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The Voice of Christ
My child, I will teach you now the way of peace and
true liberty.Seek, child, to do the will of others
rather than your own.
Always choose to have less rather than more.
Look always for the last place and seek to be
beneath all others.
Always wish and pray that the will of God be fully
carried out in you.
Behold, such will enter into the realm of peace
and rest.
The Disciple
O Lord, this brief discourse of Yours contains much
perfection. It is short in words but full of meaning
and abounding in fruit. Certainly if I could only
keep it faithfully, I should not be so easily
disturbed. For as often as I find myself troubled and
dejected, I find that I have departed from this
teaching. But You Who can do all things, and Who
always love what is for my soul's welfare, give me
increase of grace that I may keep Your words and
accomplish my salvation.
A Prayer Against Bad Thoughts
O Lord my God, be not far from me. O my God, hasten
to help me, for varied thoughts and great fears have
risen up within me, afflicting my soul. How shall I
escape them unharmed? How shall I dispel them?
"I will go before you," says the Lord, "and will
humble the great ones of earth. I will open the doors
of the prison, and will reveal to you hidden
secrets."
Do as You say, Lord, and let all evil thoughts fly
from Your face. This is my hope and my only comfort
-- to fly to You in all tribulation, to confide in
You, and to call on You from the depths of my heart
and to await patiently for Your consolation.
A Prayer for Enlightening the Mind
Enlighten me, good Jesus, with the brightness of
internal light, and take away all darkness from the
habitation of my heart. Restrain my wandering
thoughts and suppress the temptations which attack me
so violently. Fight strongly for me, and vanquish
these evil beasts -- the alluring desires of the
flesh -- so that peace may come through Your power
and the fullness of Your praise resound in the holy
courts, which is a pure conscience. Command the winds
and the tempests; say to the sea: "Be still," and to
the north wind, "Do not blow," and there will be a
great calm.
Send forth Your light and Your truth to shine on the
earth, for I am as earth, empty and formless until
You illumine me. Pour out Your grace from above.
Shower my heart with heavenly dew. Open the springs
of devotion to water the earth, that it may produce
the best of good fruits. Lift up my heart pressed
down by the weight of sins, and direct all my desires
to heavenly things, that having tasted the sweetness
of supernal happiness, I may find no pleasure in
thinking of earthly things.
Snatch me up and deliver me from all the passing
comfort of creatures, for no created thing can fully
quiet and satisfy my desires. Join me to Yourself in
an inseparable bond of love; because You alone can
satisfy him who loves You, and without You all things
are worthless.
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