Prayer of the day

O merciful God, grant that I may
desire ardently,
search prudently,
recognize truly,
and bring to perfect completion
whatever is pleasing to You
for the praise and glory of Your name.

Put my life in good order, O my God.

This is the opening stanza of the prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas, For Ordering a Life Wisely, which Thomas is said to have recited daily before the image of Christ. As often as I can remember to do so, I do the same. Over the coming days (or weeks, depending on how often I get to it), I will provide the rest of the prayer, bit-by-bit. Often, the brief stanzas make enough of a stand-alone prayer...if but a whisper of a prayer, still a noble aspiration. Some time ago, as I entered the Catholic Church, a good friend -- with whom I have, regrettably, lost touch (God's blessing be upon you, wherever you are, Toyin) -- gifted me The Aquinas Prayer Book, containing many prayers, from which I have learned how to pray for the best things. Perhaps my good readers will be as blessed as I have been by this one.