Teach me, My Master,
to be sweet and gentle in
the events of life,
in disappointments,
in the thoughtlessness of
others,
in the insincerity of
those on whom I relied.
Let me put myself aside,
to think of others,
to hide my little pains
and heartaches,
so that I may be the only
one to suffer from them.
Teach me to profit by the
suffering that comes across my path.
Let me so use it that it
may mellow me,
not harden or embitter me;
that it may make me
patient, not irritable,
that it may make me broad
in forgiveness, not narrow haughty and overbearing.
May no one be less good
for having come within my influence.
No one less pure, less
kind, less noble
for having been a fellow
traveler
in our journey toward
Eternal Life.
As I go my rounds from one
distraction to another,
let me whisper from time
to time,
a word of love to Thee.
May my life be lived in
the supernatural,
full of power for good,
and strong in its purpose
for sanctity.
~John Henry Newman
