# The power of love not hate: Prayer in time of temptation by St. Albert the Great
*2015-11-15*

> Bill Young reflects on the life of St. Albert the Great and shares a powerful prayer for strength and discernment during times of temptation.

## The Legacy of St. Albert the Great

Today is November 15th, the feast day of St. Albert the Great. Born in 13th-century Germany, St. Albert was a priest and a highly educated man who dedicated his life to education. He taught in both Germany and Paris, France, and was the teacher of one of the Church's most famous students, St. Thomas Aquinas. I ask St. Albert to pray for us and to help educate those who believe that hate is more powerful than love. We know that God is love, and anyone who wants to follow God must follow love.

## Facing the Tempter

Today's prayer is from St. Albert the Great, titled 'Prayer in Time of Temptation.' It draws upon the warnings Christ gave his disciples against the seduction of evil and the evil one, specifically referencing the events of the last night of His existence in Luke 22:40-46, where He tells us to pray that we may not be put to the test.

## A Prayer for Spiritual Protection

Lord Jesus Christ, who have led me into the desert of penance, protect me so that I do not succumb to the tempter. May my pride neither obliterate my dignity of being a child of God, nor keep me away from the rigors of penance. With the word of truth, change the rigors of penance, which the tempter calls stones, so that they may become bread; and turn into stones the pleasures which the tempter calls bread.

May the tempter not set me on the pinnacle of the temple to make me believe I am superior to others. May he not throw me down to the ground with false humility, testing the Lord with imprudent acts of penance which exhaust my physical strength and expose me to danger. May the tempter not take me to the mountain of ambition, where, incited by greed, I would pay homage by bending the knee of my heart, will, and mind.

Drive far away from me all these things that are in opposition to You, so that I may adore and serve You alone, my Lord. May the tempter let go so that Your angels may surround me, guard me from evil, and sustain me in doing good. Amen.

*To follow God is to follow love, seeking the strength to resist temptation and the grace to serve the Lord alone.*