My Hope and Refuge
Ah, Lord God,
holy Lover of my soul,
when you come into my soul,
all that is within me will rejoice.
You are my glory and the exultation of my heart.
You are my hope and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Set me free from all evil passions,
and heal my heart of all inordinate affections,
cure and cleanse me within,
that I may be made fit to love,
courageous to suffer,
steady to persevere.
Nothing is sweeter than love,
nothing more courageous,
nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth;
because love is born of God,
and cannot rest but in God,
above all created things. Let me love you more than myself,
and love myself except for you; and in you all that truly love you,
as the law of love commands,
shining out from yourself.
Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.