Prayers across the centuries

Michel Quoist was born in Le Havre, France, to a working-class Catholic family who were involved with the Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (Young Christian Workers). He began to work after his father's death, at age 14. Quoist sought the meaning of life and entered the seminary at St Jean in 1938. He moved to the seminary at Rouen in 1942, and later was ordained as a priest at Saint-Ouen Abbey in July 1947. His work as both a youth chaplain and a writer was focused on young people.

After Advanced Studies at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences as a researcher and practitioner, he developed a method of inquiry which would later be known as urban classic. He wrote a thesis on sociology of the old Rouen City. Afterwards he returned to Le Havre as a vicar, later becoming a parish priest from 1949 to 1953.

As a post-war chaplain of Catholic Action he published in conjunction with major religious initiatives the 1954 text Prayers of Life, which he wrote as a priest at age 33. This brought him huge success; 2,500,000 copies have been sold throughout the world, and at the time he often appeared on French television and radio. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 1996, but decided to forgo chemotherapy fearing it would make him too weak to work. Instead he devoted the rest of time completing his last book, which he did before his death in Le Havre on December 18, 1997.

His prayers are far from orthodox, but some how he seems to catch in his contemporary words the needs and feelings of many a seeking disciple in line with the teaching of Paul in Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ..  Here are just two such prayers.”

I have just hung up; why did he telephone?

I don’t: know . . . Oh! I get It . . .

I talked a lot and listened very little.

Forgive me, Lord, it was a monologue and not a dialogue

I explained my idea and did not get his;

Since I didn’t listen, I learned nothing,

Since I didn’t listen, I didn’t help,

Since I didn’t listen, we didn’t communicate.

Forgive me, Lord, for we were connected,

and now we are cut off.

Elsewhere Michel Quoist  prays…

Here, Lord, before you tonight are the bodies of sleeping men:

The pure body of the tiny child,

The soiled body of the prostitute,

The vigorous body of the athlete,

The exhausted body of the factory worker,

The soft body of the playboy,

The surfeited body of the rich man,

The starved body of the poor man,

The paralysed body of the cripple,

All bodies, Lord, of all ages.

I offer them all to you, Lord, and ask you to bless them,

While they lie in silence, wrapped in your night . . .

May these bodies be developed, purified, transfigured,

By those who dwell in them. Amen

Prayers across the centuries

William Temple (1881-1944)

The son of an Archbishop of Canterbury, Temple had a traditional education after which he was briefly a lecturer at the University of Oxford before becoming headmaster of Repton School from 1910 to 1914. After serving as a parish priest in London from 1914 to 1917 and as a canon of Westminster Abbey, he was appointed Bishop of Manchester in 1921. He worked for improved social conditions for workers and for closer ties with other Christian Churches. Despite being a socialist, he was nominated by the Conservative government for the Archbishopric of York in 1928 and took office the following year. In 1942 he was translated to be Archbishop of Canterbury, and died in post after two and a half years, aged 63.

Temple was admired and respected for his scholarly writing, his inspirational teaching and preaching, for his constant concern for those in need or under persecution, and for his willingness to stand up on their behalf to governments at home and abroad.

In his book, Nature, Man and God he writes, “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.”

In prayer, Temple mirrors Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

May the love of the Lord Jesus

draw us to himself;

May the power of the Lord Jesus

strengthen us in his service;

May the joy of the Lord Jesus 

fill our souls.

May the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost

be amongst you

and remain with you

always. Amen

Prayers across the centuries

St. Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491, one of 13 children of a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. As a young man Ignatius Loyola was inflamed by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds.

But in 1521 Ignatius was gravely wounded in a battle with the French. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a conversion. Reading the lives of Jesus and the saints made Ignatius happy and aroused desires to do great things. Ignatius realised that these feelings were clues to God’s direction for him.

Over the years, Ignatius became expert in the art of spiritual direction. He collected his insights, prayers, and suggestions in his book the Spiritual Exercises, one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written. With a small group of friends, Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. Ignatius conceived the Jesuits as “contemplatives in action.” This also describes the many Christians who have been touched by Ignatian spirituality. No doubt his now famous prayer was influenced by Paul’s words to the Galatians, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.”

Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous;

Teach me to serve thee as thou deservest;

To give and not to count the cost, 

To fight and not to heed the wounds,

To toil and not to seek for rest,

To labour and not to seek reward,

Save that of knowing that I do thy will. Amen

Prayers across the centuries

St Francis of Assisi 1181-1226 is perhaps one of the most well known saints of the  medieval period. He abandoned a life of luxury for a life devoted to Christianity after reportedly hearing the voice of God, who commanded him to rebuild the Christian church and live in poverty. He is the patron saint for ecologists.

Born in Italy circa 1181, Saint Francis of Assisi was renowned for drinking and partying in his youth. After fighting in a battle between Assisi and Perugia, Francis was captured and imprisoned for ransom. He spent nearly a year in prison — awaiting his father's payment — and, according to legend, began receiving visions from God. After his release from prison, Francis heard the voice of Christ, who told him to repair the Christian Church and live a life of poverty. Consequently, he abandoned his life of luxury and became a devotee of the faith, his reputation spreading all over the Christian world. 

