Almighty, everliving God,
Maker of mankind, 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 thy 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.
ANGLICAN 1662 AD
A Prayer at the Communion of the Sick (BCP)
Also known as Communion of the Sick Prayer ยท BCP Prayer at Bedside Communion
About this prayer
The full text of A Prayer at the Communion of the Sick (BCP) above is presented with its historical context, traditional meaning, and primary public-domain source.
This prayer is from the Order for the Communion of the Sick in the Book of Common Prayer of 1662. The Communion of the Sick is the rite by which the Church brings the Eucharist to those who, by reason of serious illness, cannot come to the church service themselves. The practice dates to the earliest Christian centuries: the second-century Apologist Justin Martyr records that the Eucharist was carried by deacons to sick believers absent from the Sunday assembly.
The 1662 BCP preserves this practice in a brief, dignified order: the minister visits the sick person, prays with them, and administers Communion. The prayer included here is one of the principal prayers said at this visit, asking that the reception of the sacrament by the sick person may be for the strengthening of their soul and, if it be God's will, the recovery of their body.
The text is in the public domain by age. The Communion of the Sick rite remains in continuous use in the Anglican Communion today, in parallel forms in the Catholic Sacrament of the Sick and in similar Lutheran, Methodist, and Orthodox traditions.
When it's said
Prayed at the bedside of a sick person to whom the Eucharist is being brought, in the Anglican Communion of the Sick rite. Also used as a private prayer of preparation by the sick person or by family members and friends gathered with them. The rite itself is brief and is prayed by an ordained minister; the prayer may be used in any pastoral context of prayer for someone gravely ill.
Notes on the text
The phrase 'whom thou dost love, and chastise every one whom thou dost receive' is from Hebrews 12:6. The framing reflects the historical Anglican (and broadly Christian) understanding that suffering, while not willed by God for its own sake, can be received within the larger framework of divine love and care; it does not minimize the reality of suffering. 'Without spot presented unto thee' is a reference to Ephesians 5:27 and to the Christian hope of being presented to God at the end of life. The prayer holds together two possibilities, healing and death, and prays well for both, without presuming which will come.
Common questions
What is the Communion of the Sick?
The Communion of the Sick is the rite by which the Church brings the Eucharist to those who, by reason of serious illness, cannot come to the church service. The practice dates to the earliest Christian centuries; Justin Martyr records it in the second century. In the Anglican Communion the rite is structured by the 1662 BCP Order for the Communion of the Sick; in the Roman Catholic Church it is part of the Sacrament of the Sick; similar practices exist in Orthodox, Lutheran, and Methodist traditions.
Why does the prayer mention death alongside healing?
The prayer holds together two possible outcomes of serious illness: recovery and death. It asks for healing if it be God's will, and that if the sick person's soul should depart from the body, they may be presented spotless to God. This double framing is the historical Christian pattern of praying for someone gravely ill; it asks well for both possibilities without presuming which will come.
Can a layperson pray this prayer?
The prayer itself can be prayed by anyone with a sick person they love. In the formal Anglican rite of Communion of the Sick, the prayer is said by an ordained minister bringing the Eucharist to a sick person. Outside that liturgical context, the words are simply a prayer for someone gravely ill and may be used in any pastoral context of bedside prayer.
Source
Book of Common Prayer, 1662, Order for the Communion of the Sick. Public domain by age.
Last reviewed: June 2026 against primary source.