O Lord, by all your dealings with us, whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness, let us be brought ever closer to you. Let us not value your grace simply because it makes us happy, or because it makes us sad, because it gives us or denies us what we want, but because all that you send us bring us to you. Let us realize that in knowing your perfection, we may be sure in every disappointment that you are still loving us, that in every darkness you are still enlightening us, and that in every bump in our journey’s road you are giving us life, just as in death you gave life to your Son, our savior Jesus Christ.
O Lord, our whole world is in the midst of struggle about our future, and there is great fear and uncertainty among us. We worry about war and peace, about terror and trouble, about the environment and the economy. Calm us down and let us speak to each other as those who have a common stake in our life together, as neighbors rather than as adversaries
Keep us from rancor and strife, from rumors and accusations. Let us seek the truth as best we can know it, and the common good above our own particular interests. Deliver us from the need to build ourselves up by cutting others down. Let us listen more than we talk, and think before we speak, and realize that we are all in this together,
(Photo: R. L. Floyd)
When I Survey . . . 
>Thanks, Rick. I didn't take my cold and laryngitis to church this morning, and this helped me worship at home.
>Jeanny,I hope you are better soon. My Doctor once told me that if you treat a cold it will last seven days, but if left untreated it will last a week. Martha sprained her ankle yesterday so getting her to church was complicated.Nonetheless, we had a lovely worship time this morning (we are pew sitters these days, mostly). The (good) choir where we worship sang my Lenten hymn “You won't despise a broken heart” as the communion motet, and they did it so beautifully I wanted to just sit there and listen when it came time to go up to receive.And then you prayed this prayer from home while ill. So maybe after five years in the vocational wilderness I am finally finding my way slowly to new modes of my ministry.Best,Rick
Thanks very much for this prayer. I particularly like the emphasis on treating others as neighbours, rather than adversaries. I work for a Catholic disability support service in Australia and am putting together some resources on Catholic social teaching. Do you mind if I quote the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs of your prayer (with attibution of course) as one of the resources on the ‘common good’.?
Jim
Hi Jim. Somehow I missed this comment when it first came up. Yes, you may use the prayer with attribution. Glad you liked it. Rick
Thanks for your comment, Jim. We are all in this together. Please use whatever will be helpful.