I was reading Jim Gordon's blog and came across a great prayer for the New Year, written by a Franciscan monk [Jim found it on Michael Gorman's blog]
I thought it was really good, and worth sharing, so I was about to send it to Bob for possible inclusion in our Month of Prayer...only to discover he had just e-mailed it to me for that very reason! So I am sharing it with you
[If you want to follow the Month of Prayer at KMFC, find it here]
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
Oh - how - wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of something I've read before, possibly by a Franciscan too, about asking God to grant peace, 'not the easy peace' which accepts things as they are, but his peace, which is deeper but more difficult. The phrase 'not the easy peace' has stuck with me for years.
In all honestly, I remember a time when this prayer would have truly reflected my life with God (I worked for Jubilee 2000) but now it's a harder prayer to pray.
A powerful prayer.
ReplyDeleteLovely! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeletefrances