English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- Short prayers cover waiting for results, the diagnosis, the doctors, surgery, chemotherapy or radiation days, pain, treatment that is not working, a child with cancer, someone who does not believe in God, caregivers and clear scans.
- Traditional prayers come from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (“A Prayer for Recovery,” p. 315; “when there appeareth but small hope of Recovery,” p. 316) and the 1888 Catholic Manual of Prayers (“Prayer in the Beginning of Sickness,” pp. 459–460).
- Catholics ask the prayers of Saint Peregrine Laziosi (1265–1345) for people with cancer; the cancer story is later devotion, and the 1912 Catholic Encyclopedia does not mention it.
- James 5:14–15 tells the sick to call the church’s elders; Catholics ask for the Anointing of the Sick and Orthodox Christians for Holy Unction.
- Prayer goes alongside medical care; the American Cancer Society (1-800-227-2345) and Macmillan Cancer Support (0808 808 00 00) answer questions about cancer.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Psalm 31:15; 73:26; Isaiah 40:31; 41:10; Jeremiah 17:14; Matthew 11:28; 2 Corinthians 4:16; James 5:14–15). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. Visitation of the Sick, “A Prayer for Recovery,” p. 315, and “A Prayer for a Sick Person, when there appeareth but small hope of Recovery,” p. 316. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. Devotions for the Sick, “Prayer in the Beginning of Sickness,” pp. 459–460. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888
- “Order of Servites.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13736a.htm
- Franciscan Mission Associates. “St. Peregrine.” https://franciscanmissionassoc.org/pray-with-us/devotional-saints/st-peregrine/
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. The Office of Holy Unction, p. 333. https://www.ponomar.net/data/hapgood.pdf
- American Cancer Society. “Contact Us.” https://www.cancer.org/about-us/online-help/contact-us.html
- Macmillan Cancer Support. “Contact us.” https://www.macmillan.org.uk/about-us/contact-us
Leave a Reply