Woman Praying "A Young Man's Prayer"?

[QuizBowlNerd]

I was looking at one of my dad’s old prayer books (circa 1948), and I came across the following prayer:

A Young Man’s Prayer

O Christ! Look down from Calvary’s cross-crowned height,
Look down upon us battling with the foe.
Strong hearts are needed now for truth and right,
Pure hearts and brave, that virtue’s valor know.
Keep my soul always honest, virile, and clean;
Strengthen my courage as with bands of steel,
That I may never manliness demean,
Nor ever count it shame in prayer to kneel
Grant me the grace in faith and hope to live,
Fighting the evil, striving for the good;
And when the hour comes my soul to give,
Let me, my King, die as a soldier should!

As a woman, would it be problematic for me to say this prayer as is? And if so, how would you suggest modifying it so that it still fits with the overall theme? Lately, I have found myself very attracted to the “soldier of Christ” image/spirituality, so there’s a lot here I like; however, I’m wondering how appropriate it is for me to go around praying about having a virile soul and not demeaning manliness.

 

[TK421]

Everything in that prayer applies equally to women.

(Unless you want to replace manliness with… womanliness, lol)

 

[Tis_Bearself]

As a woman, would it be problematic for me to say this prayer as is?

Nope.

“Man” could also be taken to mean “mankind”. It’s quite possible for a woman to be manly without being mannish. Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena come to my mind.

I’d say it just as is, then again I was raised by a mother who would tell me to “be a man about it” when courage was called for.

By the way, I think most of the people who follow Fr. Heilman’s “Roman Catholic Man” blog and prayer website are middle-aged to elderly women. They’re dedicated prayer warriors.

 

[Wm777]

Your concern seems more aimed at your intention than the prayer itself.
Only you can really answer that question.

One thing I like to do is pray for other people.
When it comes to pretty ladies, for instance, I used to always pray I’d get one…
Now - I’m an older man and still single… LOL

Not sure where I went wrong, or right, but
I became incredibly shy and frightened of ladies,
which is perhaps a sort of modesty, a sort of fear of God,
but perhaps also somewhat a sort of rationalism…
It gets all mixed up, and I cant really tell - so I leave it to God…

Over the years, what I ended up doing was,
if I found a beautiful lady I really wanted and would pray for so much I’d become silent…
what I decided to do was - instead of overwhelming her
(which I knew was kind of off because maybe she wouldn’t like me “like that”) -
I’d simply tell her I liked her, and yet somehow while explaining my rather odd predicament,
I’d ask her to pray for me to find a beautiful lady…
That way - the goodwill was there, yet she was aware of the invitation, and yet free to be herself…
It all seemed to help somehow…

We all have elements of the feminine and masculine within us…
So - if your paternal-masculine side wants to be a warrior -
pray to some great prayer-warrior you admire, and ask them to pray for you…
There are many Saints and angels who were great warriors,
although (interestingly) Ange;s are gender-neutral…
Maybe Saint Michael would be a good go-to soul…

In my case, I ultimately decided to fully consecrate myself to the Blessed Mother “Totus Tuus”…

No, I can’t marry her… She’s married and has has her place enthroned in heaven…
But I can serve her via the Consecration,
and the intention recommended to you is basically the same I promised to her…

And she is the most perfect creature of all, so…
I think I am on the right path somehow or other…

So that is how I would advise you…