Need a spiritual shot in the arm during the Lenten season or anytime of the year? Try working this trio of prayers into your repertoire:
1. The "Let there be peace within" prayer attributed to St. Therese of Lisieux.
2. St. Francis of Assisi’s peace prayer.
3. Blessed Mother Teresa’s version of "Do It Anyway".
I love these prayers, despite debates over their origins. During my near-decade with the Courier, I have seen them printed in parish bulletins from around our diocese. They have struck such a chord with me that I saved them to hang up at the office and at home. I draw strength and comfort from their messages.
A sentence from St. Therese’s prayer hits me between the eyes every time I read it: "May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be."
Wow! When things in life don’t seem to be going my way, this line reminds me that everything — good and bad — happens for a reason, even if that reason isn’t apparent.
St. Francis offers me a reality check: "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."
The world does not revolve around me! I need to work harder at being selfless, "for it is in giving that we receive."
The one-two punch is from Blessed Mother Teresa, who wisely observes that no matter what one does in life, there are naysayers around every corner. But keep doing what’s right, because "in the final analysis, it is between you and God."
When life presents challenges, I embrace these supplications and make them my own.
What prayers — or Scripture readings — give you strength or consolation along life’s journey?
