A Prayer After Extreme Unction
O my God, thou hast created, redeemed, and sanctified me; thou hast preserved me in many dangers both of soul and body; thou hast nourished me with the adorable sacrament of thy body and blood, and granted me the grace to receive the rights of thy church, preferably to so many others, who are carried off by a sudden death, without being favoured with those succours and graces which thou hast bestowed upon me, a most ungrateful sinner. For these and all thy other blessings, I offer thee innumerable thanks. O that I had as many tongues and hearts as there are stars in the heavens, atoms in the air, and creatures in the universe; how willingly would I employ them all in praising, loving, and glorifying thee! To thee I resign my heart: receive it as a holocaust. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: receive me, O dear Jesus, in thy mercy; receive me into thy loving arms, which were stretched forth on the cross for my redemption; receive me into the embraces of thy infinite charity. I do not desire to be freed from my pains; thou knowest what is best for me: do but take from me all murmuring, and give me patience to suffer whatever thou willest, and as long as thou pleasest. Should it be thy divine pleasure to inflict on my weak body and languishing soul greater punishments than I now suffer, my heart is ready, O Lord, my heart is ready to accept them, and to suffer in whatever manner and measure may be most conformable to thy will. This one grace I most earnestly beg of thee, my God—that I may die the death of the just, and be admitted, after the sufferings and tribulations of this transitory and sinful life, into the kingdom of thy glory, there to see and enjoy thee, in the company of the blessed, for a never-ending eternity. Amen.