Novena for Order, Day 9

Grant
that with Your hardships
I may be burdened in reparation here,
that Your benefits
I may use in gratitude upon the way,
that in Your joys
I may delight by glorifying You
in the Kingdom of Heaven.

For Lent I'm going to be reading the the long text of Revelations of Divine Love, by Julian of Norwich. There are 86 sections, and I'm on section 6 right now, so that gives me about two short passages a day to read and reflect on.

In section 6, Julian realizes that all good ways of praying, all intermediaries that we cling to to aid our human minds in comprehending and loving God, pale before the very goodness of God himself.

Therefore it pleases him that we should seek and worship him in these intermediate ways while understanding and knowing that he is the goodness of all; for the goodness of God is the highest object of prayer and it reached down to our lowest need. It quickens our soul and gives it life, and makes it grow in grace and virtue. It is nearest in nature and readiest in grace; for it is the same grace which the soul seeks and always will seek until we truly know him who has enclosed us in himself; for he does not despise what he has made, nor does he disdain to serve us in the simplest task that belongs by nature to our bodies, through love of the soul which he has made in his own likeness... For of everything the heart could devise, this is what most pleases God and most readily benefits us; for our soul is so specially loved by him that is highest that it surpasses the knowledge of all beings -- that is to say that there is not being made that can know how much and how sweetly and how tenderly our Maker loves us.

Lent is a time of stripping away of all the mortal things we depend upon, both physically and spiritually, so that we may be made ready for the experience of true existence, of seeing God face to face and living.

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 8

Grant that I may know
what You require me to do.

It's the day before Ash Wednesday, and as usual I'm still waffling on my Lenten penance(s). I want to be more mindful of things spiritual over all, practice the Little Way, but I know that without a concrete resolution things become pretty ephemeral pretty quickly. So I'm following the prayer of Julian of Norwich from the Revelations of Divine Love (The Long Text, 6):

Our Lord God also showed that it gives him very great pleasure when a simple soul comes to him in a bare, plain and familiar way. For, as I understand this showing, it is the natural yearning of the soul touched by the Holy Ghost to say, 'God, of your goodness, give me yourself; you are enough for me, and anything less that I could ask for would not do you full honour. And if I ask anything that is less, I shall always lack something, but in you alone I have everything.'

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 7

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 6

O Lord my God, make me
submissive without protest,
poor without discouragement,
chaste without regret,
patient without complaint,
humble without posturing,
cheerful without frivolity,
mature without gloom,
and quick-witted without flippancy.

O Lord my God, let me
fear You without losing hope,
be truthful without guile,
do good works without presumption,
rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness,
and -- without hypocrisy --
strengthen him by word and example.

Brandon links to an excellent article by James Chastek on hypocrisy, in which he points out that in regards to the Pharisees, hypocrisy was not simply a matter of "Do what I say, not what I do."

What is at the heart of Christ’s vehement denunciation of hypocrisy, especially in the Pharisees? They are not hypocrites as the term is used today – i.e. those who indulge in pleasures they censure in others. If anything, they are the first ones to practice what they preach. One difficulty is that the Pharisees don’t speak much for themselves in the Gospels, though there is one moment when Christ narrates a prayer of a Pharisee which provides an insight into just what he found objectionable in them.

I thank you Lord, that I am not like other men (Lk. 18.9). At the heart of hypocrisy is a certain way of considering oneself as set apart. This “being set apart” is part of the definition of holiness and is an integral human need, and so we can’t cast it off altogehter. But how does this sense of being set apart twist itself into hypocrisy?

If we start with hypocrites in our contemporary sense, we can see their hypocrisy is a way of seeing themselves as set apart from the rules they look to impose on others, and this gives us insight into how to extend the fault of hypocrisy to other areas. We are just as much hypocrites when we, say, judge persons by standards which we excuse ourselves from, or when we’re too eager to except excuses from ourselves that we won’t except from others. I thank you Lord that I am not like other men – my faults are understandable, excusable, part of who I am and even endearing while theirs are willful, selfish, insensitive and grating. It is just this element of hypocrisy that Christ want to rule out by the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.

But hypocrisy extends even further to the ways we interpret religion so as to set ourselves apart without becoming holy. A theologian, for example, can be constantly tempted to this sort of hypocrisy – he sets himself apart as the one who knows the faith, but it is possible to simply know the faith without doing anything to become any holier. I’ve always loved how philosophical theology makes me constantly thinking about God, and I wouldn’t want to give this benefit up for anything, but I’m aware of how easy it is just to think about God without ever setting aside times to pray, fast, give alms, practice care for others, etc.* Theology can easily become a substitute for religion. [emphasis mine]

This seems especially significant to me as it's easy for me to study the Bible and derive lots of literary and spiritual insights from it, but much harder to be watchful, to die to self at each moment, to get up from the computer to help the kids the moment they call without considering it an imposition, to remember that each action resonates in eternity.

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 5

"Grant to me, O Lord my God,
that I may not falter in times
of prosperity or adversity,
so that I may not be exalted in the former,
nor dejected in the latter.

May I not rejoice in anything
unless it leads me to You;
may I not be saddened by anything
unless it turns me from You.

May I desire to please no one,
nor fear to displease anyone,
but You.

May all transitory things, O Lord,
be worthless to me
and may all things eternal
be ever cherished by me."

I've been thinking about these lines in light of this article from the New York Times on the destruction wrought by virtual lynch mobs, whose outrage is not founded on what T.S Eliot called an "objective correlative". The chosen victim must expiate his or her supposed sins by being pilloried in public and humiliating fashion. People pile on to the virtual hate because they feel safe in their anonymity, assuming (against the obvious example of the mob in which they are participating) that their words will never come back to bite them, that they'll never be called to account. When you are are unaccountable, you are safe. You can say anything you want. They deserve it anyway, right? Get out of the virtual kitchen if you can't stand the real heat.

Most of us know the sickness of being the subject of gossip, the gnawing horror in the stomach and the panicky desire to hide away. We had the merest brush with this recently, seeing our name tossed out for dissection and then passed over because someone else was more interesting to talk about. One forgets, writing a small blog, that all who read are not necessarily friends or kindly disposed. And yet, this non-event left me sleepless and pale and meditative for days. Looking at Aquinas's prayer, did I falter in times of adversity? Did I fear to displease anyone? Were transitory things like the security of being anonymous and overlooked on the internet worth more to me than all things eternal? Would it really matter, in the long-term spiritual sense, if someone I didn't know and would never meet picked over the small bit of life revealed as a passing amusement?

I have found, this past week, a new side of praying the rosary, in meditating on something unquestionably pure. The results of the Annunciation may have fed local gossip for months or years, but of itself it was perfect and full of grace. May our own lives become ever more full of grace, and of the peace that passes understanding despite what anyone may say about us.

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 4

"May all work, O Lord
delight me when done for Your sake.
and may all repose not centered in You
be ever wearisome for me."

This is my current bit of meditation from the prayer. I like my repose. A lot. Work does not delight me, generally. I just do it. And I'm always trying to sneak extra moments of repose: more time in bed, more time in front of the computer, more time reading, more time for me. And yet it is true that stolen bread isn't sweet. The extra time I spend clicking around isn't refreshing. It's just putting off the inevitable dealing with my day: kids, dishes, laundry, trying to find socks for everyone so we can leave the house. And yet, if I am doing that work for God's sake, I'm asking for it to become a delight for me, something that I will seek to do, and do well, rather than cowering away in vain repose.

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 2

Darwin is leaving today to speak at a pricing conference, and he'll be gone over the weekend. Historically, I know how this will go: the first day I'll keep things running fairly efficiently (or as efficiently as usual, anyway). The next day everything will start to slip, and by the time he gets back on Sunday the madness will have descended. Some of this is my fault, because I don't run a very tight ship at the best of times, and some of this is my personality, because I depend on Darwin for companionship, paternal enforcement, support, encouragement, decompression buddy, and general adultness. Single parenting is one of the hardest things anyone can do, and I celebrate anyone who has found themselves carrying this heavy burden. And anyone who deliberately sets out to be a single parent -- those who buy a baby from a surrogate, those who spring for in-vitro -- is an idiot, and I don't care who knows I think it.

