Image: George Mendoza
NOTE: I was going to post this on November 5, the day before the election, but then I thought that might be too late. So here's a prayer for preparing to vote while we still have a week to pray it. May I ask that you not read into this text any more than is intended? This post is offered for a spiritual, not a political purpose.
Good morning, good God!
The election is just a week away, Lord,
and I was wondering:
what if you were a candidate...
would you be elected?
If you were running for office, Lord,
I know how you'd campaign:
with open and transparent honesty
-- no need for fact-checking your statements and press releases!
Your campaign promises would be many:
life for those who reverence it;
peace for those who work for it;
pardon for those who freely forgive;
unseating the mighty and lifting up the lowly;
an economy based on filling the hungry with good things
and sending the rich away empty;
respect and reverence for life
in all it shapes and forms...
Your platform would be flawless:
laws rooted in truth, justice tempered with mercy;
freedom bound by responsibility;
executive clemency shaming the vengeful;
and an unapologetic preference
for the defenseless innocent,
for those waiting to be born and their mothers,
for the poor, the marginalized, the stranger
and for victims of power, greed and arrogance...
But I know your name won't be on the ballot, Lord,
so I ask you to be with me as I study the candidates
and their policies, promises and platforms...
Open my mind to all sides of the issues
lest I vote uninformed on matters of poverty and prosperity,
peace and war, life and death, rights and responsibilities...
Help me see through the ads and the hype
lest I vote on the basis of looks and appearances,
polls and promises...
Give me counsel to choose wisely
especially when the choices fail to offer what I seek and expect
of those who would govern your people...
Make of me, Lord, a discerning disciple:
empower me to cast my ballot
as my faith, my intelligence, my conscience,
and the truth of your Word lead me to vote...
As the election draws near, I offer you my heart, Lord:
inscribe on it your word of truth in letters gospel-wide
and bold enough for me to clearly see...
I offer you my mind, Lord:
bathe my thoughts in wisdom ever ancient, ever new
and show me the path of your truth...
I offer you my will, Lord:
bend it, shape it, mold it, grow it
with the power of your grace
and conform it to your heart's desire...
I offer you my vote, Lord:
may it be a good decision,
may it speak a just word,
may it hasten your reign of peace
and bring life and liberty for all...
All this I offer, Lord,
and ask, in return, for the gift of your Spirit
to counsel and guide me...
Amen.
(For an archive of previous Monday Morning Offerings,
check here or click on the coffee cup at the top of the sidebar...)
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Dear Fr. Fleming,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog everyday for quite a while now and have been praying the prayers in poems, listening to your audio homily. I like going back to your posts from way back but I find it very tedious to page back until I find what I'm looking for. Is it too much to ask if you could include in your blogger layout the "Blog Archive"? This way we can easily jump from one post to another by date.
Thank you and God bless.
Thanks for your faithful readership and your kind words!
ReplyDeleteI do have an archive widget on the sidebar of my blog and it's currently placed under my caricature titled "Concord Pastor."
If you're reading my blog on an iPhone you won't see it but if you scroll down, click on "View Web Version" just under the last post on the scroll and you'll get the full page and the archive widget.
Let me know if this doesn't help.