St Bonaventure (1221-1274), a Doctor of the Church (the “Seraphic Doctor”) was the seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), i.e., the Franciscans. Fr Brian Jordan, OFM, used this prayer to bless the “World Trade Center” cross (the “Ground Zero” cross), a pair of steel beams found amidst the wreckage of 6 World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks.
Pierce, O most Sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of thy love, with true, serene, and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with love and longing for thee, that it may yearn for thee and faint for thy courts, and long to be dissolved and to be with thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after thee, the bread of angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delight of taste; let my heart ever hunger after and feed upon thee, upon whom the angels desire to look, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of thy savor; may it ever thirst after thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the richness of the house of God.
May it ever compass thee, seek thee, find thee, run to thee, attain thee, meditate upon thee, speak of thee, and do all things to the praise and glory of thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, and with perseverance unto the end.
May thou alone be ever my hope, my entire assurance, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my fragrance, my sweet savor, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession and my treasure, in whom may my mind and my heart be fixed and firmly rooted immovably henceforth and for ever. Amen.
Newsletter