Prayer for Virtue (St. Thomas Aquinas, Feast Day: 28 January)

O Almighty and all-knowing God, without beginning or end, who art the giver, preserver, and rewarder of all virtue:

Grant me to stand firm on the solid foundation of faith, be protected by the invincible shield of hope, and be adorned by the nuptial garment of charity;

Grant me by justice to obey thee, by prudence to resist the crafts of the Devil, by temperance to hold to moderation, by fortitude to bear adversity with patience;

Grant that the goods that I have I may share liberally with those who have not, and the good that I do not have I may seek with humility from those who have;

Grant that I may truly recognise the guilt of the evil I have done, and bear with equanimity the punishments I have deserved; that I may never lust after the goods of my neighbour, but always give thanks to thee for all thy good gifts…

Plant in me, O Lord, all thy virtues, that in divine matters I might be devout, in human affairs wise, and in the proper needs of the flesh onerous to no one…

And grant that I may never rush to do things hastily, nor balk to do things demanding, so that I neither yearn for things too soon, nor desert things before they are finished.

Amen

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