As life around us becomes
ever more bizarre and secular and the pace of living increasingly manic, and
the comment box fills up with words uncharitable, it is good to stop, pray and
reflect.
I found a rather overlooked
book on my bookshelf; it is called ‘Mysteries of the Mass in Reasoned Prayers’
written by Father W Roche SJ and published in 1928 when, perhaps, the Jesuit
order was rather better structured than it is today.
Fr Roche in his foreword
tells us that this is not a book of poetry, but of plain, continuous prose.
Each part refers to a distinct part of the Mass and the ‘broken lines’ of Fr
Roche’s prose are intended to make the reader proceed slowly, pausing
frequently and giving each prayer its full due.
This extract is from the
section on Preparation for Communion and it is called ‘Pray for Peace with
Yourself’ - something that I guess we
could all do with:
Pax Domini
O Lord God Almighty,
through this most Holy Sacrifice
which renews the memory of the Angels’ song
at Thy Son’s birth in Bethlehem
and recalls His promise and bequest of peace
the night before He died,
and its actual gift on the day of His resurrection;
through this sublime worship
which in its prayers
sums up all the blessings in the gift of peace,
listen to my petition,
I ask the grace of a threefold peace;
peace with myself,
with my neighbour,
with Thee.
With myself, in my own heart, I ask to be at one,
guided by clear and fixed and holy principles,
not troubled by conflicting aims
nor led by shifting whims and fancies,
nor disturbed by vain regrets or foolish fears;
nor perplexed by passionate desires
but tranquil, single-minded,
cincere and straight,
consistent with myself.
Give me, for Jesus’ sake, such inward peace,
as comes of one chief aim and purpose
and consciousness of duty done.
I ask not for repose and idleness
but the active arduous peace
of poise and
balance in a disordered world,
amid rival and conflicting influences.
Amen
Love the last paragraph.Inward peace.....very elusive!
ReplyDeleteSandy
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
ReplyDeleteFrom the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ,
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should.
The last petition of the litany of humility is a powerful reminder to all of us.