UNIVERSAL PRAYER

    FATHER of all! In every age,

        In ev'ry clime ador'd,

    By saint, by savage, and by sage,

        Jehovah, Jove, or Lord!

    Thou Great First Cause, least understood,

        Who all my sense confin'd

    To know but this, that Thou art good,

        And that myself am blind:

    Yet gave me, in this dark estate,

        To see the good from ill;

    And, binding Nature fast in Fate,

        Left free the human Will.

    What Conscience dictates to be done,

        Or warns me not to do;

    This teach me more than Hell to shun,

        That more than Heav'n pursue.

    What blessings thy free bounty gives

        Let me not cast away;

    For God is paid when man receives;

        T' enjoy is to obey.

    Yet not to earth's contracted span

        Thy goodness let me bound,

    Or think thee Lord alone of man,

        When thousand worlds are round.

    Let not this weak, unknowing hand

        Presume thy bolts to throw,

    And teach damnation round the land

        On each I judge thy foe.

    If I am right, thy grace impart,

        Still in the right to stay;

    If I am wrong, O teach my heart

        To find that better way.

    Save me alike from foolish Pride

        Or impious Discontent,

    At aught thy wisdom has denied,

        Or aught that goodness lent.

    Teach me to feel another's woe,

        To right the fault I see:

    That mercy I to others show,

        That mercy show to me.

    Mean tho' I am, not wholly so,

        Since quicken'd by thy breath;

    O lead me whereso'er I go,

        Thro' this day's life or death!

    This day be bread and peace my lot:

        All else beneath the sun

    Though know'st if best bestow'd or not,

        And let Thy will be done.

    To Thee, whose temple is of Space,

        Whose altar earth, sea, skies,

    One chorus let all Beings raise!

        All Nature's incense rise!

What drew me here was the discovery of these lines:  "If I am right, thy grace impart, Still in the right to stay;
If I am wrong, O teach my heart to find that better way."

I should like to be the recipient of that sort of humility and grace.

That search, through the miracle of Google, led me to another Pope – this one Clement XI, to whom is also attributed a "Universal Prayer."

Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith.
I trust in you: strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
And call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,
Correct me with your justice,
Comfort me with your mercy,
Protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
My words: to have you for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for you;
My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
In the way you ask,
For as long as you ask,
Because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
Strengthen my will,
Purify my heart,
and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,
A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch,
Those under my authority,
My friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
Greed by generosity,
Apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
And reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
Courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
Temperate in food and drink,
Diligent in my work,
Firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,
My conduct without fault,
My speech blameless,
My life well-ordered.
Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
Keep your law,
And come at last to your salvation.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
That my true future is the happiness of heaven,
That life on earth is short,
And the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death
With a proper fear of judgment,
But a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
To the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.