Before opening a textbook, starting a project, or sitting down to write, students and scholars have prayed this prayer for seven centuries. St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest theologian of the medieval church, wrote it to ask God for clarity, memory, and the grace to learn well. If you are facing a difficult task that requires your mind, pray it today.
Ineffable Creator, who, out of the treasures of thy wisdom, hast ordained three hierarchies of angels, hast set them in marvelous order above the heavens, and hast assigned the parts of the universe so wondrously to each, who art truly called the source of light and wisdom and the most exalted principle, vouchsafe to pour forth a ray of thy brightness upon the dark places of my understanding; take from me the twofold darkness in which I was born, namely, sin and ignorance. Grant me a sharp sense of understanding, a retentive memory, ease and exactness in learning, depth in interpreting, and abundant grace of expression. Order the beginning, direct the progress, and perfect the completion. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Thomas Aquinas, 13th century
How this prayer works
Aquinas asks God to remove two kinds of darkness: sin and ignorance. He does not separate the spiritual life from the intellectual life. Clear thinking, he believed, requires a clear conscience. The prayer then names five intellectual gifts: understanding, memory, ease in learning, depth in interpreting, and grace of expression. Each corresponds to a stage of study, from grasping a concept to explaining it to someone else.
The final line asks God to order the beginning, direct the progress, and perfect the completion. This is a petition for perseverance. Starting is hard; finishing is harder. Aquinas, who wrote millions of words in his short life, knew that intellectual work requires not only talent but also stamina and grace.
Pray it before you open your laptop, before you pick up a pen, or before you walk into a meeting where you will need to think clearly. Carry it through this morning.
