“Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits which thou hast given to me,
For all the pains and insults which 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.”
This prayer is ascribed to St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253) also known as Richard de Wych, Bishop of Chichester.
The Latin he recited on his deathbed as recorded by his confessor, Ralph Bocking (below) can be found in Acta Sanctorum, an encyclopedia of Christian saints, which is housed in the British Library:
Gratias tibi ego, Domine Jesu Christe, de omnibus beneficiis, quae mihi
praestitisti; pro poenis et opprobis, quae pro me pertulisti; propter quae plactus ille lamentablis vere tibim competebat.
Some believe the triplet “clearly, dearly, nearly” was added later. That aspect of this prayer was made popular in the modern era in Godspell (1971) when it was adapted for the song “Day by Day.”