Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

O LORD GOD, WHO INHABITEST ETERNITY, The heavens declare thy glory,       The earth thy riches, The universe is thy temple; Thy presence fills immensity, Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life,   and communicated happiness; Thou hast made me what I am, and given me   what I have; In thee I live and move and […]

O SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN, Thou wast incarnate, didst suffer, rise, ascend       for my sake; Thy departure was not a token of separation     but a pledge of return; Thy Word, promises, sacraments, show thy death     until thou come again. That day is no horror to me,   for thy death has redeemed me, […]

O LORD GOD, I pray not so much for graces as for       the Spirit himself,   because I feel his absence,   and act by my own spirit in everything. Give me not weak desires but the power of     his presence,   for this is the surest way to have all his graces,   and when I have the […]

O FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD, Destroy in me every lofty thought,       Break pride to pieces and scatter it     to the winds, Annihilate each clinging shred of     self-righteousness, Implant in me true lowliness of spirit, Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence, Open in me a fount of penitential tears, Break me, then bind me up; Thus […]

O GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, That which I know not, teach thou me,       Keep me a humble disciple in the school     of Christ,   learning daily there what I am in myself,     a fallen sinful creature,   justly deserving everlasting destruction; O let me never lose sight of my need of a Saviour,   or forget that apart […]

O HOLY SPIRIT, As the sun is full of light,         the ocean full of water,       Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be     full of thee. Vain are all divine purposes of love   and the redemption wrought by Jesus   except thou work within,     regenerating by thy power,     giving me eyes to see Jesus,     showing […]

LORD JESUS CHRIST, Fill me with thy Spirit       that I may be occupied with his presence.   I am blind — send him to make me see;   dark — let him say, ‘Let there be light’! May he give me faith to behold   my name engraven in thy hand,   my soul and body redeemed by thy […]

O GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, Thou who dost proceed from the Father       and the Son,       have mercy on me. When thou didst first hover over chaos,     order came to birth,   beauty robed the world, fruitfulness sprang forth. Move, I pray thee, upon my disordered heart; Take away the infirmities of unruly desires     and hateful lusts; […]

O MY GOD, Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,       my heart admires, adores, loves thee,   for my little vessel is as full as it can be,   and I would pour out all that fullness before thee     in ceaseless flow. When I think upon and converse with thee   ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,   ten […]

MY GOD, Thou hast helped me to see,       that whatever good be in honour and   rejoicing, how good is he who gives them,     and can withdraw them;   that blessedness does not lie so much     in receiving good from and in thee,     but in holding forth thy glory and virtue;   that it is an amazing thing […]

O MY FORGETFUL SOUL, A wake from thy wandering dream;         turn from chasing vanities,   look inward, forward, upward,   view thyself,   reflect upon thyself,       who and what thou art, why here,       what thou must soon be. Thou art a creature of God,     formed and furnished by him,     lodged in a body like a shepherd in his […]

O FATHER OF JESUS, Help me to approach thee with deepest       reverence,   not with presumption,   not with servile fear, but with holy boldness. Thou art beyond the grasp of my understanding,   but not beyond that of my love. Thou knowest that I love thee supremely,   for thou art supremely adorable, good, perfect. My heart melts […]

THREE IN ONE, ONE IN THREE, GOD OF MY SALVATION, Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,       I adore thee as one Being, one Essence,   one God in three distinct Persons,   for bringing sinners to thy knowledge and to     thy kingdom. O Father, thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to     redeem me; O Jesus, thou […]

LORD JESUS, If I love thee my soul shall seek thee,       but can I seek thee unless my love to thee       is kept alive to this end? Do I love thee because thou art good,   and canst alone do me good? It is fitting thou shouldest not regard me,   for I am vile and selfish; […]

THOU BLESSED SPIRIT, AUTHOR OF ALL GRACE AND COMFORT, Come, work repentance in my soul;       Represent sin to me in its odious colours that       I may hate it; Melt my heart by the majesty and mercy of God; Show me my ruined self and the help there is   in him; Teach me to behold my […]