Join St. Peter of Alcantara in praying this special prayer for the love of God, written by the saint himself. You can find the full prayer in his book, Treatise on Prayer and Mediation.
Above all these virtues, grant me, O Lord, Thy grace, that I may love Thee with my whole heart, with my whole soul, with all my strength and with my whole being, for thus Thou dost bid me do. Oh, Thou art all my Hope and all my Glory, my one Refuge, my whole Joy! O Best Beloved of all, Spouse emblossomed, honeyed and sweet: O Sweetness of my heart, Life of my soul, joyous Resting Place of my spirit! O Day of Eternity, beautiful and bright, my Innermost Light serene, Flowering Paradise of my heart, my Creator, most lovable and all sufficient for me!
Make ready, O my God, make ready, O Lord, a pleasing dwelling place within me for Thyself, that according to the promise of Thy Holy Word, Thou mayest come to me and rest with me. Mortify in me all that is displeasing to Thy sight, and make of me a man according to Thy own heart. Wound, O Lord, my inmost soul with the arrows of Thy love, and inebriate it with the wine of Thy perfect charity. Ah! When will that be? When shall I please Thee in all things? When shall I be dead to all in me that displeases Thee? When shall I be wholly Thine? When shall I cease to be my own? When shall nothing but Thyself live in me? When shall I love Thee most ardently? When will the flame of Thy love enkindle me wholly? When shall I be wholly softened and carried away by Thy most potent sweetness? When wilt Thou open Thyself to this poor mendicant and discover to him Thy most lovely kingdom, which is within me, which is Thyself, with all Thy treasures? When wilt Thou ravish me and sweep me off, transport me and hide me in Thyself, so that anything of myself appears no more? When—free of these impeding chains—wilt thou make me a spirit with Thee, that nothing may thus separate me from Thee anymore?
O Beloved, Beloved, Beloved of my soul! O Sweetness, Sweetness of my heart! Hearken to me, O Lord, not for any merits of mine, but of Thine infinite bounty. Teach me, enlighten me, guide and help me in all things, so that nothing may be done or said but what is pleasing in Thy sight. O my God, my Loved One and the Innermost Good of my soul! O Love so sweet to me! O Delight so great for me! O my Strength, help me; my Light, guide me!
O God of my heart! Why dost Thou not bestow Thyself on one so poor? Thou fillest earth and sky, and yet my heart is empty. Thou dost clothe the lilies of the field; Thou dost feed the little birds; Thou dost support the worms; why dost Thou forget me, I who have forgotten all things for Thee? Late have I known thee, O Infinite Goodness! Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new! How sad the time when I loved Thee not! How sad, myself, when I knew Thee not; how blind when I did not see Thee! Thou art within me, and I sought Thee without! But since at long last I have found Thee, suffer me not, O Lord, in Thy clemency divine, ever again to leave Thee.
Since one of the things that pleases Thee most and most deeply touches Thy heart is to have eyes that know how to gaze upon Thee, grant me, O Lord, such eyes as these, that I may contemplate Thee: eyes of the dove, simple; eyes chaste and modest; eyes humble and loving; eyes filled with devotion and with tears; eyes attentive and discerning, to know Thy Will and do it. May I, gazing upon Thee with such eyes as these, be myself regarded with those eyes of Thine with which Thou didst look upon Peter when Thou didst lead him to weep for his sin; with those eyes with which Thou didst look upon the Prodigal Son when Thou didst go forward to welcome him and give him the kiss of peace; with those eyes which Thou didst turn toward the Publican, when he dared not raise his own toward Heaven; with those eyes with which Thou didst gaze upon the Magdalen when she washed Thy feet with the tears from her own; those eyes, finally, with which Thou didst gaze upon the Spouse, in the Canticles, saying to her: “Behold, thou art fair, O my love; behold, thou art fair; thy eyes are as those of doves.” (Canticle of Canticles 1:14). Thus, well pleased with the eyes and with the beauty of my soul, adorn me with those virtues and graces with which I shall always appear beautiful in Thy sight. Amen.
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This article is taken from a chapter in Treatise on Prayer and Meditation by Saint Peter of Alcantara which is available from TAN Books.
