Patience

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

ImageKristin's Crosses
[public domain]

Christ with the Host, by Paolo da San Leocadio, 15th Century

Body of Christ,
Save Me!

Body of Christ, save me!
Save me from my great arch-enemy,
my weak and faltering self.
Save me from all greed of money,
of power, and of praise.
Save me from thirst for pleasure,
worldly show, and midnight revelry.
Save me from betraying You,
in thought, or in word, or in deed.
Amen.

Blood of Christ,
Inebriate Me!

Blood of Christ, inebriate me!
Inebriate me with Your Love,
that I may be absorbed in Your interests and Your Will.
Absorbed so as to be unmindful of my ills and petty cares.
Unmindful of weariness and pain,
heartache, and disappointment.
Heedless of the lash of cruel words,
and patient under wrongs.
Amen.

Saint Rita of Cascia

ImageKristin's Crosses
[public domain]

St. Rita of Cascia

St. Rita of Cascia
Patroness of Impossible Causes
and Hopeless Circumstances

Daily Prayer to Saint Rita

Dear Saint Rita,
during your entire life on earth
you found your happiness by following
the will of our heavenly Father.
Help me to be as trusting of God
in all his designs for me.
Help me this day to give myself
to him as you did, without limit,
without fear, without counting the cost.
Help me to be generous in serving
the needs of others, patient in all difficulties,
forgiving toward all who injure me.
Help me to learn more deeply
the great mystery of the cross of Jesus,
so that by embracing it as you did,
I may come to experience its power
to heal and to save.
Amen.

National Day of Prayer

ImageKristin's Crosses

[public domain]

A Prayer for World Peace
(1978)

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle;
the strength to be forgiving;
the patience to be understanding;
and the endurance to accept the consequences
of holding to what we believe to be right.

May we put our trust in
the power of good to overcome evil
and the power of love to overcome hatred.

We pray for the vision to see
and the faith to believe
in a world emancipated from violence,
a new world where fear shall
no longer lead men to commit injustice,
nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.

Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy
to the task of making peace,
praying always for the inspiration
and the power to fulfill the destiny
for which we and all men were created.
Amen.