My goals this week are to have dinner at a reasonable hour -- something that should be easier than usual because we won't be waiting for Darwin to get home from work -- and to get the youngest three to bed promptly, which also ought to be easier because I won't be spending all my evening trying to talk to Darwin. Famous last words those are: "ought to be easy". Sweet Jesus, mercy!

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser

Novena for Order, Day 1

Again, as I'm pondering how to live Lent this year, I realize that today starts the novena of Ash Wednesday, and so it seems the right time to pray the Novena for Order again. I'm not giving up Facebook this year as I have the past two years because I get many of my prayer intentions from friends there, and also, in years past I've found that wasting time on FB is only a symptom of a larger problem.

So what it is to be this year? One big penance or several small ones through the day, to remind me that I am dust and to dust I shall return? Or a combination of both? I know that something I need to do, and this will definitely factor into my Lent, is to establish a definite prayer time. I'm 36 years old, I've been Catholic all my life, I follow the precepts of the church, I don't eat meat on Fridays, I read the Bible with my children -- and I don't have a regular daily prayer time. I say little ejaculations throughout the day and I do try to meditate and pray at night in bed, especially when I can't fall asleep -- but I don't set aside time during the day for regular prayer.

Something I have done in the past months is to take on a small permanent penance. It's not too big or exciting -- no sugar in my tea except on Sunday. I only name it so no one thinks it's more onerous or challenging than it is. But what seems to matter more than the size of it is the regularity. I drink tea several times a day, and although I don't reach for the sugar anymore, or even want it that much now, I still remember that I'm not taking it, and that helps me turn my thoughts even for a moment. Pavlov's non-sugar for the spiritual life, perhaps.

I wish there were a good way to make the prayer look shorter, but the formatting really seems to help. It looks like it will take forever to say, but it doesn't.

For Ordering a Life Wisely St. Thomas Aquinas O merciful God, grant that I may desire ardently, search prudently, recognize truly, and bring to perfect completion whatever is pleasing to You for the praise and glory of Your name. Put my life in good order, O my God Grant that I may know what You require me to do. Bestow upon me the power to accomplish your will, as is necessary and fitting for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not falter in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may not be exalted in the former, nor dejected in the latter. May I not rejoice in anything unless it leads me to You; may I not be saddened by anything unless it turns me from You. May I desire to please no one, nor fear to displease anyone, but You. May all transitory things, O Lord, be worthless to me and may all things eternal be ever cherished by me. May any joy without You be burdensome for me and may I not desire anything else besides You. May all work, O Lord delight me when done for Your sake. and may all repose not centered in You be ever wearisome for me. Grant unto me, my God, that I may direct my heart to You and that in my failures I may ever feel remorse for my sins and never lose the resolve to change. O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret,

patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick-witted without flippancy. O Lord my God, let me fear You without losing hope, be truthful without guile, do good works without presumption, rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness, and -- without hypocrisy -- strengthen him by word and example. Give to me, O Lord God, a watchful heart, which no capricious thought can lure away from You. Give to me, a noble heart, which no unworthy desire can debase. Give to me a resolute heart, which no evil intention can divert. Give to me a stalwart heart, which no tribulation can overcome. Give to me a temperate heart, which no violent passion can enslave. Give to me, O Lord my God, understanding of You, diligence in seeking You, wisdom in finding You, discourse ever pleasing to You, perseverance in waiting for You, and confidence in finally embracing You. Grant that with Your hardships I may be burdened in reparation here, that Your benefits I may use in gratitude upon the way, that in Your joys I may delight by glorifying You in the Kingdom of Heaven. You Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen. translation by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser