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Preparation for Personal Prayer

Holy Spirit, breath of God and fire of love, I cannot pray without your aid: Kindle in me the fire of your love, and illumine me with your light; that with a steadfast will and holy thoughts I may approach the Father in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who reigns with you and the Father in eternal union. Amen.

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Prayer
Prayers

For a Virtuous Heart

Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy thought can drag down; an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose can tempt aside. Bestow upon me understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and faithfulness that finally may embrace you.  Amen.

da nobile quod nulla deorsum trahat indigna affectio; da inuictum quod nulla fatiget tribulatio; ... et da rectum quod nulla obliquet sinistra intentio ... Largire michi, Domine Deus meus, intellectum te cognoscentem, diligentiam te querentem, sapientiam te inuenientem.

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Original-language source · public domain

BCP 2019, p. 674

Provenance

Aquinas, c.1270

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

St. Thomas Aquinas's prayer for a steadfast, unconquered, and upright heart, kept in Latin by his Dominican brethren since the thirteenth century and set among the 2019 Prayer Book's occasional prayers.