Prayer to be Preserved from Sudden and Unforeseen Death.
Prayer to be Preserved from Sudden and Unforeseen Death.
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My soul, cease from sinning; think on thy sudden passage from life to eternity. While there is still time, be converted; cry out to the Lord, saying: My God, have pity on me--O most merciful Lord Jesus, by Thine agony and bloody sweat, and by Thy death, deliver me, I pray Thee, from sudden and unprepared death.
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O most gentle Lord Jesus, by Thy cruel and ignominious scourging and crowning with thorns, by Thy cross and bitter passion, and by Thine own great goodness, I humbly pray Thee let me not die unprepared and pass from this life without the holy sacraments. Jesus, my best beloved, my Lord! by all Thy travails and all Thy sorrows, by Thy precious blood, and by Thy most holy wounds, and by those last words spoken by Thee upon the cross: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" and again, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit," most ardently I pray Thee free me from a sudden death.
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O God, in Whose sight every heart trembles and every conscience is awed! show forth Thy mercy upon us Thy suppliants, that we, who trust not in the excellence of our own merit, may never experience Thy judgments by an unprovided death, but may receive Thy pardon through Our Lord Jesus Christ.
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from "Visits to Jesus in the Tabernacle" by Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance, 1898