Christ Jesus, we beg you by your loneliness, not that you may spare us affliction, but that you may not abandon us in it. When we encounter affliction, teach us to see you in it as our sole comforter. Let affliction strengthen our faith, fortify our hope, and purify our love. Grant us the grace to see how we can use our affliction to your glory, and to desire no other comforter but you, our Savior, Strengthener, and Friend. Amen.
- Bernadette of Lourdes, adapted by Michael Counsell
(Painting: "My Soul is Sorrowful unto Death," by James Tissot, c.1890)
