661 chapter 22: the reconciliation of the mystical temple O You, my Savior! Remove from me the fury of anger and vouchsafe me (of Your grace) the shield of patience. O You my Creator! Take all rancor from me; and through Your meekness, enrich me with a sweet and gentle mind. Bestow on me, O most merciful Father, a solid faith, a suitable hope, and continual charity! O You my Director! Remove from me vanity and inconstancy of mind, unsettledness of heart, scurrility of speech, pride of eyes, gluttony of diet, the offense of my neighbors, the wickedness of detractions, the itch of curiosity, the desire for riches, the seizure of powers, the ambition for vainglory, the mischief of hypocrisy, the poison of flattery, the contempt for the poor, the oppression of the weak, the eagerness of covetousness, the rottenness of envy, and a death-causing blasphemy. Cut away from me, O You who are my Maker, heedlessness, wickedness, pertinacity, unquietness, idleness, somnolence, sloth, dullness of mind, blindness of heart, obstinacy of judgment, crudeness of conduct, refractoriness of the good, resistance to advice, imprudence of speech, plunder of the poor, violence inflicted upon the impotent, false accusation of the innocent, negligence of the subjects, severity towards the members of the household, irresponsibility towards the members of the family, hardness towards neighbors. O my God and my mercy, I beseech You through Your beloved Son, grant that I may perform the works of mercy, grant me the inclinations of devotion; suffering with the afflicted, advising those that err, comforting the miserable, aiding those in want, consoling those in sorrow, relieving the oppressed, refreshing the poor, refreshing the tearful; forgiving those who trespass against me, pardoning those who do me wrong, loving those who hate me, rendering good for evil, despising nobody, but honoring all, imitating the good, guarding against the bad, embracing virtues, rejecting vices, having patience in adversity, and moderation in prosperity; setting a guard at my mouth, and shutting the door of my lips: despising earthly things, and thirsting for heavenly ones” (from the Meditations of St. Augustine).216 Amen. 216 Augustine, Meditations, Ch. I, n. I, in: AMS, pp. 1-3.
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