Lead, Kindly Light

(“The Pillar of Cloud”, John Henry Cardinal Newman; last verse Edward Bickersteth, Bishop of Exeter)

Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou 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
Shouldst 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 still
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!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

Prayer for Christlikeness

(John Henry Cardinal Newman)

Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go;
Flood my soul with your spirit and life;
Penetrate and possess my whole being so completely
That all my life may be only a radiance of yours;
Shine through me and be so in me
That everyone with whom I come into contact
May feel your presence within me.
Let them look up and see no longer me—but only Jesus.

Amen.

Prayer of St Richard of Chichester

O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,

may  I know you more clearly,

love you more dearly,

follow you more nearly,

day by day. Amen

Prayer of St Teresa of Avila (1)

Christ has no body now on earth but yours:
No hands but yours:
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which must look out Christ’s compassion on the world.
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless mankind now.

Prayer of St Thomas More (Be With Us Today)

Father in heaven,
you have given us a mind to know you,
a will to serve you,
and a heart to love you.
Be with us today in all that we do,
so that your light may shine out in our lives.
Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Prayer to be more Christ-like

(St. John Gabriel Perboyre)

O my Divine Saviour,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.
Above all,
Transform my soul and all its powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.
I pray You
To destroy in me
All that is not of You.
Grant that I may live
But in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say,
With St. Paul,
“I live – now not I –
But Christ lives in me”.

Amen.