The priest having faculties to bestow this Apostolic Blessing enters the house, and says:
Peace be unto this house.
R. And unto all who dwell therein.
After which he sprinkles the sick person, the room, and the bystanders, with holy water in the form of a cross, saying the Asperges.
Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.
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.
Ant. Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
He then hears the Confession of the sick person; or if that be not necessary, bids him at least make an act of contrition, and, if time allows, briefly instructs him concerning the efficacy and power of this blessing. The priest then exhorts him to bear his sufferings patiently, as an expiation for the sins of the past; to offer himself wholly to God prepared cheerfully to accept whatever may be His holy will; and to be ready to undergo death itself as a payment of the penalty due to his sins. Then, with consoling words, the priest bids him have great confidence in God, and to be assured that he will attain, through the riches of His exceeding bounty, a remission of temporal punishment, and the reward of everlasting life. The priest then says:
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who hath made heaven and earth.
Ant. Remember not, O Lord, the offenses of Thy servant, neither take Thou revenge of his sins.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Our Father (inaudibly).
V. And lead us not into temptation.
R. But deliver us from evil.
V. Save Thy servant.
R. O my God, who putteth his trust in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O most gracious God, Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who wouldest not that any should perish who believeth and trusteth in Thee, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, look favorably upon Thy servant N., whom the true faith and hope of Christ do commend unto Thee. Visit him in Thy saving power; and through the Passion and death of Thine Onlybegotten, graciously grant unto him pardon and remission of all his sins; that his soul at the hour of its departure may find Thee a most merciful Judge; and, cleansed from every stain in the blood of the same, Thy Son, may be found worthy to pass to life everlasting. Through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
Then the Confiteor being repeated by an attendant clergyman, or by the priest himself, the priest says the Misereatur, etc., and then proceeds thus.
May Our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Who gave to His blessed apostle Peter the power of binding and loosing; of His most tender mercy receive thy confession, and restore unto thee that first robe which thou didst receive in Baptism; and I, by the power committed to me by the Apostolic See, grant thee a plenary indulgence and remission of all thy sins. In the name of the Father, ✠ and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Through the most sacred mysteries of man’s Redemption may God Almighty remit unto thee the pains of the present and the future life, open to thee the gates of paradise, and bring thee to everlasting joys. Amen.
May God Almighty bless thee; the Father, ✠ and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
