ourselves under the protection of St Benedict is yet another spiritual armor a devout Catholic can out on for protection against spiritual attacks. It is at the hour of death when Satan and his angels most especially attack devout souls as it is Hell’s last chance to steal these souls away from God. Saint Benedict, being the patron saint of exorcisms, is a powerful defender against the Devil.
V. Intercede for us, O holy Father Benedict. R. And obtain for us the grace of a happy death.
O holy Father Benedict, whose very name signifies your blessedness, you most joyfully offered your angelic soul to God while you stood in prayer with your arms raised to heaven.
You have promised to defend us from the Devil’s attacks at the hour of death if we daily recall to you your own glorious death and heavenly joys.
Protect me, therefore, O glorious Father, today and every day by your holy blessing, so that I may never be separated from our blessed Jesus, nor from the company of you and all the saints. Amen. O God, who adorned the precious death of our most holy Father, Saint Benedict, with so many and so great privileges, grant, we beseech You, that our departure hence, we may be defended from the snares of the enemy by the blessed presence of him whose memory we celebrate. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The “Prayer to Avoid Purgatory” pleas for the sufferings of one’s life and at the hour of death, along with the merits of Christ’s sacred Passion, discharge any debt owed for one’s sins, which would otherwise lead to imprisonment in the fires of Purgatory (or Hell). The prayer was composed by St Joseph Cafasso and is contained in The Life of St Joseph Cafasso by St John Bosco.
O my sweet Jesus, in addition to the many graces which Thou hast conferred on me in the course of my life, I ask Thee for this further one: when my soul shall have departed from this world, not only that it not be condemned to Hell, but that it shall not be compelled to remain away from Thee for even a moment in Purgatory. It is true that I am a debtor to Divine Justice, but I hope to pay all my debts from the infinite merits of Thy Passion and Death.
O Heaven, holy city of my God, my dear native land! Oh, howI sigh for thee! O happy day when I shall reach thee! O Heaven, my dear Heaven, come quicky and satisfy the desires of a wretched heart that sighs for thee!
My God, I accept whatever kind of death it may please Thee to send me, with all the terrors, all the pains, all the sufferings that shall justly accompany it. Finally, I pray Thee to accept the destruction of my body as the last act of homage that I can offer to Thy Supreme Divine Majesty, in satisfaction for the offenses committed in the course of my life.
O Mary, I ask thee for one more grace: Obtain from thy Divine Son that I may die, but that I may die with thee, and that I may fly to Heaven along with thee. O merciful Mother, grant that when my soul is liberated from this wretched body I may go immediately to find thee in Heaven, there to commence that life which will be my occupation for all eternity.
Requiem aeternam dona mihi, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat mihi. Requiescam in pace.
(Grant me eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon me. May I rest in peace.)
The “Prayer for the Dying” is a powerful plea to Jesus, the Lover of Souls, to wash clean in His Precious Blood all the sinners of the world who are to die this day, particularly the soul we spiritually adopt and entrust to His Shepherd’s care. We beg for the grace to move this sinner, who is in danger of going to Hell, to repent, trusting in Jesus’ great mercy.
O Most Merciful Jesus, lover of souls, I beseech Thee, by the agony of Thy most Sacred Heart, and by the sorrows of Thine Immaculate Mother, wash clean in Thy Blood the sinners of the whole world who are to die this day.
Remember most especially the soul I spiritually adopt with the intention of entrusting him or her to Thy Shepherd’s care: I beseech Thee for the grace to move this sinner, who is in danger of going to Hell, to repent. I ask this because of my trust in Thy great mercy.
If it should please Thy Majesty to send me a suffering this day in exchange for the grace I ask for this soul, then, it, too, shall please me very much, and I thank Thee, Most Sweet Jesus, Shepherd and Lover of Souls; I thank Thee for this opportunity to give mercy in thanksgiving for all the mercies Thou hast shown me.
Heart of Jesus, once in agony, have mercy on the dying.
