Catholic Meditations

Prayer for Mercy

Eternal Father,
I offer you the body and blood,
soul and divinity
of your dearly beloved Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
In atonement for our sins,
and those of the whole world.
For the sake of his sorrowful passion,
have mercy on
the woman who watches her children die of hunger
because of the hardness of men's hearts.

Have mercy on
the son, consumed with anger at injustice,
who will give up his life
because of the words of a teacher
who tells him it pleases you.

Have mercy on
the daughter, destined to be killed by her family
because she was raped and is now damaged goods.

Have mercy on
the soldier who has nightmares
from actions he did while he was protecting others.

Have mercy on
the cast aside,
too weak or poor to defend themselves.

Have mercy on
those who have grown up without knowing you
because of the hardness of their parents' hearts.

Have mrecy on
those who are starving for truth,
but only recieve the reply of selfishness.

Have mercy on
the person left alone
because they are too ugly, fat, old, strange, forgotten.

O Lord,
no matter where we are in the world,
no matter what we do in the world,
no matter where we live in the world,
have mercy on us,
for without your mercy,
there is only the dark.

Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2004

The Shepherd

Lord,

how hard it is to remember

when the anger flares,

or the fear grows,

or the frustration bellows,

that you are in control,

and if I let you,

you will be my shepherd,

guarding my steps,

filling my needs,

who will bring me to the moments of peace

prepared for me,

restoring me

from the pain and hurt and anger and fear,

by the power of your name,

by the willingness

of your love.



Let me remember

through thick and thin

who is the shepherd

and who is the sheep.



Susan E. Stone, 2004



Amen.

O Lord,
in our impatience
to have the world a better place,
to stop the evils,
to create a place
for holiness and happiness and truth,
teach us to act
with your patience
waiting to change the hearts of man
instead of forcing our will upon him,
teach us to act
with your mercy,
showing us that acting
in anger and haste and frustration
shatter the peace
you would give us,
teach us to act with your love,
knowing even the person who wishes to harm us
is your child,
deserving of respect and understanding
and your salvation.

Help us realize, Lord,
that it is not from the top down
that the world will be saved,
but from the bottom up,
each of us acting
like your loving child,
shedding your light,
touching life by life,
heart by heart,
day by day.

Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2004

Labels: Discipleship

The Wooing

O Lord,
each day that I live
and see
how narrow is the gate,
and how few there are who want to walk it,
and how hard are the hearts of men,
and how willing we are
to sacrifice others
for our comfort
for our gain
for our convenience,
to stoke the fires of anger in our hearts,
to justify our ideals
to give us pleasure,
and I think
that you knew this,
that you could see our hearts
and knew us for what we are,
Still you loved us,
and still you chose the path
from Gethsemane
to Golgotha.

O Best of Lovers,
who has wooed us
with your heart's own blood
forgive us
for so often running away
and choosing the dark.


Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2004

To See Beyond

O Lord,
Teach us this day,
to see beyond ourselves,
to see beyond our wants,
to see beyond our things,
to see the poor man
sitting at our gate,
to see the hungry child
whose mother sews our clothes,
to see the desperate woman
who knows not where to turn.

Lord,
teach us to ignore our prejudices,
and see the hurt,
and the anger,
and the loneliness,
and the sorrow
not as threats,
but as wounds to be healed,
and remind us
that we are your hands upon the earth,
and as we care for these,
we care for you.

Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2004

Labels: Discipleship