When struggling against sin, our best defense is prayer. The following prayers were taken from Manual for Conquering Deadly Sin and will fortify the soul during times of temptation.
Jesus, Our Model
Picture to yourself in your heart his behavior
and his actions:
How meek and quiet in his manner among all
classes of men;
how genial among his own;
how reserved in his eating and drinking;
how full of feeling for the poor, to whom he was
in all things like, who belonged to his
own inner circle.
How he turned no one aside; how he shrank
from none, not even the leper, not even
the sinner, not even the shameful, not
even the shameless!
How he paid no court to the great;
how he was obsequious to none!
How he kept himself aloof from the cares of the
world!
How he troubled himself in nothing for the
needs of the body!
How restrained were his eyes;
how patient he stood under insult;
how gentle his answers!
How he would not vindicate his honor by a
sharp or bitter reply!
How he turned away malice by calm and quiet,
by assertion of truth, by the offer of his
love!
Again, how composed his every movement,
how faultless in every action!
How he longed for the salvation of souls, for
the love of whom he had willed to
become man and had willed to die!
How in all his behavior he was a model of all
good, the light of all men, their WAY,
their TRUTH, their LIFE!
Again, how he endured labor and want and
hunger and thirst and utter weariness!
How compassionate he was with all who
suffered!
How he adapted himself to the weak, how he
stooped to the lowly!
How he avoided scandal.
How he refused no sinner.
How kindly he welcomed every penitent.
How peaceful in all his words;
how encouraging to good will;
how stern to hard hearts.
How earnest in prayer,
how quick to do a service, saying of himself,
“I am in the midst of you as he that serves.”
Again, how long his hours of prayer.
How obedient to his parents.
How he shunned every sign of boasting, every
show of being singular.
How he avoided all this world’s glory, all this
world’s power, all this world’s means to
success!
All this, and much more, comes to the mind
when we think of him.
In him we find a model for our every word and
deed,
moving or standing, seated, eating, silent or
speaking, alone or with others.
Study him and you will grow in his love. In his
company you will gain sweetness and
confidence,
and you will be strengthened in every virtue.
Let this be your wisdom, this your meditation,
this your study:
to have him always in mind, to move you to
imitation, to win you to his love.
Archbishop Alban Goodier, SJ
(Slightly adapted)
Prayer For The Seven Gifts Of The Holy Spirit
O Lord Jesus Christ, who before ascending into Heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish your work in the souls of your Apostles and disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that he may perfect in my soul the work of your grace and your love.
Grant me the gift of Wisdom, that I may despise the perishable things of this world and desire only the things that are eternal; the gift of Understanding, to enlighten my mind with the light of your Divine truth; the gift of Counsel, that I may always choose the surest ways of pleasing God and gaining heaven; the gift of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with you and may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the gift of Knowledge, that I may know God and know myself, and grow perfect in the science of the Saints; the gift of Piety, that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable; the spirit of Fear, that I may be filled with a loving reverence toward God, and a holy fear of thinking, saying, or doing anything to displease Him.
Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of your true disciples, and animate me in all things with your Spirit. Amen.
To Obtain Detachment From Earthly Goods
O JESUS, who chose a life of poverty and obscurity, grant me the grace to keep my heart detached from the transitory things of this world. May you be my only treasure, for you are infinitely more precious than all other possessions. My heart is too set upon the vain and fleeting things of earth. Make me always mindful of your warning words: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul?”
Grant me the grace to keep your holy example always before my eyes, that I may despise the nothingness of this world and make you the object of all my desires and affections. Amen.
God Knows
Jesus, when it is very hard,
When the body is tired,
When the mind is clouded,
When the soul is troubled,
When I am a weary burden to myself,
When I am a scandal to others,
When my best friends seem to be against me,
When every door is closed:
Then let me remember myself,
What I am and what I deserve.
My nothingness, fit only to be trodden on,
My fickleness, utterly unreliable,
My sinfulness, meriting a worse doom,
My selfishness, always seeking its own,
My cruelty to others in similar circumstances,
And let me see your hand in it all.
Let me remember you,
Who you are and what you deserve,
And yet what you have received.
Whom none could accuse of sin,
Yet who found yourself a scandal to many.
Who would not break a bruised reed,
Yet whose soul was made sorrowful unto death.
Who for me despised the shame
And endured the Cross.
Let me remember my Father
Who is faithful,
Who will not try me more than I am able,
Who rules from end to end mightily
And disposes all things sweetly.
Who out of evil will draw good,
Who is sweet and gentle
And of much mercy to all who will love him.
Archbishop Alban Goodier, SJ
(slightly adapted)
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This article is taken from a chapter in Manual for Conquering Deadly Sin by Fr. Dennis Kolinski, SJC which is available from TAN Books.
