ST. FRANCIS DE SALES' PRAYER BEFORE MAKING AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE / by Joe Castorino

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

I place myself in your holy presence,

And I beseech you to inspire in me

By the power of the Holy Spirit.

Give me your light,

And give me sight,

That I may gain

A perfect knowledge

Of myself.

With St. Augustine,

I cry out to you,

“Lord, let me know you,

And let me know myself!”

And with St. Francis,

I humbly ask you,

“Lord! Who are you,

And who am I?”

I protest that I do not wish

To learn of my progress

In order to rejoice in myself,

But solely to rejoice in you, dear God,

Because I do not wish to glorify myself,

But I only wish to glorify you, dear Lord,

And give you thanks.

I also protest that if I find,

As I fear I shall,

That I have made only a little progress,

Or none at all,

Or even that I have fallen backward,

I will not on that account

Be depressed or made cold

By discouragement or despondency

Of any sort.

On the contrary,

I protest that I wish to encourage

And animate myself all the more,

I wish to humble myself,

And I wish to correct my faults

By the assistance of your grace.

Amen.