PRAYERS FOR DAILY LIFE
A MAN'S PRAYER TO HIS GUARDIAN ANGEL
Angel sent by God to guide me,
be my light and walk beside me;
be my guardian and protect me;
be my fire and direct me;
from the assaults of the enemy safeguard me;
from the temptations of this world defend me;
from leaving the straight and narrow path preserve me;
in confidence and trust in the Father’s love assure me;
in fidelity to the promises and vows I’ve made secure me;
in the paths of goodness in this life and in God’s Kingdom lead me.
Never leave my side.
LORD, HELP ME TO SAY 'YES'
Abbé Michel Quoist
I am afraid of saying “yes”, Lord.
Where will you take me?
I am afraid of drawing the longer straw,
I am afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement,
I am afraid of the “yes” that will entail other “yeses”.
Yet I am not at peace.
For you pursue me, besiege me.
I seek out the din for fear of hearing you,
but in a moment of silence,
you slip through.
I turn from the road,
for I have caught sight of you,
but at the end of the path,
you are there, awaiting me.
Where shall I hide?
I meet you everywhere.
I am afraid to say “yes”, Lord.
I am afraid of putting my hand in yours,
for you to hold on to it.
I am afraid of meeting your eyes,
for I know you will win me.
I am afraid of your demands.
I am hemmed in, yet I continue to hide.
I am captured, yet I continue to struggle,
and I fight, knowing that I am defeated.
For you are the stronger one, Lord,
you own the world,
and you take it from me.
When I stretch out my hand,
to catch hold of people and things,
they vanish before my eyes.
I can’t seem to keep anything for myself.
The flower I pick withers in my hands.
My laughter freezes on my lips.
Everything seems empty,
everything seems hollow.
For you have made a desert around me.
I am hungry and thirsty,
and nothing in this world seems to satisfy me.
And yet I have loved you, Lord,
I’ve worked for you; gave my whole life to you,
followed your voice in the night,
from the earliest days of my youth.
O great and terrible God,
what more do you want?
Why won’t you leave me in peace?
My son, I want more for you and the world,
until now, you have planned your actions,
but I have no need of them.
You have asked for my approval.
You have asked for my support.
You have wanted to interest me in your work.
But do you not see,
that you were reversing the roles?
I have watched you, I have seen your good will.
And I want more than you, now.
You will no longer do your own works,
but the will of the one who has called you,
who has whispered to you on that night,
when you were merely a child.
Say “yes”, son.
I need your “yes” as I needed Mary’s, to come to earth.
For it is I who must do your work.
It is I who must live in your family, not you.
It is I who must be in those whose lives you touch, not you.
It is I whose words they must hear, not yours.
It is I whose eyes they must look into, not yours.
It is my Word that carries weight, not yours.
It is my Life that transforms, not yours.
Give all to me, abandon all to me.
I need your “yes” to be united with you,
and to come down to earth.
I need your “yes” to continue saving the world.
O Lord, I am afraid of your demands.
But who can resist you?
That your Kingdom may come, and not mine.
That your Will may be done, and not mine.
Help me to say “yes”.
LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT
John Henry Newman
Lead kindly light,
amidst the encircling gloom.
Lead thou me on.
The night is dark
and I am far from home.
Lead thou me on.
Keep though my feet
I do not ask to see,
the distant scene;
one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus,
nor prayed,
that thou should lead me on.
I loved to choose
and see my path,
but now,
Lead thou me on.
I loved the garish day,
and spite of fears,
pride ruled my will;
remember not past years.
So long thy power
hath blest me,
sure it sill,
will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen,
o'er crag and torrent,
till the night is gone.
And with the morn,
those angel faces smile,
which I have
loved long since,
and lost awhile.
Amen.
LORD, I WOULD LIKE
TO BORROW YOUR EYES
(From Abbé Michel Quoist’s “Prayers”)
I would like to rise very high, Lord;
above my city,
above the world,
above time.
I would like to purify my gaze,
and borrow your eyes.
I would then see the universe,
humanity, and history,
as the Father sees them.
I would see in the transformation of matter,
in the perpetual seething of life,
your great Body that is born
of the breath of the Spirit.
I would see the beautiful,
the eternal thought
of your Father’s Love taking form,
step by step;
everything summed up in You,
things on earth,
and things of heaven.
And I would see that today,
like yesterday,
the most minute details are part of it,
every person has his place,
every group,
and every object.
I would see a crowd of youngsters
going to a dance,
an infant being born,
and old man dying;
I would see the tiniest of things,
And the smallest throbbing of life,
Love and hate,
Sin and grace.
Startled, I will begin to understand
that the great adventure of love,
that started at the beginning of the world,
continues to unfold before me.
The divine story which,
according to your promise,
will be completed only in glory,
after the resurrection of the flesh,
when you will come before the Father saying:
All is accomplished.
I would then understand
that everything is linked together,
that all is but a single moment
of the whole of humanity
and of the whole universe
towards the Trinity, in you, by you, O Lord.
I would then understand
That nothing is simply of the world,
neither things, nor persons, nor events.
But that, on the contrary,
everything has been made sacred
in its origin in You,
and that everything
must be consecrated by man,
who has himself been made divine.
I would then understand that my life,
an imperceptible breath in this great whole,
is an indispensable treasure
in the Father’s plan.
Then, falling on my knees, I would admire,
O Lord,
the great mystery of this world—Your world, which,
in spite of the innumerable hateful snags
of sin,
remains a long throb of love,
leading towards Love eternal.
I would like to rise very high, Lord,
above my city,
above the world,
above time,
I would like to purify my gaze,
and borrow your eyes.
A Prayer for Silence
Lord Jesus,
Your words to your Father
were born out of your silence.
Lead me into that same silence,
so that my words may be spoken
in your name
and thus be fruitful.
It is often hard for me to be silent,
silent with my mouth,
but even more,
silent with my heart.
There is far too much talking
going on within me.
It seems I am always involved
in an inner debate with myself,
with my friends,
with my enemies,
with my supporters,
with my opponents,
with my colleagues,
with my rivals.
But more than that,
this inner debate reveals
how far my hear is from you.
If I were simply to rest at your feet
and realize that I belong completely to you,
and to you alone,
I would easily stop arguing
with the real and imagined people around me.
These arguments
reveal my insecurity,
my fear,
my apprehensions,
and my need
for being recognized
and receiving attention.
You alone, O Lord,
can give me the recognition I need.
If only I would simply
stop talking and listen instead to you.
I know that in the silence of my heart,
you will speak to me
and show me your love.
Grant me, O Lord,
that silence.
Let me be patient
and grow into that silence
in which alone
I can truly be with you.
Amen.
From Henri Nouwen, A Cry for Mercy, 18.
St. Thomas Aquinas'
Prayer
Before Mass
Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.
Lord, in Your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with purity and faith, repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me your salvation.
Kind and merciful God, may I be worthy to receive the body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body, and numbered among His members.
Loving Father, in this my earthly pilgrimage, I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, grant that I may one day see Him face to face, He who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
Amen.