Prayer to Obtain All Virtues by St. Thomas Aquinas

Prayer to Obtain All Virtues by St. Thomas Aquinas

O merciful God, grant that I may eagerly desire, careful search out, truthfully acknowledge, and ever perfectly fulfill the things which are pleasing unto Thee. Order all my state for the glory and honor of Thy Name alone; and grant me to know what Thou dost require me to do, and give me to do it as is fitting, and profitable to my salvation.

Grant that I may not fail or swerve either in prosperity or in adversity; that I be not lifted up by the one, nor cast down by the other. Let me joy in nothing but what leads to Thee, nor grieve for any thing but what leads away from Thee ; let me neither seek to please, nor fear to displease, any but Thee alone. May all transitory things grow vile in my eyes, O Lord, and may all that is Thine be dear to me for Thy sake, and Thou, O my God, dear above them all. May all joy be irksome to me that is without Thee, nor may I desire any thing that is apart from Thee. May all labour and toil delight me which is for Thee, and all rest be weariness which is not in Thee.

Grant me, O Lord, continually to lift up my heart towards Thee, and to bring sorrowfully to my mind my many shortcomings, with full purpose of amendment. Make me, O Lord, obedient without demur, poor without repining, chaste without stain, patient without murmur, humble without pretense, joyous without frivolity, fearful-without abjectness, truthful without disguise, given to good works without presumption, faithful to rebuke my neighbor without arrogance, and ever careful to edify him both by word and example without pretension.

Give me, O Lord God, an ever-watchful heart, which no subtle speculation may lure from thee; a noble heart, which no unworthy affection can draw downwards to the earth; an upright heart, which no insincere intention can warp aside; ‘an unconquerable heart, which no tribulation can crush or quell; a free heart, which no perverted or impetuous affection can claim for its own.

Bestow on me, O Lord, my God, understanding to know Thee, diligence to seek Thee, wisdom to find Thee, a life and conversation which may please Thee, persevere in waiting patiently for Thee, and in hope which may embrace Thee at the last. Grant me to be pierced with compunction by Thy sorrows through true repentance, to improve all Thy gifts and benefits during this my pilgrimage through Thy grace, and so at length to enter into Thy full and consummate joy in Thy glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth, Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be etc.

A Students Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O Mary, Mother of fair love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope, by whose loving care and intercession many, otherwise poor in intellect, have wonderfully advanced in knowledge and in holiness, thee do I choose as the guide and patroness of my studies; and I humbly implore, through the deep tenderness of thy maternal love, and especially through that eternal Wisdom who deigned to take from thee our flesh and who gifted thee beyond all the saints with heavenly light, that thou wouldst obtain for me by thy intercession the grace of the Holy Spirit that I may be able to grasp with strong intellect, retain in memory, proclaim by word and deed, and teach others all things which bring honor to thee and to thy Son, and which for me and for others are salutary for eternal life. Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Prayer for Purity

O good Jesus, I know that every perfect gift and, above all others, that of chastity depends on the powerful action of Thy divine Providence; I know that without Thee a creature can do nothing. This is why I beseech Thee to defend, by Thy grace, the purity of my soul and of my body. And if I have ever received any impression whatsoever of a sentiment capable of soiling this ineffable virtue, do Thou, O supreme Master of my faculties, blot it out from my soul, that with a clean heart I may advance in Thy love and in Thy service, offering myself chaste all the days of my life on the most pure altar of Thy divinity. It is the Cross that I adore. The Cross of the Lord is with me. The Cross is my refuge. Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas