"I am needy and poor."
Dearest Jesus, all Thy creatures are more worthy of Thy grace,
Than the vile and wretched sinner who now kneels before Thy Face;
Yet one claim I have upon Thee which Thou never wilt deny,
In the bounds of Thy creation no one needs Thee more than I.
Other souls have been more faithful and have served Thee better far,
Many spotless hearts more fitting for Thy gracious presence are;
Many lips devout a greeting far more fervent can supply,
But, dear Master, well Thou knowest no one needs Thee more than I.
Many loving hands have carried richer offerings to Thy Shrine,
Many generous hearts have loved Thee with a purer love than mine;
These Thy chosen ones approach Thee as the doves to covert fly,
I am utterly unworthy, but none needs Thee more than I.
Sins unnumbered, unatoned for, have made havoc in my soul,
And against me stands as witness the recording angel's roll;
All untilled has been my vineyard and its soil is hard and dry.
O my God! my only Refuge, no one needs Thee more than I.
For without Thee I am helpless, fast in sin's strong fetters caught,
Blinded by my evil passions, swayed by impulses untaught;
I can do no good unaided, it were worse than vain to try,
Come Thyself to me, sweet Jesus, no one needs Thee more than I.
Thou didst leave Thy Father's bosom to reclaim and save the lost,
Thou didst take upon Thee freely our redemption's awful cost;
Thou Thyself has called me to Thee, Thou wilt hearken to my cry,
In the bounds of Thy Creation no one needs Thee more than I.
From: The Little Treasury of Leaflets, Vol. IV., Dublin, M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd., 1914
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1 comment:
Thank you so much for posting this beautiful poem-prayer. I've known it for so long that I no longer remember where or how I learned it, but I only learned an abbreviated version of it. Then, at least 15 years or so ago, I came across a holy card with the entire thing, but over the years I seem to have lost the card. I googled "no one needs Thee more than I" and this was the first website to pop up. I was so happy to find the entire prayer again, and now I've copied it securely into my computer. Maybe now, I can learn the entire thing!
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