A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Tuesday 1 January 2008

A Prayer

My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

THOMAS MERTON (1915-1968)

I find the hesitancy, the humility and the qualified hope in this prayer quite moving.

1 comment:

am said...

Thank you for posting this prayer of Thomas Merton, which speaks for many of us in a timely way. Here are some words I found, written by Simone Weil:

"Faith is experience that the intelligence is enlightened by love."