Prayer of a Priest
Convert Thou me entirely, O my beloved Jesus, that I may live every moment— up to and including the very moment of my death — with my eyes fixed on Thine adorable Face, and with my heart hidden in Thy piercèd Heart. Make me, I pray Thee, what Thou hast called me to be.
Let me so love Thee and adore Thee that I may be for Thine afflicted Heart the consoling friend for whom Thou hast waited so long. Leave me not alone, never forsake me, so that I may never leave Thee alone, and never forsake Thee.
Fix my vagrant heart before Thy tabernacle — before the one where Thou art least adored and most forgotten — that I may persevere in a watch of adoration, of reparation, and of love before Thy Eucharistic Face.
What can I give Thee that Thou hast not given me? Give Thou, then, to me superabundantly so that I may give back to Thee superabundantly. Give Thou me, I beseech Thee, but a spark of Thine own blazing zeal for the glory of the Father; let it consume me entirely as a holocaust to the praise of His glory.
Give Thou me, I beseech Thee, a share in Thy spousal love for the Church, Thy Bride in heaven and on earth. Like Thee, with Thee, in Thee, let me lay down my life for her. Give Thou me, I beseech Thee, Thine own Heart’s filial love for Thine Immaculate Mother, that I may love her as Thou wouldst have me love her; that I might serve her with a devotion that is true, and pure, and constant.
Give Thou me, I beseech Thee, the tender compassion with which Thou wouldst have me care for souls, that in my care for them they may experience the solicitude of Thy Sacred Heart.
Make me, if possible, more Thy priest today than I have ever been before. Ratify and confirm me in the ineffable grace of real participation in the Mystery of the Cross where Thou art Priest and Victim. Burn more deeply into my soul the indelible character of Thy priesthood, and, in that same fire, consume and destroy all that dims, obstructs, or impedes its glorious radiance, so that the light of Thy sacrifice may shine before men, and its healing power go forth from me as it went forth from Thee, for Thou, O merciful Saviour, hast made me Thy priest forever.
A thousand thousand lifetimes would be too little time to thank Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee for so immeasurable a gift. Give me then, when Thou callest me to Thyself, an eternity in which to praise Thee beyond the veil where, for the moment, Thou art hidden in the glory of the Father and in the brightness of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
