Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,

for all the benefits thou hast given me,

for all the pains and insults

thou hast borne for me.

O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,

may I know thee more clearly,

love thee more dearly,

and follow thee more nearly,

day by day.

On this day in 1253, Bishop Richard of Chichester, learned and loving, was in Dover preaching about the Crusades. But he became seriously ill there and his clergy gathered anxiously round his bed. It was then that he prayed the prayer above. He first acknowledged with gratitude the ‘benefits’ and ‘pains’ of Christ’s Passion. Then, with moving simplicity, he called Jesus his ‘friend’ and ‘brother’, a direct and intimate approach captured in the icon above which shows him conversing face-to-face with his Lord. He died the next day.

Bishop Richard prayed his dying words in Latin but thanks to a skilful translator (possibly Cecil Headlam in 1898), it is very memorable in English, a rhyming trio of words - ‘clearly’, ‘dearly’, ‘nearly’ – helping to lodge the prayer in heart and mind. Richard would probably be surprised to know how popular his prayer has become but even more surprised to know that, over 700 years after his death, it inspired a beautiful song - Day by Day – which featured in a blockbuster musical called Godspell.

On the stage, a lone disciple sang to the listening Jesus. Then, other disciples joined in. Just as the dying bishop had done, they asked Jesus that they might know him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly. On the threshold of Passiontide, it’s the perfect prayer for us too.