Suffering Offered in Love

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Father of mercy, you called St. John Paul II to serve your Church with courage and hope. Through his intercession, deepen my friendship with Christ, renew my love for every human person, and receive the intention I bring through these nine days. Form my courage through prayer, truth, and charity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pause in silence, and bring to mind the intention you are praying for.

In the app, your own saved intention rests here during the silence. The narration stays the same for everyone.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the assembly,

John Paul II continued to serve through visible frailty. Nothing is lacking in Christ's saving sacrifice; Paul speaks here of the suffering through which members of Christ's Body share in his mission. Christian faith never calls suffering good in itself or replaces treatment and support. Pain offered with Christ need not be wasted, and the wounded remain full members of the Church's mission. No one should suffer alone.

St. John Paul II, pray for those living with pain, disability, age, or serious illness. Ask the Lord for relief and good care, and when suffering remains, help them discover Christ's presence and enduring dignity. Ask him to strengthen families and caregivers and guard each person's agency and hope. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

St. John Paul II, pastor and pilgrim, pray that I may belong more fully to Christ. Intercede for the Church, families, young people, the suffering, and all peoples, and help me bear faithful witness to truth, mercy, and hope. Keep my hope anchored in the risen Lord. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.