Celebrated nurse, researcher and theorist, Virginia Avenel Henderson, wrote, "The nurse is temporarily the consciousness of the unconscious, the love of life of the suicidal, the leg of the amputee, the eyes of the newly blind, a means of locomotion for the newborn, knowledge and confidence for the young mother, a voice for those too weak to speak, and so on."

Every day, nurses across the world tenderly care for those in need. As we gratefully recognize them today, in the year of the nurse, in a time of pandemic, let us honor their steadfast commitment to their calling and pray that God who called them to this work continue to sustain them in it:

Spirit of God and Sustainer of All People,
Bless nurses across the world, who daily receive you in the sick and suffering.
Grace them with a full measure of your gifts.
Renew within them your call to serve and reignite the vocation that burns in their hearts.

Guide their hands with tenderness and discipline.
Open their ears to hear the needs below the symptoms.
Widen their eyes to see Christ in everyone they encounter each day.
Gentle their speech to provide words of comfort, clarity, and peace.

As they witness first breaths, last breaths and all the breathtaking moments in between,
Strengthen them for their selfless service and ministry of healing and hope.
Amen.

© The Catholic Health Association of the United States