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Summary
- The command “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18) assumes a right love of self, while 2 Timothy 3:2 condemns “lovers of their own selves.”
- Thomas Aquinas taught in the Summa Theologica that a person ought to love himself out of charity, and blamed self-love only when it serves the lower appetites.
- The Catholic Act of Charity (1888 Manual of Prayers) orders love as God first, then “my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee.”
- Short prayers cover appearance, a critical inner voice, self-forgiveness, comparison, care of the body, healthy limits, love toward others, pride, and a friend who hates himself or herself.
- Psalm 139:23–24 and the Collect for Purity from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer are given as traditional prayers.
- Anyone thinking of self-harm can call or text 988 in the US or call Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Leviticus 19:18; 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139:14, 23–24; Jeremiah 31:3; Matthew 22:39; Mark 6:31; Luke 5:16; 12:7; Romans 5:8; 12:3; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 6:4; Ephesians 5:29; Philippians 2:3; 2 Timothy 3:1–2; 1 John 1:9; 3:20; 4:19). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica, II-II, question 25, articles 4 and 7. Translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 1920. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3025.htm
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. Morning Prayers, “An Act of Charity,” pp. 53–54. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888/page/53/mode/1up
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. The Holy Communion, The Collect, p. 67. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- National Institute of Mental Health. “Depression.” https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/
- Samaritans. “Contact a Samaritan.” https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
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