A new litany

I regret how bad I've been lately at keeping up with this blog -- now that we've all settled in things seem too normal to write about.  Once I figure out what to write about (hopefully by Wednesday), I'll do so; in the meantime, I've been composing a prayer in my head during my bus rides that I'm going to share here.  In many ways a reflection on St. Thomas Aquinas's Student's Prayer and very heavily influenced by Bonhoeffer (we're reading Life Together as a community).

The Activist’s Prayer

I am capable.

I am strong and equipped for the work set before me.

I am not called to the impossible task of making things perfect,

But I am called to try anyway.

I recognize that I am sometimes disappointed – in myself, in others, in everything –

And I recognize that all I can do is turn these things over to God.

I pray for God’s intercession in the world

And, in doing so, see all things in the light of Christ’s redeeming love.

I pray for us, not for them.

I am happy because of God’s infinite, perfect love,

Which is so abundant and beautiful that even the rocks and trees proclaim it.

I am joyful even when I am not happy

Because of the divine Spirit that pours forth from every human heart,

Including my own.

I am thankful for my burden

Because I know that my reward is not waiting for me in a distant heaven,

But present with me in my daily life.

I am so thankful for Christ’s love that I gladly and constantly submit to God’s will

And praise God in everything I do.

I pray these things in the name of Christ Jesus,

Who has forgiven my uncountable sins

And turned my weeds into flowers.

May the words of my mouth,

The meditation of my heart,

And the work of my hands

Be acceptable to you oh Lord, my Rock and Redeemer.