The Journey with Jesus: Poems and Prayers
Selected by Dan Clendenin
Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471)
Prayer
Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know,
To love what I ought to love,
To praise what delights thee most,
To value what is precious in thy sight,
To hate what is offensive to thee.
Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of
my eyes,
Nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the
ears of ignorant men;
But to discern with a true judgment between things
visible and spiritual,
And above all, always to inquire what is the good
pleasure of thy will.
Thomas Hammerken was born in Kempen, Germany and distinguished himself as a priest, monk, and writer. His chief contribution is his manual of Christian discipleship entitled The Imitation of Christ.