No Room in the Inn

Will Love incarnate find shelter in the inn of my soul, or have I shut my heart to Him?

Abide in me, Lord, that I may abide in Thee.

(Or should I say: Lord, I am not worthy to receive Thee under my roof. Only say the word and my soul shall be healed?)

O God, the Light of every heart that sees Thee, the Life of every soul that loves Thee, the Strength of every mind that seeks Thee, grant me ever to continue steadfast in Thy holy love. Be Thou the joy of my heart; take it all to Thyself, and therein abide. The house of my soul is, I confess, too narrow for Thee; do Thou enlarge it, that Thou mayest enter in; it is ruinous, but do Thou repair it. It has that within which must offend Thine eyes; I confess and know it; but whose help shall I implore in cleansing it, but Thine alone? To Thee, therefore, I cry urgently, begging that Thou wilt cleanse me from my secret faults, and keep Thy servant from presumptuous sins, that they never get dominion over me. Amen.

(Adapted from Saint Augustine's Confessions, Book 5)