Image: George Mendoza
Good morning, good God!
Feeling something of a backache this morning, Lord...
Well, maybe more a heartache than a backache -
but it's heartache brought on by a backpack
weighing on my heart...
Some days that pack can be pretty heavy, Lord:
it holds my hurts and helplessness,
stores my grudges and discouragement,
straps on old anger and anxiety…
And this pack has side pockets, Lord,
holding fears and old tears close at hand,
easy to reach and rely on
when yesterday's pain seems easier
than today's demands
and more real than tomorrow's promise...
My heart's bent over, Lord,
from the burden of my baggage
and this morning I want to offer you
this pack of my problems,
the weight of my worries,
Help me let this pack slip with healing grace
from my heart's hunched shoulders, Lord…
Give me the courage to let go of it
for today, for an hour, for even a few minutes...
Let me know the lightness
of a heart unfettered by fears,
a mind delivered from doubt,
a soul surrendered and serene...
Give me the courage, Lord, to open my pack,
to offer and place in your hands
what I no longer need to carry,
what weighs me down,
what tires my soul,
what keeps me from joy...
I offer you my fears for calming,
my worries for easing,
my pain for healing,
my sins for mercy:
help me believe, Lord,
in the light and peaceful heart
you want for me and offer in your love...
Lord, give me the grace
to let that pack slip from my soul's shoulders
for today, for an hour, for long enough
to stand and stretch and bask
in the peace of a lighter heart...
And along my path this day, Lord,
help me to lift the hearts of others,
trusting that in sharing each other's troubles
our burdens are halved, not doubled...
In your sacred heart, O Lord,
I place my own
and pray for healing
and for hope...
Amen.
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Please know you are loved Fr. Austin and on this Valentine's day I'm sending hugs from across the seas to you.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
My energy (physical, mental and emotional) is somewhat "precious" and what I have is limited (I know this is so for EVERYONE, but mine can be extreme)-
ReplyDeletetoday I choose not to spend my energy on Valentine's Day- and the kind of love it surrounds us with, and even imposes on us- I choose to focus on other kinds of love-
more important and potentially life-giving for me- friendships and other- and the love of God.
These are all way above and beyond my understanding and abilities- but I believe they are worth working on, and reaching towards. Because otherwise, there is nothing worth anything.
My heartache is great- and my backpack over-filled with stuff. Probably many things I DON'T need and need to offer to God, but it is very difficult to sort through everything and figure out the difference between things I need and those I don't.
So I pray for God to please help me with this huge organizing task.