THE ORDER FOR
THE VISITATION OF
THE SICK.
I.
VISITATION.
WHEN any person is sick, notice shall be given thereof to the Curate of the Parish; who shall minister to the sick person after the form following, or in like manner.
¶ When he cometh into the sick person's house, he shall say,
PEACE be to this house, and to all that dwell in it.
¶ When he cometh into the sick man's presence he shall say, kneeling down,
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
OUR Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Minister. O Lord, save thy servant;
Answer. Which putteth his trust in thee.
Minister. Send him help from thy holy place;
Answer. And evermore mightily defend him.
Minister. Let the enemy have no advantage of him;
Answer. Nor the wicked approach to hurt him.
Minister. Be unto him, O Lord, a strong tower,
Answer. From the face of his enemy.
Minister. O Lord, hear our prayers;
Answer. And let our cry come unto thee.
Minister.
O LORD, look down from heaven, behold, visit, and relieve this thy servant. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy, give him comfort and sure confidence in thee, defend him from the danger of the enemy, and keep him in perpetual peace and safety; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hear us, Almighty and most merciful God and Saviour; extend thy accustomed goodness to this thy servant who is grieved with sickness. Amen.
Sanctify this trial unto him, that the sense of his weakness may add strength to his faith and seriousness to his repentance. Amen.
May it be thy good pleasure to restore him to his former health, that so he may live the rest of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory. Amen.
And whatsoever the issue that thou shalt ordain for him, give him grace to be so conformed to thy will, that he may be made meet to dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
II.
EXHORTATION TO FAITH AND PRAYER.
¶ Then shall the Minister exhort the sick person upon such subjects as the following:
OUR Heavenly Father, in his love for all men, uses sickness as a gracious means whereby to correct his children. Hebrews
12. 6-10.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, ever present with us, is ready to impart to us spiritual strength to use sickness well to the glory of God.
Our Lord, manifested in the Gospel as the healer of disease, is still ready to minister grace for the healing of the body.
Our Lord himself, though sinless, was made perfect through sufferings; and sinful man needs discipline in order to correct and amend in him whatever is amiss in the eyes of our heavenly Father.
The aim of the Christian, whether in health or in sickness, is that God may be glorified in him through Jesus Christ.
There is great honour in suffering if our pain be conformed to the spirit of Jesus Christ; for in the bearing of pain God manifested his will to redeem the world.
In sickness as in health we are to seek constantly the inspiration of God the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ.
¶ Or if need require he shall explain to him some part of the Christian faith. Which explanation ended, he shall say,
I EXHORT you in the name of God to remember the profession of faith which you made unto God in your baptism, and therefore I shall rehearse to you the Articles of our Faith, that you may shew whether you do believe as a Christian man should.
¶ Here the Minister shall rehearse the Articles of the Faith, saying thus,
DOST thou believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth?
And in Jesus Christ his only-begotten Son our Lord? And that he was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; that he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; that he went down into hell, and also did rise again the third day; that he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; and from thence shall come again at the end of the world, to judge the quick and the dead?
And dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholick Church; the Communion of Saints; the Remission of sins; the Resurrection of the flesh; and everlasting life after death?
¶ The sick person shall answer,
All this I stedfastly believe. Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.
¶ Thereafter, as occasion serves, the Minister shall instruct the sick person so to order his rule of prayer, for himself and others, that his days of sickness may be a time of faithful and loving intercourse with God.
|
|
III.
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
¶ The Minister shall examine the sick person, whether he repent him truly of his sins, and be in charity with all the world; exhorting him to forgive, from the bottom of his heart, all persons that have offended him; and if he hath offended any other, to ask them forgiveness; and where he hath done injury or wrong to any man, that he make .amends to the uttermost of his power. And if he hath not before disposed of his goods, let him then be admonished to make his Will, and to declare his Debts, what he oweth, and what is owing unto him; for the better discharging of his conscience, and the quietness of his Executors. But men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates, whilst they are in health. Then shall
the Priest say,
FORASMUCH as after this life there is an account to be given unto the righteous Judge, by whom all must be judged, without respect of persons, I require you to examine yourself and your estate, both toward God and man; so that accusing and condemning yourself for your own faults, you may find mercy at our heavenly Father's hand for Christ's sake, and not be accused and condemned in that fearful judgement.
