Prayers for a Happy Death
Prayer of Cardinal Newman
Prayer to the Father
Another Prayer to the Father
Prayer to the Father for the Grace of the Example of Christ and the Saints
Prayer to Christ for Grace
Prayer to Christ for Protection
Prayer to Christ for Mercy
Prayer to Christ in honour of the Holy Family
Prayer to Christ of St. Vincent Ferrer
Prayer to the Crucified Christ
Passion Prayer to the Lord Jesus
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Prayer to St. Joseph
An Act of Faith in Anticipation of the Hour of Death
PRAYER OF CARDINAL NEWMAN
Oh, my Lord and Savior,
support me in that hour
in the strong arms of your Sacraments,
and by the fresh fragrance of your consolations.
Let the absolving words be said over me,
and the holy oil sign and seal me,
and your own Body be my food,
and your Blood my sprinkling;
and let my sweet Mother, Mary, breathe on me,
and my Angel whisper peace to me,
and my glorious Saints (NN.) smile upon me;
that in them all, and through them all,
I may receive the gift of perseverance,
and die, as I desire to live,
in your faith, in your Church, in your service,
and in your love. Amen.
PRAYER TO THE FATHER
Almighty and merciful God,
you have given to the human race
the medicine of salvation and the gift of everlasting life.
Look with mercy on us your servants
and restore the souls which you have created,
that in the hour of their passing
they may deserve to be cleansed from all sin
and set before you, their Creator, by the hands of your holy Angels. Amen.
ANOTHER PRAYER TO THE FATHER
O God,
great and omnipotent judge of the living and the dead,
we are to appear before you after this short life
to render an account of our works.
Give us the grace to prepare for our last hour
by a devout and holy life,
and protect us against a sudden and unprovided death.
Let us remember our frailty and mortality,
that we may always live in the ways of your commandments.
Teach us to be watchful in prayer,
that when your summons come
for our departure from this world,
we may go forth to meet you,
experience a merciful judgment,
and rejoice in everlasting happiness.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
PRAYER TO THE FATHER FOR THE GRACE OF THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST AND THE SAINTS
Almighty Creator of all, I adore you
and I ask of you the grace of a holy death.
No matter how greatly I have thus far abused and wasted the life you gave me
grant me the grace to end it in your holy love.
Let me die, like the holy Patriarchs,
forsaking this valley of tears without sadness,
to enter into the joy of eternal rest
in my own true home.
Let me die, like the glorious Saint Joseph,
in the arms of Jesus and Mary,
repeating in turn each of these sweet names
which I hope to bless throughout eternity.
Let me die, like the immaculate and blessed Virgin,
in the purest love of Jesus
and the desire to be reunited to the only object of my love.
Let me die, like Jesus on the Cross,
with the most lively sentiments
of hatred for sin,
of love for you, heavenly Father,
and of perfect resignation in my agony.
Holy Father,
into your hands I commend my spirit.
Be merciful unto me.
Jesus, who died for me,
grant me the grace of dying
with perfect love for you.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for me
now and at the hour of my death.
My Guardian Angel,
my holy Patron Saints,
do not abandon me at the hour of my death.
Saint Joseph,
obtain for me the grace
of dying the death of the just. Amen.
PRAYER TO CHRIST FOR GRACE
O Lord Jesus,
pour into us the spirit of your love,
that in the hour of our death
we may be worthy to vanquish the enemy
and receive the heavenly crown. Amen.
PRAYER TO CHRIST FOR PROTECTION
O Lord Jesus Christ,
let me confess your name with my last breath.
In your great mercy receive me
and do not disappoint me in my hope.
Open the gates of life for me,
and let the prince of darkness have no power over me.
Protect me by your kindness,
shield me with your might,
and lead me by your right hand
to the place of refreshment, the tabernacle you have prepared
for Your servants and for those who revere you. Amen.
PRAYER TO CHRIST FOR MERCY
O my Lord and Saviour,
be merciful to me
now that my life is approaching its end,
and the evening awaits me.
My sins are so many.
Heal me while I am still on earth,
and I shall truly be healthy.
In your mercy, move me to repent
so that I shall not be ashamed
when I encounter you in heaven. Amen.
PRAYER TO CHRIST IN HONOUR OF THE HOLY FAMILY
O Lord Jesus,
grant that we may always follow
the example of your holy family,
that in the hour of our death
your glorious Virgin Mother together with blessed Joseph
may come to meet us
and we may be worthily received by you
into our everlasting dwelling in heaven.
PRAYER OF ST. VINCENT FERRER
Lord Jesus Christ,
You do not will that anyone should perish
and never is a prayer made to you without hope of mercy.
You have promised:
"All things that you ask in my name, shall be done for you".
Therefore, I ask you, O Lord,
for your holy Name's sake,
to grant me at the hour of my death
full consciousness and the power of speech,
sincere contrition for my sins,
true faith, firm hope and perfect charity,
that I may be able to say to you with a clean heart:
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit:
you have redeemed me, O God of truth,
who are blessed for ever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER TO THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST
O Jesus,
while I remember your dying breath,
I beg you to receive mine.
Since I do not know
whether I shall have command of my senses
when I depart from this world,
I offer you now my last sufferings and all the sorrows of my passing.
I give my soul into your hands
for you are the Lover of Humanity
my Lord and my Savior.
Grant that the last beat of my heart
may be an act of perfect love for you. Amen.
PASSION PRAYER TO THE LORD JESUS
O most merciful Lord Jesus,
by the agony you endured,
by the sweat of your Blood,
by your precious death,
deliver us, we beseech you,
from a sudden and unprovided death.
