so darkened by the vapor of sin ... a prayer

"O Lord God, with my whole heart, I seek Your face;

Your face O Lord do I seek.

I confess, O Lord,

And render You thanks that You have created in me this Your image,

That I may be mindful of You,

That I may contemplate and love You;

But it is so injured by contact with vice,

So darkened by the vapor of sin,

That it cannot attain to that for which it was created,

Unless You renew and reform it.

I attempt not to penetrate to Your height,

For with this my feeble intelligence can bear no comparison;

But I desire, in some degree,

to understand Your truth

which my heart believes and loves.

For I seek not to understand in order that I may believe;

But I believe in order that I may understand,

For I believe for this reason that unless I believe I cannot understand.

This I pray in the name of Jesus, the holy name of Jesus. Amen."

Anselm of Canterbury, 1033-1109

- pmwl