Wasn’t it Jesus who said to the would be follower, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Luke 12:33

Here is a prayer attributed to Francis of Assisi.

You are holy, Lord, the only God,

and your deeds are wonderful.

You are strong.

You are great.

You are the Most High,

You are almighty.

You, holy Father, are

King of heaven and earth.

You are Three and One,

Lord God, all good.

You are Good, all Good, supreme Good

Lord God, living and true. i

You are love.

You are wisdom.

You are humility,

You are endurance.

You are rest,

You are peace.

You are joy and gladness.

You are justice and moderation.

You are all our riches,

And you suffice for us.

You are beauty.

You are gentleness.

You are our protector,

You are our guardian and defender.

You are courage.

You are our haven and our hope.

You are our faith,

Our great consolation.

You are our eternal life,

Great and wonderful Lord,

God almighty,

Merciful Saviour. Amen 

Prayers across the centuries

St Anslem 1033-1109 was a notable theologian, Benedictine monk, scholar, and philosopher, born in 1033. He worked throughout his life to renew the use of reason and tradition within the faith. Known as a patient and skilled teacher within his order of Benedictine monasticism, Anselm became a writer, strongly influenced by St. Augustine. His research and meditation on the ontological argument for the existence of an all-perfect God and his writing on “Why God Became Man” are still quite impactful in modern philosophy and theology.

St. Anselm was appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury at the age of 60. However, disagreeing frequently with the King over reforming the Church, Anselm voluntarily entered exile more than once. Despite this, his skills as negotiator, statesman, and theologian continued to further the authority of the Church.

When he died as Archbishop in 1109, Anselm left behind countless prayers, meditations, and philosophical and theological treatises. Theology was, for him, truly “faith seeking understanding” in the scholarly realm.

One such prayer is still relevant today and speaks of the grace of God in the manner that Paul cites in 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

O Lord our God grant us grace to desire thee with our whole heart, that so desiring, we may seek and find thee; and so finding thee we may love thee; and loving thee we may hate those sins from which thou hast redeemed us; for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen

Prayers across the centuries

One of the leading church scholars of his day, Alcuin (735-904) was born in York and joined the cathedral school under Archbishop Ecgbert. Interestingly, Alcuin did not become ordained, and there is no proof that he ever became a monk. It seems, rather, that his primary motivation was simply learning. The school focussed on liberal arts in addition to theology, and became known as a centre of learning. Alcuin became master of the school in 778 AD.  

In 781, King Elfwald asked Alcuin to go to Rome and appeal to the Pope to raise York to the status of an archbishopric. This Alcuin did, and on his way back to York he met Charlemagne at Parma. The two had met previously, but this time Charlemagne was able to persuade the scholar to join his court at Aachen.

This he did, and was responsible for what is now called the Carolingian Renaissance. His early pupils included Charlemagne himself, and his sons Pepin and Louis. He also exercised considerable influence with the king; he successfully convinced Charlemagne to abolish the death penalty for pagansim, famously declaring that 'Faith is a free act of the will, not a forced act. We must appeal to the conscience, not compel it by violence.'

Alcuin wrote numerous treatises on theology and dogma, but his works were not confined to religion; he also wrote poetry, mathematics, and works of grammar. Though his primary fame was as a scholar, Alcuin was a prominent theologian (in those days not much separated the two disciplines!). He was responsible for the standard version of the Bible used throughout the medieval period. In 796 he was named as Bishop of Tours, and was the major influence behind getting Charlemagne crowned as emperor of the west in 800 AD. He died at Tours in 804 and was buried in the abbey church.

In line with Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” he wrote this prayer.

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,

Eternal Goodness, deliverer us from evil,

Eternal Power, be our support,

Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,

Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;

that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength

we may seek thy face and be brought by thine infinite mercy

to thy holy presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayers across the centuries

Augustine's (354-430 life as a young man was characterised by loose living and a search for answers to life's basic questions.

He would follow various philosophers, only to become disillusioned with their teachings. For nine years he was associated with the Manichean sect. But he gradually became aware that Manicheism was unable to provide satisfactory answers to his probing questions.

At this time, Augustine was teaching rhetoric in Milan. He went to hear the preaching of Saint Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan. At first he went only to hear Ambrose's eloquent style of speaking. But the Bishop's preaching led Augustine to a new understanding of the Bible and the Christian Faith.

Some time in the year 386, Augustine and his friend Alypius were spending time in Milan. While outdoors, Augustine heard the voice of a child singing a song, the words of which were, "Pick it up and read it. Pick it up and read it." He thought at first that the song was related to some kind of children's game, but could not remember ever having heard such a song before.

Then, realising that this song might be a command from God to open and read the Scriptures, he located a Bible, picked it up, opened it and read the first passage he saw. It was from the Letter of Paul to the Romans. Reading this scripture, Augustine felt as if his heart were flooded with light.

I’m reminded of the words of Jesus, when he said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you are faithful to what I have said, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free! John 8:32

One of Augustine’s famous prayers reads as:- When I found truth, there I found my God who is the truth. And there since the time I learned thee, thou abidest in my memory; and there I find thee, when so ever I call thee to remembrance and delight in thee. Amen