The Anima Christi is a beautiful prayer! The following four prayers develop the richness of the prayer even further. I discovered these prayers in a publication entitled The Catholic Devotional published in 2006 by the Apostolic Publishing Company, 7010 6th Street North, Oakdale, MN 55128.Soul of Christ, Sanctify Me!
Make a saint of me. Show me how to rid myself
Of traits of character that annoy others;
that make the lives of those about me miserable.
Help me to break the hardened shell within which selfishness hides, and which renders me insensible to the needs of others.
May I become great enough to be the servant of both rich and poor.
May I grow strong in virtue, so as to sustain the weak and encourage the weary.
May my heart increase its power to love, so as to be able to minister kindness to the timid and mercy to the wayward.
May I have the honor to bring cheer to all my fellow men on the long and sometimes rugged road of life.
Body of Christ, Save Me!
Save me from my great archenemy, my weak and faltering self.
Save me from all greed of money, of power, and of praise.
Save me from the thirst for pleasure, worldly show, and midnight revelry.
Save me from betraying You, Dear Lord, in thought, or in word, or in deed.
Blood of Christ, Strengthen Me!
Inebriate me with Your Love, that I may be absorbed in Your Will. Absorbed so as to be unmindful of my ills and petty cares.
Unmindful of weariness and pain, heartache, and disappointment.
Heedless of the lash of cruel words, and patient under wrongs.
Passion of Christ, Strengthen Me!
Strengthen me under the pressure of temptation.
Strengthen me when principle is at stake.
Strengthen me to do Your Will, My God.
Strengthen me in moments of suffering, in times of loneliness, in periods of depression.
Strengthen me that I may never swerve from You, Dear Christ, nor weaken through a desire to be popular, through hope of social distinction.
Strengthen me to accept my cross and carry it generously to the end.
On the battlefield of life, stand by me that I may never prove a traitor in the ranks.
Stand by me that I may not be dazzled by the glitter and glow of the enemy camp.
I preface the following post by saying that I offer it in the spirit of love, and by no means out of a sense of self-righteousness! I have certainly been guilty of countless instances in which I traded Christ’s offer of an intimate relationship for the things of this world and my own selfish desires!
