All Else Confusion: The King's good servant, but God's first

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The King's good servant, but God's first

Happy Feast of St. Thomas More, Patron of Lawyers, to all my lawyer friends and family!

Prayer of St. Thomas More, composed after his final confession.

Good and gracious Lord, as you give me grace to acknowledge my sins, so give me grace in both word and heart to repent them and utterly forsake them. And forgive me those sins which my pride blinds me from discerning.
Glorious God, give me your grace to turn my back on the things of this world, and to fix my heart solely on you.

Give me your grace to amend my life, so that I can approach death without resentment, knowing that in you it is the gateway to eternal riches.

Glorious God, take from me all sinful fear, all sinful sorrow and self-pity, all sinful hope and all sinful desire. Instead give me such fear, such sorrow, such pity, such hope and such desire as may be profitable for my soul.

Good Lord, give me this grace, in all my fear and agony, to find strength in that great fear and agony which you, sweet Savior, had on the Mount of Olives before your bitter passion.

Almighty God, take from me all desire for worldly praise, and all emotions of anger and revenge. Give me a humble, lowly, quiet, peaceable, patient, generous, kind, tender and compassionate mind.

Grant me, good Lord, a full faith, a firm hope and a fervent love, that I may desire only that which gives you pleasure and conforms to your will.

And, above all, look upon me with your love and your favor.

For an interesting article on why St. Thomas More remains a figure of relevance for our time, check out this article by Robert Bork.

Labels: Feast Day