¶ After such examination he shall say,
REMEMBER not, Lord, our offences neither take thou vengeance of our sins; spare us, good Lord, spare thy people whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever.
Answer. Spare us, good Lord.
¶ Here shall the sick person be moved to make a special confession of his sins, if he feel his conscience troubled with any weighty matter, m this form or other like,
I CONFESS to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that I have sinned in thought, word and deed, through my own grievous fault; wherefore I pray God to have mercy on me. And especially I have sinned in these ways . . . .
¶ After which confession the Priest shall absolve him if he humbly and heartily desire
it after this sort,
OUR Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
¶ And then the Minister shall say the Collect following:
Let us pray.
O MOST merciful God, who, according to the multitude of thy mercies, dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent, that thou rememberest them no more: Open thine eye of mercy upon this thy servant, who most earnestly desireth pardon and forgiveness. Renew in him, most loving Father whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the devil, or by his own carnal will and frailness; preserve and continue this sick member in the unity of the Church; consider his contrition, accept his tears, asswage his pain, as shall seem to thee most expedient for him. And forasmuch as he putteth his full trust only in thy: mercy, impute not unto him his former sins, but strengthen him with thy blessed spirit; and. when thou art pleased to take him hence, take him unto thy favour, through the merits of thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
IV.
AN ACT OF PRAYER AND BLESSING.
Anthem: O Saviour of the world, who by thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us, Save us, and help us, we humbly beseech thee,
O
Lord.
Levavi oculos. Psalm 121.
I
WILL lift up mine eyes unto the hills : from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh even from the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel : shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord himself is thy keeper : the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand ;
So that the sun shall not burn thee by day : neither the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in : from this time forth for evermore.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.
Or any other Psalm, such as the following: 23,
27, 43, 71 (vv. 1-17), 77, 86, 91, 103, 130,
142, 146.
Anthem: O Saviour of the world, who by thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us, Save us, and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
¶ Then shall the Minister say (laying his hands upon the sick person if desired),
O ALMIGHTY God, who art the giver of all health, and the aid of them that seek to thee for succour : We call upon thee for thy help and goodness mercifully to be shewed upon this thy servant, that being healed of his infirmities, he may give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE Almighty Lord, who is a most strong tower to all them that put their trust in him, to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, do bow and obey, be now and evermore thy defence; and make thee know and feel, that there is none other Name under heaven given to man, in whom and through whom thou mayest receive health and salvation, but only the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
¶ And after that shall say,
UNTO God's gracious mercy and protection we commit thee. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace, both now and evermore: Amen.
|
|
V.
SPECIAL PRAYERS TO BE USED AS OCCASION MAY SERVE.
Litany for the Sick or Dying.
O God the Father,
Have mercy.
O God the Son,
Have mercy.
O God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy.
Remember not, Lord, our offences.
Spare us, Good Lord.
From all evil and sin,
Good Lord, deliver him.
From the assaults of the devil,
Good Lord, deliver him.
From thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver him.
In the hour of death,
Good Lord, deliver him.
In the day of judgement,
Good Lord, deliver him.
By the mystery of thine Incarnation,
Save him, O Lord.
By thy Cross and Passion,
Save him, O Lord.
By thy Resurrection and final Triumph,
Save him, O Lord.
That it may please thee to grant him relief in pain;
We beseech thee to hear us.
To give him such health as is agreeable to thy will;
We beseech thee to hear us.
That it may please thee to deliver his soul;
We beseech thee to hear us.
To cleanse him from his sin;
We beseech thee to hear us.
That it may please thee to receive him to thyself;
We beseech thee to hear us.
To set him in a place of light and peace;
We beseech thee to hear us.
To number him with thy saints and thine elect;
We beseech thee to hear us.
Son of God;
We beseech thee to hear us.
O Lamb of God;
Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God;
Grant him thy peace.
For Healing.
O
GOD, who by the might of thy command canst drive away from men's bodies all sickness and infirmity: Be present in thy goodness with this thy servant, that his weakness being banished, and his health restored, he may live to glorify thy holy Name; through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
For a Sick Child.
O
LORD Jesus Christ, who didst with joy receive and bless the children brought to thee, give thy blessing to this thy child: In thine own time deliver him from his bodily pain, that he may live to serve thee all his days. Amen.
For one troubled in Conscience.
O
BLESSED Lord, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; We beseech thee, look down in pity and compassion on thy servant, whose soul is full of trouble: give him a right understanding of himself, and also of thy will for him, that he may neither cast away his confidence in thee nor place it anywhere but in thee; deliver him from the fear of evil; lift up the light of thy countenance upon him, and give him thine everlasting peace; through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For a Convalescent.
O
LORD, whose compassions fail not, and whose mercies are new every morning: We give thee hearty thanks that it hath pleased thee to give to this our brother both relief from pain and hope of renewed health; Continue, we beseech thee, in him the good work that thou hast begun; that, daily increasing in bodily strength, and humbly rejoicing in thy goodness, he may so order his life and conversation as always to think and do such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For a Dying Child.
O
LORD Jesu Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, who for our sakes didst become a babe in Bethlehem: We commit unto thy loving care this child whom thou art calling to thyself. Send thy holy angel to lead him gently to those heavenly habitations where the souls of them that sleep in thee have perpetual peace and joy, and fold him in the everlasting arms of thine unfailing love; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God world without end. Amen.
Commendatory Prayers.
THOU knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears to our prayer; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee.
UNTO thee, O Lord, we commend the soul of thy servant N., that, dying to the world, he may live to thee; and whatsoever sins he has committed through the frailty of earthly life, we beseech thee to do away by thy most loving and merciful forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect, after they are delivered from their earthly prisons: We humbly commend the soul of this thy servant, our dear brother, into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and most merciful Saviour; most humbly beseeching thee, that it may be precious in thy sight. Wash it, we pray thee, in the blood of that immaculate Lamb that was slain to take away the sins of the world; that whatsoever defilements it may have contracted in the midst of this miserable and naughty world, through the lusts of the flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, It may be presented pure and Without spot before thee; through the merits of Jesus Christ thine only Son our Lord. Amen.
GO forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul.
In the Name of God the Almighty Father who created thee. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus Christ who suffered for thee. Amen.
In the Name of the Holy Ghost who strengthened thee. Amen.
In communion with the blessed Saints and aided by Angels and Archangels, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers and all the armies of the heavenly host. Amen.
May thy portion this day be in the new Jerusalem~, the abode of peace, and thy dwelling in the heavenly Sion. Amen.
NOTE.— The following prayers and passages of Holy Scripture are suitable for use with the sick person: The Collect in the Communion of the Sick and the Collects appointed for the first, second and fourth Sundays in Advent, the third, fourth, and Sixth Sundays after Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the second Sunday in Lent, the Sunday next before Easter, the fourth Sunday after Easter,. Ascension Day, the Sunday after Ascension, Trinity Sunday, the fourth, sixth, seventh, twelfth, fifteenth, eighteenth, and twenty-first Sundays after Trinity, the Transfiguration, St. Michael and All Angels, St. Luke the Evangelist, and All Saints' Day.
1.
Confidence in God: Psalms 27, 46, 91, 121; Proverbs 3, 11-26; Isaiah 26, 1-9; .,1,0, 1-11; 40, 25 to end; Lamentations 3, 22-41; St. Matthew 6, 24 to end; Romans 8,31 to end.
2.
Answer to Prayer: Psalms 30, 34.
3.
Prayer for Divine Aid: Psalms 43, 86, 143; St. James 5, 10 to end.
4.
Penitence: Psalms 51, 130.
5.
Praise and Thanksgiving: Psalms 103, 146; Isaiah 12.
6.
God's dealing with Man through Affliction: Job 33, 14-30; Hebrews 12, 1-11.
7.
Christ our Example in Suffering: Isaiah 53; St. Matthew 26, 36-46; St. Luke 23,27-49.
8.
God's call to Repentance and Faith: Isaiah 55.
9.
The Beatitudes: St. Matthew 5, 1-12.
10.
Watchfulness: St. Luke 12, 32-40.
11.
Christ the Good Shepherd: Psalm 23 ; St. John 10, 1-18.
12.
The Resurrection: St. John 20,1-18 ; 20, 19 to end; 2 Corinthians 4, 13 to 5, 9.
13.
Redemption: Romans 5, 1-11; 8, 18 to end; 1 St. John 1, 1-9.
14.
Christian Love: 1 Corinthians 13.
15.
Growth in Grace: Ephesians 3, 13 to end; 6, 10-20; Philippians 3, 7-14.
16.
Patience in Suffering: St. James 5, 10 to end.
17.
God's Love to Men : 1 St. John 3, 1-7; 4,9 to end.
18.
The Life of the World to come: Revelations 7, 9 to end; 21, 1-7; 21, 22 to end; 22, 1-5.
19.
Our Lord's last Discourse before his Passion: St. John 14,15,16, 17.
|
|
THE COMMUNION OF
THE SICK.
FORASMUCH as all mortal men be subject to many sudden perils, diseases, and sicknesses, and ever uncertain what time they shall depart out of this life; therefore, to the intent they may be always in a readiness to die, whensoever it shall please Almighty God to call them, the Curates shall diligently from time to time (but especially in the time of pestilence, or other infectious sickness) exhort their Parishioners to the often receiving of the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, when it shall be publickly administered in the Church; that so doing, they may, in case of sudden visitation, have the less cause to be disquieted for lack of the same.
¶ But if the sick person be not able to come to the Church, and yet is desirous to receive the Communion in his house, then he must give timely notice to the Curate, signifying also, as far as he may, how many there are to communicate with him (which shall be two, or one at the least). And a convenient place in the sick man's house, together with all things necessary, having been prepared, the Priest shall there celebrate the Holy Communion, according to the form in this Book prescribed: Save only, that he may at his discretion begin with the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, and then proceed to the words, Ye that do truly, &c.
¶ The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel of the Day may be used in place of the following:
The Collect.
ALMIGHTY, everliving God, Maker of humankind, who dost correct those whom thou dost love, and chastise every one whom thou dost receive; We beseech thee to have mercy upon this thy servant visited with thine hand, and to grant that he may take his sickness patiently, and recover his bodily health, (if it be thy gracious will;) and whensoever his soul shall depart from the body, it may be without spot presented unto thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle. Hebrews 12. 5.
MY son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth; and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The Gospel. St. John 5. 24.
VERILY, verily I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
¶ At the time of the distribution of the holy Sacrament, the Priest shall first receive the Communion himself, and after minister unto them that are appointed to communicate with the sick, and last of all to the sick person.
¶ But if a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or for want of warning in due time to the Curate, or by any other just impediment, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood, the Curate shall instruct him, that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and
shed his Blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the benefits he hath thereby, and giving him hearty thanks therefore, he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ profitably to his Soul's health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth.
¶ In the time of plague, sweat, or such other contagious sickness, or whenever through fear of infection none of the Parish or neighbours can be gotten to communicate with the sick person, or when, after due pains taken, none can be found to communicate with him, then the Minister alone may communicate with him.
¶ When it is desirable to administer both kinds together, the Words of Administration shall be said thus:
THE Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which were given for thee, preserve
thy body and soul unto everlasting life.
Take this in remembrance that Christ died
for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by
faith with thanksgiving.
¶ But when the Holy Communion cannot reverently or without grave difficulty be celebrated in private, and also when there are several sick persons in the Parish desirous to receive the Communion on the same day, it shall be lawful for the Priest (with the consent of the sick person or persons), on any day when there is a celebration of the Holy Communion in the Church, to set apart at the open Communion so much of the consecrated Bread and Wine as shall serve the sick person (or persons), and so many as shall communicate with him (if there be any). And, the open Communion ended, he shall, on the same day and with as little delay as
may be, go and minister the same. If the consecrated Bread and Wine be not taken immediately to the sick person, they shall be kept in such place, and after such manner as the Ordinary shall direct, so that they be not used for any other purpose whatsoever.
¶ The consecrated Bread and Wine shall be taken to the sick person in such simple and reverent manner as the Ordinary shall direct.
¶ When the aforesaid provision is not sufficient to secure that any Communicant at his last hour should be able to receive the Holy Communion, the Curate, with the permission of the Ordinary, given in accordance with Canon, or such rules as may be from time to time made by the Archbishops and Bishops in their Convocations, may make further provision to meet the needs of the sick and dying.
¶ Except where extreme sickness shall otherwise require, before he administer the Holy Sacrament, at least the parts of the appointed Office here named shall be used, namely, the General Confession, the Absolution, and the Prayer "We do not presume, &c.", and, after the delivery of the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood with the appointed words, the Lord's Prayer and the Blessing. And immediately thereafter any of the consecrated elements that remain over shall reverently be consumed.
¶ If any question arise as to the manner of doing anything that is here enjoined or allowed, it shall be referred to the Ordinary for his decision.
|
|
