Prayer of St. Aquinas
Almighty and ever-living God, I draw near to the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I come sick to the physician of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the light of eternal brightness, poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.
So I ask you, most generous Lord: graciously heal my infirmity, wash me clean, illumine my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness.
May I receive the Bread of angels, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, and such resolve and determination as may secure my soul’s salvation. Grant as I may receive not only the visible sign of the Lord’s Body and Blood, but also all the reality and the power of the sacrament.
Grant most kind God, that I may receive the Body of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which he received from the Virgin Mary, and may receive it in such a way that I become a loving part of his Mystical Body and counted among his members.
O most loving Father, grant me your beloved Son.
While on this earthly pilgrimage, I receive him under the veil of this sacrament; so may I come at last to see him face to face for all eternity. For he lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.
WHO: Thomas Aquinas was one a Scholastic philosopher. He produced a comprehensive synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian philosophy that influenced Roman Catholic doctrine for centuries and was adopted as the official philosophy of the church in 1917.
WHAT: The master principle of natural law, "good is to be done and pursued and evil avoided." Furthermore, reason reveals particular natural laws that are good for humans such as self-preservation, marriage and family, and the desire to know God.
