Living with Christ Morning Prayer

Living with Christ Morning Prayer
January 14, 2014


Have you come to destroy us?

I don't know what to do with gospels like this, Jesus,
Today, we tend to understand healing
in a very different way.

And yet, Lord, the point of the story still holds:
You speak and act with the authority of the Father.
You can free us of our worst ills and fears.

Jesus, there are many voices inside me
that I need to be healed from.
They tell me I'm not smart, attractive,
talented, popular, rich, or safe enough.
They keep old wounds and resentments fresh.
Wouldn't I be a more effective disciple,
if you silenced those voices and sent them away?

But they remain.
And because they do, Lord, and because
I believe you love me and want what is best for me,
help me to believe that these weaknesses
can be transformed somehow for my good,
that they can lead me to be more empathetic,
compassionate, and loving toward others,
and that, through your power,
my weakness can be a sign of your redemption.

Help me, Jesus, to join
all my sufferings and weaknesses to your cross
so that, dying with you, I may be healed
and rise to new and joyful life.
Amen.

For a prayer for today from St. Thomas Aquinas, see page 192 in the January issue of Living with Christ.