Living with Christ Morning Prayer

Living with Christ Morning Prayer
January 18, 2014


I did not come to call the righteous...

Lord Jesus,
today, I'll encounter many people:
some of them I love
and would do anything for;
some of them I'm friendly with
and will enjoy seeing;
some of them I'd rather avoid
and will only interact with them because I have to;
some of them will greatly annoy me
and I'll be loath to let it go;
some of them I'll try to notice
because I'm your disciple;
and some I'll just end up passing by.

Lord, as you can see, I tend to see the world
as if it were built entirely around me.

But this gospel, and others like it,
keep calling me to see differently-
to peek into the heavenly banquet and perhaps
be surprised by whom I see sitting there,
to realize that I am not the center of the world
and that I might also be surprised
at where I appear
in other people's lists of encounters.

Jesus, help me to remember that, in Scripture,
being righteous really means
being in right relationship with God,
with other human beings, and with creation.
And with that understanding, Lord, I know how badly
I need the services of the divine physician.
Help me, Jesus, today and every day, to heed your call.
Amen.

For a prayer for today from St. Teresa of Ávila, see page 193 in the January issue of Living with Christ.