St. Anthony Mary Claret: The Golden Key to Heaven

[Stone]

Morning Prayers

We begin each day in this way:

Kneeling we say — Through the sign of the Cross deliver us from our enemies, O Lord, our God.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

**Veni, Creator**

Come, O Creator Spirit blest!
And in our souls take up Thy rest;
Come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

Great Paraclete! To Thee we cry,
O highest gift of God most high!
O font of life! O fire of love!
And sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts art known,
The finger of God's hand we own;
The promise of the Father, Thou!
Who dost the tongue with power endow.

Kindle our senses from above,
And make our hearts o'erflow with love;
With patience firm and virtue high,
The weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
And grant us Thy true peace instead;
So shall we not, with Thee for guide,
Turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow,
The Father and the Son to know,
And Thee through endless times confessed,
Of both the eternal Spirit blest.

All glory while the ages run,
Be to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death; the same to Thee,
O Holy Ghost, eternally. Amen.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray. Lord, Thou hast instructed the hearts of Thy faithful by the brilliant light of the Holy Spirit. Give us the grace, under His divine inspiration, to have a sense of the true and a taste for the good, and always to find our consolation and our joy in Him. This we ask of Thee through our Lord... in the unity of the same Holy Spirit. Amen.


Following, three Hail Marys are said to the Most Holy Virgin.


We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities: but deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin.

Then an Our Father and a Hail Mary in honor of the Holy Angels, one each in honor of Saint Ignatius and again in honor of some other saint to whom you are devoted, as patrons of the holy exercises.

Come Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray. Lord, Thou hast instructed the hearts, etc.

Say three Hail Marys in honor of the purity of Our Lady.



**Preparatory Prayers Before Each Meditation**

First Prelude, preparatory prayer —

My Lord and My God, I believe most firmly that Thou art here present.

I adore Thee, my God, with complete surrender and affection of my heart, and I humbly beseech Thee to pardon all my sins.

I offer Thee, my Lord and Father, this meditation, and I hope that Thou will grant me the graces necessary for making a good meditation. For this same purpose, I turn to Thee, Most Holy Virgin, to the angels and saints, so that Thou wilt intercede for me and obtain for me what I need in order to make this meditation fruitfully. Amen.

Second Prelude or petition prayer — consists in asking for the grace, not in general, as in the preparatory prayer, but for the special grace, according to the matter of the meditation. This prayer is found at the beginning of each meditation.

Afterwards — the reading of the designated meditation, with frequent pauses, of the meditation, looking at it as coming from God, and applying its contents to the present state of the soul, from which will be seen those points that should be amended, reformed or improved. Thus seeing oneself one makes practical resolutions, and following these, the supplication and colloquies, now to Our Lord, the Son of God, now to the Eternal Father, now to Our Lady, in order to obtain the suitable grace for doing what is intended and for everything desired.


**Concluding Prayers at End of Each Meditation**

Thanksgiving — I give Thee thanks, my God, for the good thoughts, affections and inspirations which Thou hast communicated to me in this meditation.

Offering — I offer Thee the resolutions which I have formed in the meditation, and I beseech Thee, grant me the most efficacious grace to put them into practice, and to this purpose I beg Thee, Mary, my Mother, the angels and saints, especially those to whom I am particularly devoted, that they intercede for me and obtain for me this grace. Amen.


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**Examination After Each Meditation**

1. Before beginning the meditation, have I reflected on where it was going and for what purpose?
2. Have I begun it with the efficacious desire to perform it well, and profit from it?
3. Have I anticipated beforehand the resolutions I should have been making and the special graces for which I should have been asking?
4. Have I strengthened my faith in the presence of God, believing that I was going to speak with the same God?
5. Have I offered the meditation to Him and have I asked for the grace to perform it fruitfully?
6. Have I neglected the composition of place? (pg. 2)
7. Have I read with care the points, thinking that God was speaking to me, and have I applied what I was reading to the present state of my soul?
8. Have I drawn up practical resolutions?
9. Have I kept suitable composure of body?
10. Have I allowed myself to be overcome by drowsiness or laziness?
11. Have I given place to useless thoughts?
12. Have I become over-proud from feeling holy?
13. Have I become anxious through dryness or desolation?
14. Have I omitted colloquies or supplications?
15. Have I dwelled upon discursive thoughts or other operations of the intellect for too long a time?
16. Have I paused too little in motions of the affections?
17. Have I shortened the meditation for reasons of dryness, temptations, or other pretexts?
18. What resolutions have I drawn up?
19. Have I asked for the grace and other necessities for this purpose?
20. Have I omitted to pray for those to whom I am obligated and for the whole Church?

If we find that we have failed, we should seek forgiveness and make a firm purpose of amendment; and if we do not discover any faults, we will give thanks to God for that. Finally, let us recall whatever in the meditation moved us most, and place it in our heart to be recalled throughout the day.

Examining oneself after the meditation is most useful, in order to gain fruit from our prayer and to learn the practical way of doing it; consequently it is always wise to make this examination, not only at the time of the Exercises, but also every day of the year.