A Prayer for the Student

 Last year, my first year, I often found myself overwhelmed by school and tests.  Some assignments were just so daunting and I didn't feel up to the task.  A dear friend saw me one day in this state of internal disarray and sent this this prayer, which I've been using to study and before tests ever since.
Written my St. Thomas Aquinas (one of my favorite saints), it goes like this:

Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.

Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.

Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.

Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.

Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.

I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Best of luck during this time of midterms!