the pastoral prayer Saint Aelred of Rievaulx Translated by A Religious of C.S.M.V. Edited by Matthew Dallman Back to CONTENTS IX PRAYER FOR THE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL NEEDS Lord, as Thou shalt see fit, provide Thy servants also with those temporal goods, whereby the weakness of this wretched body                                                                 is in this life sustained. This one thing only do I crave, my Lord, from Thy sweet pity: namely, that whether it be much or little that Thou givest, Thou wouldst make me, Thy servant, a good and faithful steward in respect of all, a wise and fair distributor, a sensible provider. Inspire them, too, my God, to bear it patiently when Thou withholdest things; and, when Thou dost bestow, to use Thy gifts with temperance and restraint. Inspire them, O Lord, also to have of me, who am Thy servant, and their servant for Thy sake, such an opinion as may profit them, such love and fear of me as Thou, Lord, seest to be good for them. Forward to PART TEN © Akenside Press and Matthew C. Dallman, 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Akenside Press.