A PRAYER TO OBTAIN
THE GRACE OF A DEVOUT LIFE

This prayer to obtain the grace of a devout life, has been attributed to one of the church’s greatest theologians, St. Thomas Aquinas, (pictured above) from the 13th century. It is found in The Raccolta, a famous manual of “prayers and devotions enriched with indulgences” published in 1957 but still available today.

These days, it is easy to get caught up in worries about worldly matters such as providing for our families and seeking safety and refuge from the increasing chaos, mayhem, and, not coincidentally, the ungodliness we see all around us!

However, this prayer provides us with a good sort of spiritual “check list” of the virtues we need to cultivate nonetheless as “citizens in training” for heaven.

Even nowadays, perhaps especially nowadays, we must strive to serve God as best we can in prayer and in partaking of the sacramental life so as to keep Him front and center in our lives! In these troubled times, we can either be devout or be devoured by our anxieties instead.

Jesus may not clear up our troubles and fears instantaneously, as He did by calming the wind and waves that seemed to threaten his disciples in a boat with just a rebuke, as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel (8:23-27).

But the more we turn to Him, even when it feels like He’s distant from us, the more He can give us His grace to stay calm and focused in the midst of our storms, both figuratively and literally.

This prayer can help us to tamp down those worries and cultivate a loving detachment in carrying our daily crosses so that they might not seem so overwhelmingly heavy while we strive to serve God, our neighbors, and our loved ones.

We are reminded here as well of our Lord’s famous exhortation in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”(Matt 6:19-21).

The prayer itself follows:

Grant me, O merciful God, to desire eagerly, to investigate prudently, to acknowledge sincerely, and to fulfill perfectly those things that are pleasing to Thee, to the praise and glory of Thy holy Name.

Do Thou, my God, order my life; and grant that I may know what Thou wilt have me to do; and give me to fulfill it as is fitting and profitable to my soul.

Grant me, O Lord my God, the grace not to faint either in prosperity or adversity, that I be not unduly lifted up by the one, nor unduly cast down by the other. Let me neither rejoice nor grieve at anything, save what either leads to Thee or leads away from Thee. Let me not desire to please anyone, nor fear to displease anyone save only Thee.

Let all things that pass away seem vile in my eyes, and let all things that are eternal be dear to me. Let me tire of that joy which is without Thee, neither permit me to desire anything that is outside Thee. Let me find joy in the labor that is for Thee; and let all repose that is without Thee be tiresome to me.

Give me, my God, the grace to direct my heart towards Thee, and to grieve continually at my failures, together with a firm purpose of amendment.

O Lord my God, make me obedient without gainsaying, poor without despondency, chaste without stain, patient without murmuring, humble without pretense, cheerful without dissipation, serious without undue heaviness, active without instability, fearful of Thee without abjectness, truthful without double-dealing, devoted to good works without presumption, ready to correct my neighbor without arrogance, and to edify him by word and example, without hypocrisy.

Give me, Lord God, a watchful heart which shall be distracted from Thee by no vain thoughts; give me a generous heart which shall not be drawn downward by any unworthy affection; give me an upright heart which shall not be led astray by any perverse intention; give me a stout heart which shall not be crushed by any hardship; give me a free heart which shall not be claimed as its own by any unregulated affection.

Bestow upon me, O Lord my God, an understanding that knows Thee, diligence in seeking Thee, wisdom in finding Thee, a way of life that is pleasing to Thee, perseverance that faithfully waits for Thee, and confidence that I shall embrace Thee at the last. Grant that I may be chastised here by penance, that I may make good use of Thy gifts in this life by Thy grace, and that I may partake of Thy joys in the glory of heaven: Who livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen

Hopefully this prayer can help you keep your eyes on the prize of heaven in the midst of so many hellish happenings all around us these days. There is a verse from the book of Ezekiel that comes to mind in the references towards the human heart towards the end of this prayer.

God tells that great Old Testament prophet, following the horrifying conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th Century BC, that there will come a time when He will restore the house of Israel to righteousness saying “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and to be careful to observe my ordinances.” (Ez 36:25-27)

May this prayer from St. Thomas help each of us to have hearts full of love for God rather than hearts of stone in these tempestuous times!

Aquinas himself was blessed towards the end of his life with a supernatural ecstatic experience in which Christ actually spoke to him. Keep in mind here that St. Thomas was the author of the Summa Theologica, a voluminous masterpiece containing numerous articles about God and his creations, Man, and Christ as the incarnate Word leading Man to God.

Christ, speaking from the crucifix one day to Thomas towards the end of that great Angelic Doctor’s life asked him “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor?" Thomas replied, "Nothing but you, Lord."

Clearly his attitude reflected that of another giant in our faith, Saint Augustine, who wrote when addressing God in in his great book Confessions almost 9 centuries earlier: “You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”