What on the face of the globe can be likened unto the fidelity of a father and the tender love of a mother? They who led me into the world through the gate of life; they who joyfully offered numberless sacrifices for my welfare; they, who carefully sowed the heavenly seed of every human virtue in the tender soul of the child; they, who unremittingly sought to promote the happiness of my life from my birth—O God, let them enjoy happy and joyful days. O Father, let the names of them both stand long in the book of life. If in the black clouds of the storm a dark fate draws near, O keep it off from them, and preserve them from pain and affliction. If an arrow of disaster threatens to fly to that heart, under which I felt the first pulsation of life: O Lord, arrest it and ward it off.

With no earthly good am I able to requite the tender love of the faithful father and affectionate mother; therefore reward Thou them, all-kind Father, with Thy blessing, reward them with tranquillity of mind, with concord and contentment, with health and cheerfulness, and sustain them long, even long yet in this life of pilgrimage. Amen.