Pensive at Bedtime

Does anybody else here have the habit of pensively ruminating over the day’s events? Have you ever contemplated about the things you are grateful for, the things you did right, the things that you did wrong? Have you thought about the people you probably hurt that day voluntarily or involuntarily? Have you tried to analyse what you could have done better and tried to read between the lines? Is there unforgiveness lurking in your soul, taking its toll on the blessings stored up for you? Are you reminiscing loved ones that no longer walk this earth? Are you anxious about what tomorrow has to offer? Or maybe you are just confused and exhausted from the miseries of human life? There are so many categories of prayers. At my mom’s place we said a beautiful prayer that I remember fondly. We said it together every night as a family so we knew it by heart. I do not know the origin of this prayer. But it was titled, ‘Healing Prayer at Bedtime’. It felt like we were constantly renewing ourselves each night, like a mini inner-healing retreat! Here’s how it goes:

Healing Prayer At Bedtime:
Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, go back into my memory as I sleep.
Every hurt that has ever been done to me – heal that hurt.
Every hurt that I have ever caused to another person – heal that hurt.
All the relationships that have been damaged in my whole life that I’m not aware of – heal those relationships.
But, Lord, if there is anything that I need to do; If I need to go to another person who is still suffering from my hand, bring to my awareness that person.
I choose to forgive and ask to be forgiven,
Remove whatever bitterness maybe in my heart, Lord.
And fill the empty spaces with Your love.
Thank you Jesus, Amen.

Now-a-days, I say another prayer. It is not one that I came up by myself. It is an adaptation from the Pieta {book containing Catholic prayers}. I tweaked this prayer just a wee bit. A poor Clare nun who had just died, appeared to her abbess who was praying for her soul. The nun told the abess, “I went straight to heaven, for by means of this prayer recited every evening, I paid my debts.” Of course, the following prayer cannot ever be as honourable as a confession, which is a sacrament. But it is a beautiful prayer for daily neglects. Here is how it goes. I have highlighted my additions to the prayer. I say it for myself and on behalf of my family. You can say it without those or tailor it according to your needs and beliefs.

Eternal Father, I offer you the Sacred Heart of Jesus with all its love, all its sufferings and all its merits, along with Jesus’s most precious body and blood, his most gruesome passion and death on the cross, in union with all the holy masses said throughout the world today to expiate all the sins … and I have committed today and all through our lives. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Eternal Father, I offer you the Sacred Heart of Jesus with all its love, all its sufferings and all its merits, along with Jesus’s most precious body and blood, his most gruesome passion and death on the cross, in union with all the holy masses said throughout the world today to purify the good … and I have done badly today and all through our lives. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Eternal Father, I offer you the Sacred Heart of Jesus with all its love, all its sufferings and all its merits, along with Jesus’s most precious body and blood, his most gruesome passion and death on the cross, in union with all the holy masses said throughout the world today to supply for the good … and I could have done, but have completely neglected today and all through our lives. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.