“O my God and Father, grant that I may know You and make You known;
that I love You and bring others to love You;
that I serve You and persuade others to serve You”
(St. Anthony Mary Claret).
This is the favorite prayer of a great saint and missionary who tirelessly preached the Gospel. St. Anthony Mary Claret. He founded a religious congregation and served as a bishop in Cuba.
In his prayer, we can see how the Father touched and ignited his heart. In fact, it seems as if he copied it directly from the Father’s message to Mother Eugenia Ravasio. Of course, this book did not exist in his time, but the One who communicated it to Sister Eugenia later did.
This saint’s prayer leads us on a path of brief reflection.
- Know God and make Him known.
How much our Heavenly Father desires this, and how He infected His servant Anthony with this longing! This desire should also burn in our hearts! Those who know the Father cannot help but ardently desire that others know Him, too. Then, we must let God show us how to make Him known.
- To love the Father and make Him loved.
Every day, we have the opportunity to grow in love for God, even in secret. Every act of love, every renunciation of ourselves for the sake of the Lord increases love on Earth and transforms our hearts. This, in turn, has an impact on our prayer and our dealings with our neighbors, and opens ways for God to act through us.
- Serve the Father and make Him serve.
Service is the great secret of our life, and the Lord Himself taught us this. He came to serve us, and He continues to do so, day after day and hour after hour. His angels are also at our service. This is how we understand God’s sovereignty and true greatness. If we learn to serve in this spirit, it will not be servitude, but rather we will have adopted God’s attitude, and this will be attractive to people. In this way, they too will learn to serve the Lord with joy through our witness.