My most unexpected blessing from the summer leave in London was the impression made by our visit to Canterbury Cathedral. Today I ran across a prayer by Thomas More, whose martyrdom at the cathedral has inspired saints through the centuries:
Glorious God, give me grace to amend my life, and to have an eye to my end without begrudging death, which to those who die in you, good Lord, is the gate of a wealthy life.
And give me, good Lord, a humble, lowly, quiet, peaceable, patient, charitable, kind, tender and pitiful mind, in all my works and all my words, and all my thoughts, to have a taste of your holy, blessed Spirit.
Give me, good Lord, a full faith, a firm hope, and a fervent charity, a love of you incomparably above the love of myself.
Give me good Lord, a longing to be with you, not to avoid the calamities of this world, nor so much to attain the joys of heaven, as simply for love of you.
And give me, good Lord, your love and favour, which my love of you. however great it may be, could not deserve were it not for your great goodness.
These things, good Lord, that I pray for, give me your grace to labour for.
(as found in Eerdman's Book of Famous Prayers, p. 47)
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I've repeated this last line so many times - it's been a favorite quote for years. I'd never read the rest of the prayer before today. Wow...
ReplyDelete"as simply for love of you"