Category Archives: Poems

A Prayer for Kindness in All Things

A Prayer for Kindness in All Things

Dear Lord, I praise you as the essence of all things loving; You are complete in Yourself; You are unconditional in Love. In my heart I desire to be more like You, and I invite you to be with me as I move about through my day. When I begin to compare myself to others, let me remember that we are all made in your likeness, and that each of our bodies is a temple of Your Holy Spirit. When I am tempted to make judgments about the actions, behaviors, even the looks of others as a way of making myself feel better, come to my aid and bring about in me a spirit of contentment, a spirit of gratitude. Help me to treat each person I encounter as I would like to be treated, and fill me with loving kindness so that my thoughts, words, and deeds flow from Your spirit of unconditional Love. Let me remember You always; let me be ever aware of Your presence in each moment of my life, as I would surely cease to live, to move, to have my being if thought of me falls from Your mind’s embrace for the span of even one breath; for it is Your breath that gives me life.

I ask all these things through Christ who strengthens me.
Amen.

Holy Work

“If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.  If you are blamed, you won’t be discouraged; if anyone calls you a saint, you won’t put yourself on a pedestal.”  ~Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Holy Work

My ears adjust, repressurize
in response to the forty-fifth high-pitched scream of the day
as I scrape uneaten bits of lettuce and broccoli from the dinner plates.

“This is holy work,” I tell myself,
my face close to the trash can, the odor
of old banana peels and used diapers mixing and wafting upward.

My husband stops home for a quick dinner
and I tell him how I’ve not yet lost my mind;
then he heads back to the office and I lose my mind.

The little ones pick and poke and pester each other,
and I add my screeches to their screeching and everything stops –
“I’m sorry,” I tell them, stooping down.  “I could have said that nicely.”

Almost before I ask, they forgive me and we are hugging;
they are giving me all of their love, so I am giving them all of mine –
this is holy work.

Prayer for Our Family (by Bl. Teresa of Calcutta)

Heavenly Father, You have given us a model of life in the Holy Family of Nazareth.  Help us, O loving Father, to make our family another Nazareth where love, peace, and joy reign.  May it be deeply contemplative, intensely Eucharistic, and vibrant with joy.  Help us to stay together in joy and sorrow through family prayer.  Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our family, especially in His distressing disguises.  May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus make our hearts meek and humble like His and help us to carry out our family duties in a holy way.  May we love one another as God loves each of us, more and more each day, and forgive each other’s faults as You forgive our sins.  Help us, O loving Father, to take whatever You give and to give whatever You take with a big smile.  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of our joy, pray for us.  Saint Joseph, pray for us.  Holy Guardian Angels be always with us, guide and protect us.

Amen.