O most kind Lord Jesus,
by your ignominious scourging
by your crowning with thorns,
by your holy Cross and bitter Passion,
by your love and mercy,
we humbly pray
that you would not let us die unprovided with your holy Sacraments.
O dearly beloved Lord Jesus,
by all your labors and sorrows,
by the Precious Blood shed in your passion
by the sacred Wounds you endured,
by those your last words on the Cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
by your surrender: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,"
we beseech you to deliver us from a sudden death.
O Lord Jesus, we pray
grant us room for repentance;
grant us a happy passing in your grace,
grant us a peaceful end,
that so we may be able to love you, praise you and bless you forever. Amen.
Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you.
O refuge of sinners, Mother of the dying,
do not abandon the hour of our death;
obtain for us the grace
of perfect sorrow, sincere contrition,
the pardon and remission of our sins,
a worthy receiving of the holy Viaticum,
and the comfort of the Sacrament of Anointing,
in order that we may appear with greater security
before the throne of the just but merciful Judge,
our God and our Redeemer. Amen.
Another prayer
Most Holy Virgin Mary,
always present before the Most Holy Trinity
to whom it is granted at all times
to pray for us to your Most Blessed Son,
pray for me in all my needs.
Help me, defend me, give thanks for me,
and obtain for me the pardon of all my sins and failings.
Help me especially in my last hours.
Then, when I can no longer give any sign of the use of reason,
give me courage and protect me against all evil spirits.
Make in my name a profession of Faith.
Assure me of my eternal salvation.
Never let me despair of the mercy of God.
When I can no longer say: "Jesus I place my soul in your hands,"
say it for me.
When I can no longer hear human words of consolation,
bring me comfort.
Stay with me
when I stand in judgment before your Son.
and should I be purified in purgatory,
pray for me after my death
that I may quickly gain the happiness
of being in the Presence of God.
Lead my soul to heaven where united with you and all the elect,
I may bless and praise our God for all eternity. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH
O blessed Joseph,
who breathed your last in the arms of Jesus and Mary,
obtain for me this grace:
that I may breathe forth my soul in praise,
saying in spirit, if I am unable to do so in words:
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul."
Amen.
Another prayer:
O holy St. Joseph,
who died in the arms of the Son of God
and in the presence of his holy Mother,
I beseech you at my last hour
to stand by me, with your immaculate Spouse,
that assisted by both your prayers,
I may repent of my sins,
and breathe my last breath
in an act of perfect love and confidence in my Saviour,
repeating his blessed Name, exalted above every name,
and proclaiming joyfully
“Lord, into your hands, I commend my spirit.” Amen.
AN ACT OF FAITH IN ANTICIPATION OF THE HOUR OF DEATH
From the works of St. Pompilio M. Pirrotti
On my journey toward eternity, dear Lord,
I am surrounded by powerful enemies of my soul.
I live in fear and trembling,
especially at the thought of the hour of death,
on which my eternity will depend,
and of the fearful struggle that the devil will then have to wage against me,
knowing that little time is left for him to accomplish my eternal ruin.
I desire, therefore, O Lord,
to prepare myself for it from this hour,
by offering you now, in view of my last hour,
my profession of faith and love for you,
which is so effectual in repressing and rendering useless
all the crafty and wicked schemes of the enemy
and which I resolve to oppose to him at that moment of such grave consequence,
even though he should dare alone to attack with his deceits
the peace and tranquility of my spirit.
I N.N.,
in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity,
the blessed Virgin Mary,
my holy Guardian Angel
and the entire heavenly host,
affirm that I wish to live and die under the standard of the Holy Cross.
I firmly believe all that our Holy Mother,
the holy, catholic and apostolic Church,
believes and teaches.
It is my steadfast intention to die in this holy faith,
in which all the holy martyrs, confessors and virgins of Christ have died,
as well as all those who have saved their souls.
If the devil should tempt me to despair
because of the multitude and grievousness of my sins,
I affirm that from this day forth
I firmly hope in the infinite mercy of God,
which will not let itself be overcome by my sins,
and in the Precious Blood of Jesus
which has washed all my sins away.
If the devil should assail me with temptations to presumption
by reason of the small amount of good
which by the help of God
I may have been able to accomplish,
I confess from this day forth
that I deserve eternal separation from God
a thousand times by my sins
and I entrust myself entirely
to the infinite goodness of God,
through whose grace alone I am what I am.
Finally, if the evil spirit should suggest to me
that the pains inflicted upon me by our Lord
in that last hour of my life
are too heavy to bear,
I affirm now that all will be as nothing
in comparison with the punishments I have deserved throughout life.
In the bitterness of my soul
I call to remembrance all my years;
I see my iniquities, I confess them and detest them.
Ashamed and sorrowful I turn to you,
my God, my Creator and my Redeemer.
Forgive me, O Lord, by the multitude of your mercies;
forgive your servant whom you have redeemed by your Precious Blood.
My God, I turn to you, I call upon you, I trust in you;
to your infinite goodness
I commit the entire reckoning of my life.
I have sinned greatly, O Lord:
enter not into judgment with your servant,
who surrenders to you
and confesses his guilt.
Of myself I cannot make satisfaction to you for my countless sins:
I do not have the means to pay you for my infinite debt.
But your Son has shed his Blood for me,
and greater than all mine sins is your mercy.
O Jesus, be my Saviour!
At the hour of my fearful crossing to eternity
put to flight the enemy of my soul;
grant me grace to overcome every difficulty,
for you alone do mighty wonders.
Lord,
according to the multitude of your tender mercies
I shall enter into your dwelling place.
Trusting in your pity,
I commend my spirit into your hands!
May the Blessed Virgin Mary
and my Guardian Angel
accompany my soul into the heavenly country. Amen.
