O Lord God, who art the light of the minds that know thee, the life of the souls that love thee, and the strength of the hearts that serve thee: Help us, following the example of thy servant Augustine of Hippo, so to know thee that we may truly love thee, and so to love thee that we may fully serve thee, whom to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
I have long loved this famous prayer, but the version that I’m familiar with refers to God as the “joy” of the hearts that serve him. Anyway, it’s a marvelous example of a “3-D” prayer that allows scope for the mind, the heart, and the will.
Obviously, ++Thomas Cranmer was familiar with this eloquent and profound prayer, as he clearly echoes its final clause in one of his collects that speaks of how we paradoxically find “perfect freedom” through submitting to the bondage of his service.
David Handy+