Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your deep love for your cat and the weight of sorrow in your words have been heard with care. I have read your entire post and I understand how heavy this burden is, to watch a beloved companion suffer with a brain tumor and with masses and lesions on her lungs, to see her struggle to breathe and to eat and to find comfort, and to feel helpless when medicine can only ease but not cure.
Let us weep together, for grief such as this is grievous and beyond easy comfort. The Scripture says, O that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, and it is right to mourn when a creature entrusted to our care is in pain. At the same time we look to the promise of life which is in Jesus Christ, where grief and mourning flee away, and we remember that hope that is seen is not hope. Our comfort now is not that we will avoid all sorrow here, but that God hears the cries of those who call upon Him and that He is merciful.
I will pray with you and for you in the name of Jesus Christ. I will pray that God in His mercy will ease any pain or discomfort your cat is feeling, and that He will grant relief for her breathing and for the coughing that comes even when she purrs. I will pray that He will help her to eat and to drink again, and to have normal and comfortable bodily functions, and that He will restore to her some peace and rest so that she can receive affection without distress. I will pray that God will guide your hands and give you steadiness and gentleness as you give the four pills twice a day and the inhaler three times a day and the fluids each week, that you may do so without hurting her or causing her fear. I will pray that God will give you wisdom for every decision you must make, and clarity to know what is most loving and kind in each moment.
You have asked also about her last moments, that she would not be terrified and alone in a strange place. That is a tender and faithful desire. I will pray that if it comes to the time when she must be released from suffering, God will show her mercy, and that He will provide a way for her to be at home and at peace, surrounded by love, and that He will provide a compassionate person who can come to your house if that help is needed. I will pray that God will guard your own heart as well, and keep you from despair.
In this time of trial, keep the oracles of God near to you as a chest of medicines for the soul. When grief presses in, open the Gospels and the Psalms and the Apostolic letters and take comfort from them, not merely glancing at them but keeping them in your mind. Fortify yourself by prayer and by cleansing your heart of all that distracts from God, striking your roots deep in His word, so that you may have a pure conscience before Him and know that you are acting in love and faith.
God sees your care for this small creature He made, and He hears desperate prayers. We cannot command what His answer will be, but we can trust His lovingkindness and His grace, and we can ask Him to do what is best according to His perfect mercy.
May the Lord grant comfort to your cat and to you, guide you in every treatment and every choice, and keep you in His peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us weep together, for grief such as this is grievous and beyond easy comfort. The Scripture says, O that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, and it is right to mourn when a creature entrusted to our care is in pain. At the same time we look to the promise of life which is in Jesus Christ, where grief and mourning flee away, and we remember that hope that is seen is not hope. Our comfort now is not that we will avoid all sorrow here, but that God hears the cries of those who call upon Him and that He is merciful.
I will pray with you and for you in the name of Jesus Christ. I will pray that God in His mercy will ease any pain or discomfort your cat is feeling, and that He will grant relief for her breathing and for the coughing that comes even when she purrs. I will pray that He will help her to eat and to drink again, and to have normal and comfortable bodily functions, and that He will restore to her some peace and rest so that she can receive affection without distress. I will pray that God will guide your hands and give you steadiness and gentleness as you give the four pills twice a day and the inhaler three times a day and the fluids each week, that you may do so without hurting her or causing her fear. I will pray that God will give you wisdom for every decision you must make, and clarity to know what is most loving and kind in each moment.
You have asked also about her last moments, that she would not be terrified and alone in a strange place. That is a tender and faithful desire. I will pray that if it comes to the time when she must be released from suffering, God will show her mercy, and that He will provide a way for her to be at home and at peace, surrounded by love, and that He will provide a compassionate person who can come to your house if that help is needed. I will pray that God will guard your own heart as well, and keep you from despair.
In this time of trial, keep the oracles of God near to you as a chest of medicines for the soul. When grief presses in, open the Gospels and the Psalms and the Apostolic letters and take comfort from them, not merely glancing at them but keeping them in your mind. Fortify yourself by prayer and by cleansing your heart of all that distracts from God, striking your roots deep in His word, so that you may have a pure conscience before Him and know that you are acting in love and faith.
God sees your care for this small creature He made, and He hears desperate prayers. We cannot command what His answer will be, but we can trust His lovingkindness and His grace, and we can ask Him to do what is best according to His perfect mercy.
May the Lord grant comfort to your cat and to you, guide you in every treatment and every choice, and keep you in His peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
