Prayer for Librarians

Send forth Thy grace upon us,
O God of Wisdom and of
Knowledge.
Bless, direct and guide us in
our library work.
Help us to appreciate the
intrinsic value of good books,
to understand that they
constitute the diary of the
human race,
to recognize that they provide
us with sustenance for the
mind.

It is through books that we
converse with the wise of
men of old,
learn the history of the past
to enable us to live in the
present and to plan the
future,
find pleasure to divert us
from the wearying tasks of
the day.

Teach us that in good
books we have not merely
mines of information,
storehouses of knowledge,
and treasures of wisdom,
but also companions and
guides and friends.

But most important of all,
impress upon us a realization
that for our happiness here
and hereafter
intellectual brilliance is not
enough,
that virtuous living must be
ours.
And so, through our reading
may we come to know Thee
more intimately and to love
Thee more ardently.
All this we ask of Thee
through Jesus Christ, Thy
Son, the Word Who was God
and Who is God,

the Word Who was made flesh
and Who, dwelling amongst us,
proclaimed that the truth would
make us free,
that it is He, the Son of God,
Who is the Way, the Truth, and
the Life for us all.
Amen.

-Cardinal Richard Cushing