Lord have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for them. All you holy Angels and Archangels, pray for them. All you choirs of the just, pray for them. Holy Abel, pray for them. Holy Abraham, pray for them. St. John the Baptist, pray for them. St. Joseph, pray for them. All ye patriarchs and prophets, pray for them. St. Peter, pray for them. St. Paul, pray for them. St. Andrew, pray for them. St. John, pray for them. St. Jude, pray for them. All you holy apostles and evangelists, pray for them. All you holy disciples of the Lord, pray for them. All you holy Innocents, pray for them. St. Stephen, pray for them. St. Lawrence, pray for them. All you holy martyrs, pray for them. St. Sylvester, pray for them. St. Gregory, pray for them. St. Augustine, pray for them. St. Basil, pray for them. St. Ambrose, pray for them. St. Francis de Sales, pray for them. St. Bonaventure, pray for them. All you holy bishops and confessors, pray for them. St. Benedict, pray for them. St. Francis of Assisi, pray for them. St. Dominic, pray for them. St. Ignatius, pray for them. St. Philip Neri, pray for them. St. Camillus de Lellis, pray for them. St. John of God, pray for them. All you holy monks and hermits, pray for them. All you founders of religious orders, pray for them. St. Mary Magdalene, pray for them. St. Lucy, pray for them. St. Scholastica, pray for them. St. Teresa, pray for them. St. Clare, pray for them. St. Angela Merici, pray for them. St. Jane Frances de Chantal, pray for them. All you holy virgins and widows, pray for them.
All you men and women, saints of God, make intercession for them. Be merciful, spare him, O Lord. Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord. From Thy anger, deliver them, O Lord. From an unhappy death, deliver them, O Lord. From the pains of hell, deliver them, O Lord. From all evil, deliver them, O Lord.
From the power of the devil, O Lord, deliver them. Through Thy nativity, O Lord, deliver them. Through Thy cross and passion, O Lord, deliver them. Through Thy death and burial, O Lord, deliver them. Through Thy glorious resurrection, O Lord, deliver them. Through Thy admirable ascension, O Lord, deliver them. Through the graces of the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, O Lord, deliver them. In the day of judgment, O Lord, deliver them.
We sinners… beseech Thee to hear us. That Thou spare them… we beseech Thee, hear us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Let us pray. We beseech Thy clemency, O Lord, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe so to strengthen Thy servants in Thy grace, that, at the hour of death, the enemy may not prevail over them, and that they may deserve to pass with Thy angels into everlasting life. Amen.
God of mercy, God of goodness; O God, who, according to the multitude of Thy mercies, forgives the sins of such as repent, and graciously remit the guilt of their past offenses, mercifully regard this Thy servant and grant them a full discharge from all their sins, who most earnestly begs it of Thee. Remove, O merciful Father, whatever is corrupt in them through human frailty, or by the snares of the enemy; make them a true member of the Church, and let them partake of the fruit of Thy redemption. Have compassion, Lord, on their tears, and admit them to reconciliation with Thee, who has no hope but in Thee, through Christ our Lord. Amen. I recommend you, dear soul, to Almighty God, and leave you to His mercy whose creature you art; that having paid the common debt, by surrendering your soul, you mayest return to the Maker, who formed you out of the earth. May, therefore, the splendid company of angels meet your soul at its departure; may the court of the apostles receive you; may the triumphant army of glorious martyrs conduct you; may the crowds of joyful confessors encompass you; may the choir of blessed virgins go before you; may a happy rest be your portion in the company of the patriarchs; and may Christ Jesus appear to you with a mild and cheerful countenance, and give you a place among those who are to be in His presence forever. May you be a stranger to all that which is punished with darkness, chastised with flames, and condemned with torments. May the wicked enemy, with all his evil spirits, depart from you; may he tremble at your approach in the company of the angels, and retire into the horrid confusion of eternal night. May God arise, and your enemies be put to flight. May all who hate him fly before His face. Let them vanish like smoke, and as wax before the fire; so let sinners perish in the sight of God; but for the just, let them rejoice and be happy in His presence. May they rest in peace. Amen.
The Consecration of the Sick to Mary is a prayer composed by Pope Pius XII which emphasizes Mary’s own sorrows, especially her witnessing of Jesus’ crucifixion, and seeks her assistance in offering one’s own suffering as a form of redemptive participation in Christ’s passion.
O kind and good Mother, whose own soul was pierced by the sword of sorrow, look upon us while, in our sickness, we arraign ourselves beside you on the Calvary where your Jesus hangs. Dowered with the high grace of suffering, and hopeful of fulfilling in our own flesh what is wanting in our sharing of Christ’s passion, on behalf of his Mystical Body, the Church, we consecrate to you ourselves and our pain. We pray that you will place them on that Altar of the Cross to which Jesus is affixed. May they be little victims of propitiation for our salvation, for the salvation of all peoples.
O Mother of Sorrows, accept this consecration. Strengthen our hopeful hearts, that as partakers of Christ’s sufferings we may also share in his comfort now and for evermore. Amen.
