"May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and change their pain into joy. And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done." -a Franciscan Benediction
Oh, Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength, not to be superior to my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit will come to you
without shame.
The Litany of Non Violence
Provident God, aware of our own
brokenness, we ask the gift of courage to identify how and where we are in need
of conversion in order to live in solidarity with all Earth's people.
Deliver us from the violence of
superiority and disdain. Grant us the desire, and the humility, to listen with
special care to those whose experiences and attitudes are different from our
own.
Deliver us from the violence of greed
and privilege. Grant us the desire, and the will, to live simply so others may
have their just share of Earth's resources.
Deliver us from the silence that gives
consent to abuse, war and evil. Grant us the desire, and the courage, to risk
speaking and acting for the common good.
Deliver us from the violence of
irreverence, exploitation and control. Grant us the desire, and the strength,
to act responsibly within the cycle of creation.
God of love, mercy and justice,
acknowledging our complicity in those attitudes, action and words which
perpetuate violence, we beg the grace of non-violent hearts. Amen.
Prayer to Our Lady of Providence
Written by Sister Ann Casper, SP
Woman of response
whose initial "yes" set in motion
the greatest possibility that could ever be;
whose continuing "yes" fed a developing faith
throughout a lifetime of availability to God's power in her
regard.
Woman of relationship
whose openness let others into her life
to shape it, to form it;
whose surrender left her vulnerable
to what was not in her control.
Woman of reflection
whose pondering made eventual sense
of fear, bewilderment and infinite Possibility;
whose musing made connections
and named interdependence - treasure and gift.
Woman of reverence
whose choosing spoke of all creation
imbued with the divine and calling forth new life;
whose cooperating probed the depths
of joy and suffering, of confusion and trust.
Woman of reality
whose parenting formed the Savior Son
midst homely ordinariness, mobility and adjustments;
whose queenly dignity raised all women
to pride, equality and fullness of life.
Pray for us, Holy Mother of God,
that we may become women of response,
women of relationship,
women of reflection,
women of reverence,
and women who follow God in the reality of ordinary life.
Amen.
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