Do we realize that “We never know . . . what the next moment will bring?
Give us hope, Lord, this New Year’s Day.
A realistic hope that we might be a little kinder,
a little less self-centered,
a little more willing to go the extra mile for someone, even for a stranger.
Give us the strength to be ready for whatever may come.
— If the economy should get worse;
–if we should lose our job;
–or if a dire crisis should occur.
Give us the grace to be truly thankful and truly repentant, truly humble this New Year’s morning.
This is my prayer, Lord, for me, for our country, for our world.
This morning may we pray as St. Francis taught us . . .
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen!
Father Bob's Reflections 