"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." There cannot be a greater prayer than to desire that earthly things should deserve to equal heavenly ones. For what does it mean to say: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," if not that human beings should be like angels and that, just as God's will is fulfilled by them in heaven, so also all those who are on earth should do not their own but His will? No one will really be able to say this but him who believes that God regulates all things that are seen, whether fortunate or unfortunate, for the sake of our well-being, and that He is more provident and careful with regard to the salvation and interests of those who are His own than we are for ourselves.
+St. John Cassian, from The Conferences, conference 9 On Prayer XX.1
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