The Prayer of John Cardinal Newman

Radiating Christ

Dear Lord, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.

Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Thee, O Lord!

Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as thou shinest; so to shine as to be a light to others. The Light O Lord will be all from Thee; none of it will be mine; It will be Thou, shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise Thee in the way Thou dost love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach thee without preaching, not by words but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to thee!

On the vigil of the Feast of St Francis, I offer this prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi and one we are in much need of praying:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, let me sow pardon;
where there is doubt, let me sow faith;
where there is despair, let me sow hope;
where there is darkness, let me sow light;
where there is sadness, let me sow joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

Painting: Giotto di Bondone (1270-1337)

Dearest Lord,

May I see you today and everyday in the person of your sick,

and, while nursing them, minister unto you.

Though you hide yourself in the unattractive disguise of the irritable,

the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you, and say,

“Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.’

Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation,

and its many responsibilities.

Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to

coldness, unkindness, or impatience.

• St Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Almighty God, ever-loving Father,

your care extends the boundaries of race and nation

to the hearts of all who live.

May the walls,

which prejudice raises between us,

crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

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The Liturgy of the Hours: According to the Roman Rite, vol. 4, 44. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Corp., 1975.

Photo Credit: Christy McKee

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think that I am following

your will does not mean that I am doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

     does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that

     I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart

     from that desire.

And I know that if I do this, you will lead

     me by the right road

     though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore, will I trust you always though

     I may seem to be lost.

and in the shadow of death. I will not fear,

     for you are ever with me,

and you will never leave me to face my perils

      alone.

     Amen.

Come Holy Spirit,

fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,

did instruct the hearts of the faithful,

grant that by the same Holy Spirit

we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations,

Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.